|  2ht'oloj)iffll  .fviniuani.  | 


I 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Part  of  the  ~ 

t  ADDISON  ALEXANDER  LIBRARY," 
||\  which  was  presented  by 

v  Messrs.  R.  L.  and  A.  Stuart. 


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BS  2825  . B3 7  1853 
Barnes,  Albert,  1798-1870. 
Notes,  explanatory  and 
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NOTES, 


'  •  \  . 

EXPLANATORY  AND  PRACTICAL, 

ON  THE 

BOOK  OF  REYELATION. 


BY 

y 

ALBERT  BARNES. 


NEW  YORK: 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS 
NOS.  329  AND  331  PEARL  STREET, 

FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 


185  3. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851,  by 
ALBERT  BARNES, 

in  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PREFACE 


When  I  began  the  preparation  of  these  ‘  Notes'  on  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  now  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  I  did  not  design  to  extend  the 
work  beyond  the  Gospels,  and  contemplated  only  simple  and  brief 
explanations  of  that  portion  of  the  New  Testament,  for  the  use  of  Sun¬ 
day-school  teachers  and  Bible  classes.  The  work  originated  in  the 
belief  that  Notes  of  that  character  were  greatly  needed,  and  that  the 
older  commentaries,  having  been  written  for  a  different  purpose,  and 
being,  on  account  of  their  size  and  expense,  beyond  the  reach  of  most 
teachers  of  Sunday-schools,  did  not  meet  the  demand  which  had  grown 
up  from  the  establishment  of  such  schools.  These  Notes,  contrary 
to  my  original  plan  and  expectation,  have  been  extended  to  eleven 
volumes,  and  embrace  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament. 

Having,  at  the  time  when  these  Notes  were  commenced,  as  I  have 
ever  had  since,  the  charge  of  a  large  congregation,  I  had  no  leisure  that 
I  could  properly  devote  to  these  studies,  except  the  early  hours  of  the 
morning,  and  I  adopted  the  resolution  —  a  resolution  which  has  since 
been  invariably  adhered  to  —  to  cease  writing  precisely  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  The  habit  of  writing  in  this  manner,  once  formed,  was 
easily  continued,  and  having  been  thus  continued,  I  find  myself  at  the 
end  of  the  New  Testament.  Perhaps  this  personal  allusion  would  not 
be  proper,  except  to  show  that  I  have  not  intended,  in  these  literary 
labors,  to  infringe  on  the  proper  duties  of  the  pastoral  office,  or  to  take 
time  for  these  pursuits  on  which  there  was  a  claim  for  other  purposes. 
This  allusion  may  perhaps  also  be  of  use  to  my  younger  brethren  in  the 
ministry,  by  showing  them  that  much  may  be  accomplished  by  the 
habit  of  early  rising,  and  by  a  diligent  use  of  the  early  morning  hours. 
In  my  own  case,  these  Notes  on  the  New  Testament,  and  also  the  Notes 
on  the  books  of  Isaiah,  Job,  and  Daniel,  extending  in  all  to  sixteen 
volumes,  have  all  been  written  before  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
are  the  fruit  of  the  habit  of  rising  between  four  and  five  o’clock.  I  do 

(iif) 


IV 


PREFACE. 


not  know  that  by  this  practice  I  have  neglected  any  duty  which  I 
should  otherwise  have  performed,  and  on  the  score  of  health,  and,  I 
may  add,  of  profit  in  the  contemplation  of  a  portion  of  divine  truth  at 
the  beginning  of  each  day,  the  habit  has  been  of  inestimable  advantage 
to  me. 

It  was  not  my  original  intention  to  prepare  Notes  on  the  book  of 
Revelation,  nor  did  I  entertain  the  design  of  doing  it  until  I  came  up  to 
it  in  the  regular  course  of  my  studies.  Having  written  on  all  the  other 
portions  of  the  New  Testament,  there  remained  only  this  book  to  com¬ 
plete  an  entire  commentary  on  this  part  of  the  Bible.  That  I  have 
endeavored  to  explain  the  book  at  all  is  to  be  traced  to  the  habit  which 
I  had  formed  of  spending  the  early  hours  of  the  day  in  the  study  of 
the  Sacred  Scriptures.  That  habit,  continued,  has  carried  me  forward 
until  I  have  reached  the  end  of  the  New  Testament. 

It  may  be  of  some  use  to  those  who  peruse  this  volume,  and  it  is 
proper  in  itself,  that  I  should  make  a  brief  statement  of  the  manner  in 
which  I  have  prepared  these  Notes,  and  of  the  method  of  interpretation 
on  which  I  have  proceeded ; — for  the  result  which  has  been  reached  has 
not  been  the  effect  of  any  preconceived  theory  or  plan,  and  if  in  the 
result  I  coincide  in  any  degree  with  the  common  method  of  interpreting 
the  volume,  the  fact  may  be  regarded  as  the  testimony  of  another  wit¬ 
ness —  however  unimportant  the  testimony  may  be  in  itself — to  the 
correctness  of  that  method  of  interpretation. 

Up  to  the  time  of  commencing  the  exposition  of  this  book,  I  had 
no  theory  in  my  own  mind  as  to  its  meaning.  I  may  add,  that  I  had  a 
prevailing  belief  that  it  could  not  be  explained,  and  that  all  attempts  to 
explain  it  must  be  visionary  and  futile.  With  the  exception  of  the  work 
of  the  Rev.  George  Croly,*  which  I  read  more  than  twenty  years  ago, 
and  which  I  had  never  desired  to  read  again,  I  had  perused  no  com¬ 
mentary  on  this  book  until  that  of  Professor  Stuart  was  published,  in 
1845.  In  my  regular  reading  of  the  Bible  in  the  family  and  in  private, 
I  had  perused  the  book  often.  I  read  it,  as  I  suppose  most  others  do, 
from  a  sense  of  duty,  yet  admiring  the  beauty  of  its  imagery,  the  sub¬ 
limity  of  its  descriptions,  and  its  high  poetic  character ;  and  though  to 
me  wholly  unintelligible  in  the  main,  finding  so  many  striking  detached 
passages  that  were  intelligible  and  practical  in  their  nature,  as  to  make 

*  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  J ohn,  or  prophecy  of  the  rise,  progress,  and  fall  of  the 
church  of  Rome ;  the  inquisition;  the  revolution  in  France;  a  universal  war, 
and  the  final  triumph  of  Christianity ;  being  a  new  interpretation,  by  the  Rev. 
George  Croly,  A.  M.  H.  R.  S.  L. 


it  on  the  whole  attractive  and  profitable,  but  with  no  definitely-formed 
idea  as  to  its  meaning  as  a  whole,  and  with  a  vague  general  feeling  that 
all  the  interpretations  which  had  been  proposed  were  wild,  fanciful,  and 
visionary. 

In  this  state  of  things,  the  utmost  that  I  contemplated  when  I  began 
to  write  on  it,  was,  to  explain,  as  well  as  I  could,  the  meaning  of  the 
language  and  the  symbols,  without  attempting  to  apply  the  explanation 
to  the  events  of  past  history,  or  to  inquire  what  is  to  occur  hereafter. 
I  supposed  that  I  might  venture  to  do  this  without  encountering  the 
danger  of  adding  another  vain  attempt  to  explain  a  book  so  full  of  mys¬ 
teries,  or  of  propounding  a  theory  of  interpretation  to  be  set  aside,  per¬ 
haps,  by  the  next  person  that  should  prepare  a  commentary  on  the  book. 

Beginning  with  this  aim,  I  found  myself  soon  insensibly  inquiring 
whether,  in  the  events  which  succeeded  the  time  when  the  book  was 
written,  there  were  not  historical  facts  of  which  the  emblems  employed 
would  be  natural  and  proper  symbols  on  the  supposition  that  it  was 
the  divine  intention  in  disclosing  these  visions  to  refer  to  them,  and 
whether,  therefore,  there  might  not  be  a  natural  and  proper  application 
of  the  symbols  to  these  events.  In  this  way,  I  examined  the  language 
used  in  reference  to  the  first,  second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  seals, 
with  no  anticipation  or  plan  in  examining  one  as  to  what  would  be 
disclosed  under  the  next  seal,  and  in  this  way  also  I  examined  ulti¬ 
mately  the  whole  book:  proceeding  step  by  step  in  ascertaining  the 
meaning  of  each  word  and  symbol  as  it  occurred,  but  with  no  theo¬ 
retic  anticipation  as  to  what  was  to  follow.  To  my  own  surprise,  I 
found,  chiefly  in  Gibbon’s  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  a 
series  of  events  recorded  such  as  seemed  to  me  to  correspond  to  a  great 
extent  with  the  series  of  symbols  found  in  the  Apocalypse.  The  sym¬ 
bols  were  such  as  it  might  be  supposed  would  be  used,  on  the  supposition 
that  they  were  intended  to  refer  to  these  events,  and  the  language  of 
Mr.  Gibbon  was  often  such  as  he  would  have  used,  on  the  supposition 
that  he  had  designed  to  prepare  a  commentary  on  the  symbols  employed 
by  John.  It  was  such,  in  fact,  that,  if  it  had  been  found  in  a  Chris 
tian  writer,  professedly  writing  a  commentary  on  the  book  of  Reve¬ 
lation,  it  would  have  been  regarded  by  infidels  as  a  designed  attempt 
to  force  history  to  utter  a  language  that  should  conform  to  a  pre¬ 
determined  theory  in  expounding  a  book  full  of  symbols.  So  remarka¬ 
ble  have  these  coincidences  appeared  to  me  in  the  course  of  this  expo¬ 
sition,  that  it  has  almost  seemed  as  if  he  had  designed  to  write  a  com¬ 
mentary  on  some  portion  of  this  book,  and  I  have  found  it  difficult  to 


VI 


PREFACE. 


doubt  that  that  distinguished  historian  was  raised  up  by  an  overruling 
Providence  to  make  a  record  of  those  events  which  would  ever  after¬ 
wards  be  regarded  as  an  impartial  and  unprejudiced  statement  of  the 
evidences  of  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  The  Historian  of  the  ‘  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire’  had  no  belief  in  the  divine  origin  of 
Christianity,  but  he  brought  to  the  performance  of  his  work  learning 
and  talent  such  as  few  Christian  scholars  have  possessed.  He  is  always 
patient  in  his  investigations ;  learned  and  scholarlike  in  his  references ; 
comprehensive  in  his  groupings,  and  sufficiently  minute  in  his  details ; 
unbiassed  in  his  statements  of  facts,  and  usually  cool  and  candid  in  his 
estimates  of  the  causes  of  the  events  which  he  records ;  and,  excepting 
his  philosophical  speculations,  and  his  sneers  at  every  thing,  he  has 
probably  written  the  most  candid  and  impartial  history  of  the  times 
that  succeeded  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  that  the  world  possesses, 
and  even  after  all  that  has  been  written  since  his  time,  his  work  con¬ 
tains  the  best  ecclesiastical  history  that  is  to  be  found.  Whatever  use 
of  it  can  be  made  in  explaining  and  confirming  the  prophecies,  will  be 
regarded  by  the  world  as  impartial  and  fair ;  for  it  was  a  result  which  he 
least  of  all  contemplated,  that  he  would  ever  be  regarded  as  an  ex¬ 
pounder  of  the  prophecies  in  the  Bible,  or  be  referred  to  as  vindicating 
their  truth. 

It  was  in  this  manner  that  these  Notes  on  the  book  of  Revelation 
assumed  the  form  in  which  they  are  now  given  to  the  world ;  and  it 
surprises  me,  and,  under  this  view  of  the  matter,  may  occasion  some 
surprise  to  my  readers,  to  find  how  nearly  the  views  coincide  with  those 
taken  by  the  great  body  of  Protestant  interpreters.  And  perhaps  this 
fact  may  be  regarded  as  furnishing  some  evidence  that,  after  all  the 
obscurity  attending  it,  there  is  a  natural  and  obvious  interpretation  of 
which  the  book  is  susceptible.  Whatever  may  be  the  value  or  the  cor¬ 
rectness  of  the  views  expressed  in  this  volume,  the  work  is  the  result 
of  no  previously-formed  theory.  That  it  will  be  satisfactory  to  all,  I 
have  no  reason  to  expect ;  that  it  may  be  useful  to  some,  I  would  hope ; 
that  it  may  be  regarded  by  many  as  only  adding  another  vain  and 
futile  effort  to  explain  a  book  which  defies  all  attempts  to  elucidate  its 
meaning,  I  have  too  much  reason,  judging  from  the  labors  of  those  who 
have  gone  before  me,  to  fear.  But,  as  it  is,  I  commit  it  to  the  judgment 
of  a  candid  Christian  public,  and  to  the  blessing  of  Him  who  alone  can 
make  any  attempt  to  explain  his  word  a  means  of  diffusing  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  truth. 

I  cannot  conceal  the  fact  that  I  dismiss  it,  and  send  it  forth  to  tho 


PREFACE. 


•  • 
Vll 

world,  as  the  last  volume  on  the  New  Testament,  with  deep  emotion. 
After  more  than  twenty  years  of  study  on  the  New  Testament,  I  am 
reminded  that  I  am  no  longer  a  young  man ;  and  that,  as  I  close  this 
work,  so  all  my  work  on  earth  must  at  no  distant  period  be  ended.  I 
am  sensible  that  he  incurs  no  slight  responsibility  who  publishes  a 
commentary  on  the  Bible ;  and  I  especially  feel  this  now  in  view  of  the 
fact  —  so  unexpected  to  me  when  I  began  these  labors  —  that  I  have 
been  permitted  in  our  own  country  to  send  forth  more  than  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  volumes  of  commentary  on  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  and  that  probably  a  greater  number  has  been  published  abroad. 
That  there  are  many  imperfections  in  these  Notes,  no  on^can  feel  more 
sensibly  than  I  do ;  but  the  views  which  I  have  expressed  are  those 
which  seem  to  me  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  Bible,  and  I  send  the 
last  volume  forth  with  the  deep  conviction  that  these  volumes  contain 
the  truth  as  God  has  revealed  it,  and  as  he  will  bless  it  to  the  extension 
of  his  church  in  the  world.  I  have  no  apprehension  that  the  senti¬ 
ments  which  I  have  expressed  will  corrupt  the  morals,  or  destroy  the 
peace,  or  ruin  the  souls  of  those  who  may  read  these  volumes ;  and  I 
trust  that  they  may  do  something  to  diffuse  abroad  a  correct  knowledge 
of  that  blessed  gospel  on  which  the  interests  of  the  church,  the  welfare 
of  our  country,  and  the  happiness  of  the  world,  depend.  In  language 
which  I  substantially  used  in  publishing  the  revised  edition  of  the 
volumes  on  the  Gospels,  (Preface  to  the  Seventeenth  Edition,  1840,)  I 
can  now  say,  ‘  I  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  fact  that,  in  the  form  in  which 
these  volumes  now  go  forth  to  the  public,  I  may  continue,  though  dead, 
to  speak  to  the  living ;  and  that  the  work  may  be  exerting  an  influence 
on  immortal  minds  when  I  am  in  the  eternal  world.  I  need  not  say  that, 
while  I  am  sensitive  to  this  consideration,  I  earnestly  desire  it.  There 
are  no  sentiments  in  these  volumes  which  I  wish  to  alter;  none  that  I 
do  not  believe  to  be  truths  that  will  abide  the  investigations  of  the 
great  day;  none  of  which  I  am  ashamed.  That  I  may  be  in  error,  I 
know;  that  a  better  work  than  this  might  be  prepared  by  a  more  gifted 
mind,  and  a  purer  heart,  I  know.  But  the  truths  here  set  forth  are,  I 
am  persuaded,  those  which  are  destined  to  abide,  and  to  be  the  means 
of  saving  millions  of  souls,  and  ultimately  of  converting  this  whole 
world  to  God.  That  these  volumes  may  have  a  part  in  this  great  work 
is  my  earnest  prayer;  and  with  many  thanks  to  the  public  for  their 
favors,  and  to  God,  the  great  source  of  all  blessing,  I  send  them  forth, 
committing  them  to  His  care,  and  leaving  them  to  live  or  die,  to  be 
remembered  or  forgotten,  to  be  used  by  the  present  generation  and  the 


VI  LI 


PREFACE. 


next,  or  to  be  superseded  by  other  works,  as  shall  be  in  accordance 
with  his  will,  and  as  he  shall  see  to  be  for  his  glory.’ 


Washington  Square, 
Philadelphia,  March  26,  1851. 


ALBERT  BARNES. 


The  works  which  I  have  had  most  constantly  before  me,  and  from 
which  I  have  derived  most  aid  in  the  preparation  of  these  Notes,  are 
the  following.  They  are  enumerated  here,  as  some  of  them  are  fre¬ 
quently  quoted,  to  save  the  necessity  of  a  frequent  reference  to  the 
Editions  in  the  Notes. 

A  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse,  by  Moses  Stuart,  Professor  of 
Sacred  Literature  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover,  Mass.  An¬ 
dover,  1845. 

Horae  Apocalypticae ;  or,  a  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse,  Critical 
and  Historical.  By  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Elliott,  A.  M.  Late  Vicar  of  Tux- 
ford,  and  Fellow  of  Trinity  College.  Third  Edition.  London,  1847. 

The  works  of  Nathaniel  Lardner,  D.  D.  In  ten  volumes.  London, 
1829. 

The  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  By  Ed¬ 
ward  Gibbon,  Esq.  Fifth  American,  from  the  last  London  edition. 
Complete  in  four  volumes.  New  York,  J.  and  J.  Harper,  1829. 

History  of  Europe.  By  Archibald  Alison,  F.  R.  S.  E.  New  York, 
Harper  &  Brothers,  1843. 

An  Exposition  of  the  Apocalypse.  By  David  N.  Lord.  Harper  & 
Brothers,  1847. 

Hyponoia;  or,  Thoughts  on  a  Spiritual  understanding  of  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse,  a  Book  of  Revelation.  New  York,  Leavitt,  Trow  &  Co.,  1844. 

The  Family  Expositor.  By  Philip  Doddridge,  D.  D.  London,  1831. 

Amxpioifit  Apocalypsios  Joannis  Apostoli,  etc.  Auctore  Campegio 
Vitringa,  Theol.  et  Hist.  Professore.  Amsterdam,  1629. 

Kurtzgefasstes  exegetisches  Handbuch  zum  Neuen  Testament.  Von 
Dr.  W.  M.  L.  De  Wette.  Leipzig,  1847. 

Rosenmiiller  Scholia  in  Novum  Testamentum. 

Dissertations  on  the  Opening  of  the  Sealed  Book.  Montreal,  1848. 

Two  New  Arguments  in  vindication  of  the  Genuineness  and  Authen¬ 
ticity  of  the  Revelation  of  St.  John.  By  John  Collyer,  Knight.  Lon¬ 
don,  1842. 


The  Seventh  Yial,  being  an  Exposition  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  in 
particular  of  the  pouring  out  of  the  Seventh  Yial,  with  special  reference 
to  the  present  Revolution  in  Europe.  London,  1848. 

Die  Offenbarung  des  Heiligen  Joannes.  Von  ^r.  W.  Hengstenberg. 
Berlin,  1850.  . 

The  Works  of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Fuller.  New  Haven,  1825. 

Novum  Testamentum.  Editio  Koppiana,  1821. 

Dissertation  on  the  Prophecies.  By  Thomas  Newton,  D.  D.  London, 
1832. 

The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John.  By  the  Rev.  George  Croly,  A.  M. 
Philadelphia,  1827. 

The  Signs  of  the  Times,  as  denoted  by  the  fulfilment  of  Historical 
Predictions,  from  the  Babylonian  Captivity  to  the  present  time.  By 
Alexander  Keith,  D.  D.  Eighth  edition.  Edinburgh,  1847. 

Christ’s  Second  Coming :  will  it  be  pre-millennial  ?  By  the  Rev.  David 
Brown,  A.  M.,  St.  James’  Free  church,  Glascow.  New  York,  1851. 

Apocalyptical  Key.  An  extraordinary  discourse  on  the  Rise  and  Fall 
of  the  Papacy.  By  Robert  Fleming,  V.  D.  M.  New  York,  American 
Protestant  Society. 

A  Treatise  on  the  Millennium.  By  George  Bush,  A.  M.  New  York, 
1832. 

A  Key  to  the  Book  of  Revelation.  By  James  McDonald,  Minister 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Jamaica,  L.  I.  Second  Edition.  New 
London,  1848. 

Das  alte  und  neue  Morgenland.  Rosenmuller.  Leipzig,  1820. 

The  Season  and  Time;  or,  an  exposition  of  the  Prophecies  whick 
relate  to  the  two  periods  subsequent  to  the  1200  years  now  recentlj 
expired,  being  the  time  of  the  Seventh  Trumpet,  &c.  By  W.  Ettrick, 
A.  M.  London,  1816. 

Einleitung  in  das  Neue  Testament,  von  Johann  Gottfried  Eichhom. 
Leipzig,  1811. 

For  a  very  full  view  of  the  History  of  the  interpretation  of  the  Apo¬ 
calypse,  and  of  the  works  that  have  been  written  on  it,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  Elliott’s  Horae  Apocalypticse,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  307-487,  and 
Prof.  Stuart,  vol.  i.,  pp.  450-475. 


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INTRODUCTION 


(5  1.  The  Writer  of  the  Book  of  Revelation. 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  question  who  was  the  author  of  this  book.  To 
enter  into  an  extended  investigation  of  this,  would  greatly  exceed  the  limits  which 
I  have,  and  would  not  comport  with  my  design  in  these  Notes.  For  a  full  exami¬ 
nation  of  the  question,  I  must  refer  to  others,  and  would  mention  particularly, 
Prof.  Stuart,  Com.  i.  283-427;  Lardner,  Works,  vi.  318-327;  Hug.  Intro,  to  the 
New  Testament,  pp.  650-673,  Andover,  1836;  Michaelis’  Introduction  to  the  New 
Testament,  iv.  457-544;  and  the  article  Revelation,  in  Kitto’s  Cyclopedia  of  Bibli¬ 
cal  Literature.  I  propose  to  exhibit,  briefly,  the  evidence  that  the  apostle  John 
was  the  author,  according  to  the  opinion  which  has  been  commonly  entertained 
in  the  church ; — the  proof  of  which  seems  to  me  to  be  satisfactory.  This  may  be 
considered  under  these  divisions : — the  direct  historical  evidence ;  and  the  insuffi¬ 
ciency  of  the  reason  for  doubting  it. 

I.  The  direct  historical  evidence.  The  sum  of  all  that  is  to  be  said  on  this 
point  is,  that  to  the  latter  half  of  the  third  century,  it  was  not  doubted  that  the 
apostle  John  was  the  author.  Why  it  was  ever  afterwards  doubted,  and  what  is 
the  force  and  value  of  the  doubt,  will  be  considered  in  another  part  of  this 
Introduction. 

There  may  be  some  convenience  in  dividing  the  early  historical  testimony  into 
three  periods  of  half  a  century  each,  extending  from  the  death  of  John,  about 
A.  D.  98,  to  the  middle  of  the  third  century. 

(a)  From  the  death  of  John,  about  A.  D.  98  to  A.  D.  150.  This  period  em¬ 
braces  the  last  of  those  men  who  conversed,  or  who  might  have  conversed  with 
the  apostles ;  that  is,  who  were,  for  a  part  of  their  lives,  the  contemporaries  of 
John.  The  testimony  of  the  writers  who  lived  then  would,  of  course,  be  very 
important.  Those  embraced  in  this  period  are  Hermas,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  and 
Papias.  The  evidence  of  this  period  is  not  indeed  very  direct,  but  it  is  such  as 
it  would  be  on  the  supposition  that  John  was  the  author,  and  there  is  nothing 
contradictory  to  that  supposition. 

Hermas,  about  A.  D.  100.  In  the  “Shepherd,”  or  “Pastor”  ascribed  to  this 
writer,  there  are  several  allusions  which  are  supposed  to  refer  to  this  book,  and 
which  resemble  it  so  much  as  to  make  it  probable  that  the  author  was  acquainted 
with  it.  Dr.  Lardner  thus  expresses  the  result  of  his  examination  of  this  point: 
(‘It  is  probable  that  Hermas  had  read  the  book  of  Revelation,  and  imitated  It 

(xi) 


Xll 


INTRODUCTION. 


He  has  many  things  resembling  it.”  Yol.  ii.,  p.  69-72.  There  is  no  direct  testi¬ 
mony,  however,  in  this  writer  that  is  of  importance. 

Ignatius.  He  was  bishop  of  Antioch,  and  flourished  A.  D.  70-107.  In  the 
latter  year  he  suffered  martyrdom,  in  the  time  of  Trajan.  Little,  however,  can 
be  derived  from  him  in  regard  to  the  Apocalypse.  He  was  a  contemporary  of 
John,  and  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  he  has  not  more  directly  alluded  to 
him.  In  the  course  of  a  forced  and  hurried  journey  to  Rome,  the  scene  of  his 
martyrdom,  he  wrote  several  epistles  to  the  Ephesians,  Magnesians,  Trallians, 
Romans,  Philadelphians,  Smyrneans,  and  to  Polycarp.  There  has  been  much 
controversy  respecting  the  authenticity  of  these  epistles,  and  it  is  generally  admitted 
that  those  which  we  now  possess  have  been  greatly  corrupted.  There  is  no  direct 
mention  of  the  Apocalypse  in  these  epistles,  and  Michaelis  makes  this  one  of  the 
strong  grounds  of  his  disbelief  of  its  genuineness.  His  argument  is,  that  the 
silence  of  Ignatius  shows,  either  that  he  did  not  know  of  the  existence  of  this 
book,  or  did  not  recognise  it  as  a  part  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  Little,  however, 
can  be  ever  inferred  from  the  mere  silence  of  an  author,  for  there  may  have  been 
many  reasons  why,  though  the  book  may  have  been  in  existence,  and  recognised 
as  the  writing  of  John,  Ignatius  did  not  refer  to  it.  The  whole  matter  of  the 
residence  of  John  at  Ephesus,  of  his  banishment  to  Patmos,  and  of  his  death,  is 
unnoticed  by  him.  There  are,  however,  two  or  three  allusions  in  the  epistles  of 
Ignatius  which  have  been  supposed  to  refer  to  the  Apocalypse,  or  to  prove  that 
he  was  familiar  with  that  work — though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  language  is 
so  general,  that  it  furnishes  no  certain  proof  that  he  designed  to  quote  it.  They 
are  these,  Epis.  to  the  Romans: — “In  the  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,”  comp.  Rev.  i. 
9;  and  Epis.  to  the  Ephesians:  —  “Stones  of  the  temple  of  the  Father  prepared 
for  the  building  of  God,”  comp.  Rev.  xxi.  2-19.  To  these  Mr.  John  Collyer 
Knight,  of  the  British  Museum,  in  a  recent  publication  (Two  new  Arguments  in 
vindication  of  the  genuiness  and  authenticity  of  the  Revelation  of  St.  John, 
London,  1842),  has  added  a  third:  Epis.  to  the  Philadelphians: — “If  they  do  not 
speak  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  they  are  but  sepulchral  pillars,  and  upon  them 
are  written  only  the  names  of  men.”  Comp.  Rev.  iii.  12,  “  Him  that  overcometh 
will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out,  and  I 
will  write  upon  him  the  name  of  my  God.”  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that 
this  coincidence  of  language  does  not  furnish  any  certain  proof  that  Ignatius 
had  seen  the  Apocalypse,  though  this  is  such  language  as  he  might  have  used  if 
he  had  seen  it.  There  was  no  known  necessity,  however,  for  his  referring  to  this 
book  if  he  was  acquainted  with  it,  and  nothing  can  be  inferred  from  his  silence. 

Polycarp.  He  was  bishop  of  Smyrna,  and  suffered  martyrdom,  though  at  what 
time  is  not  certain.  The  Chronicou  Paschale  names  A.  D.  163 ;  Eusebius,  167 ; 
Usher,  169;  and  Pearson,  148.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six,  and  conse¬ 
quently  was  cotemporary  with  John,  who  died  about  A.  D.  98.  There  is  but  one 
relic  of  his  writings  extant — his  epistle  to  the  Philippians.  There  is  in  Eusebius 
(iv.  15),  an  epistle  from  the  church  in  Smyrna  to  the  churches  in  Pontus,  giving 
an  account  of  the  martyrdom  of  Polycarp.  It  is  admitted  that  in  neither  of  these 
is  there  any  express  mention,  or  any  certain  allusion  to  the  book  of  Revelation. 


But  from  this  circumstance,  nothing  can  be  inferred  respecting  the  Apocalypse, 
either  for  or  against  it,  since  there  may  have  been  no  occasion  for  Polycarp  or 
his  friends,  in  the  writings  now  extant,  to  speak  of  this  book ;  and  from  their 
silence  nothing  more  should  be  inferred  against  this  book  than  against  the  epistle 
of  Paul,  or  the  gospel  by  John.  There  is,  however,  what  may,  without  impro¬ 
priety,  be  regarded  as  an  important  testimony  of  Polycarp  in  regard  to  this 
book.  Polycarp  was,  as  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose,  the  personal  friend  of 
John,  and  Irenaeus  was  the  personal  friend  of  Poly  carp.  Lardner,  ii.  94-96. 
Now  Irenaeus,  as  we  shall  see,  on  all  occasions,  and  in  the  most  positivo  manner, 
gives  his  clear  testimony  that  the  Apocalypse  was  written  by  the  apostle  John. 
It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  he  would  do  this  if  Polycarp  had  not  believed  it 
to  be  true,  and  certainly  he  would  not  have  been  likely  to  hold  this  opinion,  if 
one  who  was  his  own  friend,  and  the  friend  of  John,  had  doubted  or  denied  it. 
This  is  not  indeed  absolute  proof,  but  it  furnishes  strong  presumptive  evidence 
in  favor  of  the  opinion  that  the  book  of  Revelation  was  written  by  the  apostle 
John.  The  whole  history  of  Polycarp,  and  his  testimony  to  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  may  be  seen  in  Lardner,  ii.  94-114. 

Papias.  Papias  was  bishop  of  Hierapolis,  near  Colosse,  and  flourished,  accord¬ 
ing  to  Cave,  about  A.  D.  110;  according  to  others,  about  the  year  115,  or  116. 
How  long  he  lived  is  uncertain.  Irenteus  asserts  that  he  was  the  intimate  friend 
— iraipos — of  Polycarp,  and  this  is  also  admitted  by  Eusebius.  Eccl.  Hist.  iii.  39. 
He  was  the  contemporary  of  John,  and  was  probably  acquainted  with  him.  Euse¬ 
bius  expressly  says  that  he  was  “a  hearer  of  John.”  Lardner,  ii.  117.  Of  his 
writings  there  remain  only  a  few  fragments  preserved  by  Eusebius,  by  J erome, 
and  in  the  Commentary  of  Andrew,  bishop  of  Cesarea,  in  Cappadocia.  He  was 
a  warm  defender  of  the  Millennarian  doctrines.  In  his  writings  preserved  to  us 
(see  Lardner,  ii.  120-125),  there  is  no  express  mention  of  the  Apocalypse,  or 
direct  reference  to  it;  but  the  commentator  Andrew  of  Cesarea  reckons  him 
among  the  explicit  witnesses  in  its  favor.  In  the  Preface  to  his  commentary  on 
the  Apocalypse,  Andrew  says,  “In  regard  now  to  the  inspiration  of  the  book,  wo 
think  it  superfluous  to  extend  our  discourse,  inasmuch  as  the  blessed  Gregory, 
and  Cyril,  and  moreover  the  ancient  [writers]  Papias,  IrencBus,  Methodius,  and 
Hippolytus  bear  testimony  to  its  credibility.”  See  the  passage  in  Hug.  Intro,  p. 
652 ;  and  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  305.  And  in  nearly  the  same  words  does  Arethas,  the 
successor  of  Andrew,  bear  the  like  testimony.  The  evidence,  therefore,  in  this 
case  is  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  Polycarp,  and  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  Papias 
would  have  been  thus  referred  to,  unless  it  was  uniformly  understood  that  he 
regarded  the  hook  as  the  production  of  the  apostle  J ohn. 

These  are  all  the  testimonies  that  properly  belong  to  the  first  half  century  after 
the  death  of  John,  and  though  not  absolutely  positive  and  conclusive  in  them¬ 
selves,  yet  the  following  points  may  be  regarded  as  established: — (a)  The  book 
was  known ;  (6)  so  far  as  the  testimony  goes,  it  is  in  favor  of  its  having  been 
composed  by  John;  (c)  the  fact  that  he  was  the  author  is  not  called  in  question 
or  doubted;  ( d )  it  was  generally  ascribed  to  him;  (e)  it  was  probably  the  foun¬ 
dation  of  the  Millennarian  views  entertained  by  Papias: — that  is,  it  is  more 
2 


xiv 


INTRODUCTION, 


easy  to  account  for  his  holding  those  views,  by  supposing  that  the  book  was 
known,  and  that  he  founded  them  on  this  book,  than  in  any  other  way.  See  Prof. 
Stuart,  i.  304. 

( b )  The  second  half  century  after  the  death  of  John,  from  A.  D.  150  to  A.  D. 
200.  This  will  include  the  names  of  Justin  Martyr,  the  Narrator  of  the  Martyrs 
of  Lyons,  Irenseus,  Melito,  Theophilus,  Apollonius,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and 
Tertullian. 

Justin  Martyr.  He  was  a  Christian  philosopher,  bom  at  Flavia  Neapolis, 
anciently  called  Sichem,  a  city  of  Samaria,  it  is  supposed  about  A.  D.  103 ;  was 
converted  to  Christianity  about  A.  D.  133,  and  suffered  martyrdom  about  A.  D. 
165.  Lardner,  ii.  125-140.  He  was  partly  cotemporary  with  Polycarp  and 
Papias.  He  travelled  in  Egypt,  Italy,  and  Asia  Minor,  and  resided  sometime  at 
Ephesus.  He  was  endowed  with  a  bold  and  enquiring  mind,  and  was  a  man 
eminent  for  integrity  and  virtue.  Tatian  calls  him  an  “  admirable  man."  Me¬ 
thodius  says,  that  he  was  a  man  “not  far  removed  from  the  apostles  in  time  or  in 
virtue.”  Photius  says,  that  he  was  “  well  acquainted  with  the  Christian  philoso¬ 
phy,  and  especially  with  the  Heathen;  rich  in  the  knowledge  of  history,  and 
all  other  parts  of  learning.  Lardner.  He  was,  therefore,  well  qualified  to  ascer¬ 
tain  the  truth  about  the  origin  of  the  book  of  Revelation,  and  his  testimony  must 
be  of  great  value.  He  was  an  advocate  of  the  doctrine  of  Chiliasm  —  or,  the 
doctrine  that  Christ  would  reign  a  thousand  years  on  the  earth,  and  in  defence  of 
this  he  uses  the  following  language:  —  “And  a  man  from  among  us,  by  name 
John,  one  of  the  apostles  of  Christ,  in  a  Revelation  made  to  him — iv  'AroKaXiijjti 
yevofievn  airtji  —  has  prophesied  that  the  believers  in  one  Christ  shall  live  a  thou¬ 
sand  years  in  Jerusalem;  and  after  that  shall  be  the  general,  and  in  a  word,  the 
eternal  resurrection  and  judgment  of  all  men  together.”  There  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  that  there  is  an  allusion  here  to  the  Book  of  Revelation — for  the  very 
name  Revelation — A.iroKa\i\pi; — is  used;  that  Justin  believed  that  it  was  written 
by  the  apostle  John;  and  that  there  is  express  reference  to  what  is  now  chapter 
xx.  of  that  book.  The  book  was,  therefore,  in  existence  in  the  time  of  Justin — 
that  is,  in  about  fifty  years  after  the  death  of  John ;  was  believed  to  be  the  work 
of  the  apostle  John;  was  quoted  as  such,  and  by  one  who  had  lived  in  the  very 
region  where  John  lived,  and  by  a  man  whose  character  is  unimpeached,  and 
who,  in  a  point  like  this,  could  not  have  been  mistaken.  The  testimony  of  Justin 
Martyr,  therefore,  is  very  important.  It  is  positive ;  it  is  given  where  there  was 
every  opportunity  for  knowing  the  truth,  and  where  there  was  no  motive  for  a 
false  testimony ;  and  it  is  the  testimony  of  one  whose  character  for  truthfulness 
is  unimpeached. 

The  Narrative  of  the  Martyrs  of  Vienne  and  Lyons.  Lardner,  ii.  160-165. 
In  the  reign  of  Marcus  Antoninus,  Christians  suffered  much  from  persecution. 
This  persecution  was  particularly  violent  at  Lyons,  and  the  country  round  about. 
The  churches  of  Lyons  and  Vienne  sent  an  account  of  their  sufferings,  in  an 
epistle,  to  the  churches  of  Asia  and  Phrygia.  This,  according  to  Lardner,  was 
about  A.  D.  177.  The  epistle  has  been  preserved  by  Eusebius.  In  this  epistle, 
among  other  undoubted  allusions  to  tho  New  Testament,  the  following  occurs. 


INTRODUCTION, 


XV 


Speaking  of  Vettius  Epigathus,  they  say — “For  he  was  indeed  a  genuine  disciple 
of  Christ,  following  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goes.”  Comp.  Rev.  xiv.  2 :  “These 
are  they  which  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth.”  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  this  passage  in  Revelation  was  referred  to;  and  it  proves  that  the  book  was 
then  known,  and  that  the  writers  were  accustomed  to  regard  it  as  on  a  level  with 
the  other  sacred  writings. 

Irenceus.  The  testimony  of  this  father  has  already  been  referred  to  when 
speaking  of  Polycarp.  He  was  bishop  of  Lyons,  in  Gaul.  His  country  is  not 
certainly  known,  but  Lardner  supposes  that  he  was  a  Greek,  and,  from  his  early 
acquaintance  with  Polycarp,  that  ho  was  from  Asia.  When  a  youth  he  was  a 
hearer  of  Polycarp,  and  also  a  disciple  of  Papias.  He  was  born  about  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  second  century,  and  it  is  commonly  supposed  that  he  suffered  martyr¬ 
dom  m  extreme  old  age.  He  became  bishop  of  Lyons  after  he  was  seventy  years 
of  age,  and  wrote  his  principal  work,  Contra  Hcereses,  after  this.  His  testimony 
is  particularly  valuable,  as  he  was  in  early  life  acquainted  with  Polycarp,  who 
was  a  contemporary  and  friend  of  the  apostle  John.  Lardner,  ii.  165-192.  Of  his 
reference  to  the  book  of  Revelation,  Lardner  says :  “  The  Apocalypse,  or  Revela¬ 
tion,  is  orten  quoted  by  him  as  the  Revelation  of  John,  the  disciple  of  the  Lord.” 
In  one  place  he  says:  “It  was  seen  no  long  time  ago,  but  almost  in  our  age,  at 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian.”  And  again,  he  spoke  of  the  exact  and  ancient 
copies  of  the  hook,  as  if  it  was  important  to  ascertain  the  true  reading,  and  as  if 
it  were  then  possible  to  do  this.  Thus  Eusebius  (Lardner,  ii.  167)  says  of  him: 
“In  his  fifth  book  he  thus  discourses  of  the  Revelation  of  John,  and  the  compu¬ 
tation  of  the  name  of  Antichrist;  ‘These  things  being  thus,  and  this  number  being 
in  all  the  exact  and  ancient  copies,  and  they  who  saw  John  attesting  to  the  same 
things,  and  reason  teaching  us  that  the  number  of  the  name  of  the  beast,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  acceptation  of  the  Greeks,  is  expressed  by  the  letters  contained  in  it.'” 
Here  is  an  undoubted  reference  to  Rev.  xiiL  18.  This  evidence  is  clear  and  posi¬ 
tive.  Its  value  consists  in  these  things:  (a)  That  he  was  familiar  with  one  who 
was  a  friend  of  John;  (b)  that  he  must  have  known  his  views  on  the  subject;  (c) 
that  he  must  have  been  intimately  acquainted  with  the  common  opinion  on  the 
subject  of  the  authorship  of  the  book;  (d)  that  a  spurious  work  could  not  have 
been  palmed  upon  the  world  as  the  production  of  John;  (e)  that  he  bears  unequi¬ 
vocal  testimony  to  the  fact  that  it  was  written  by  John;  (f)  and  that  he  speaks 
of  the  “most  exact”  copies  being  then  in  existence,  and  testified  to  by  those  who 
had  seen  John  himself. 

Melito.  Lardner,  ii.  157-160.  He  was  bishop  of  Sardis,  one  of  the  churches 
to  which  the  book  of  Revelation  was  directed.  He  is  supposed  to  have  flourished 
about  A.  D.  170.  He  was  a  man  greatly  distinguished  for  learning  and  piety,  and 
Jerome  says  that  Christians  were  accustomed  to  name  him  a  prophet.  He  was, 
moreover,  remarkably  inquisitive  respecting  the  sacred  books,  and,  at  the  request 
of  Onesimus,  he  made  extracts  from  the  Scriptures  respecting  the  Messianic  pro¬ 
phecies,  and  also  a  complete  list  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  is  still 
extant  in  Eusebius.  Hist.  Ecc.  iv.  26.  He  wrote  a  Treatise,  or  Commentary  on 
the  Book  of  Revelation.  Dr.  Lardner  says  of  this,  “what  it  contained  we  are  net 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION. 


informed.  I  will  say  it  was  a  commentary  on  that  book.  It  is  plain  he  ascribed 
that  book  to  John,  and  very  likely  to  John  the  Apostle.  I  think  it  very  probable 
he  esteemed  it  a  book  of  canonical  authority.”  Hug  says  (p.  653),  “Melito  him¬ 
self  calls  it  the  Apocalypse  .of  John.”  Even  Michaelis  (Intro,  to  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  iv.  466),  reckons  Melito  among  the  witnesses  in  favor  of  the  book.  The 
value  of  this  testimony  is  this :  (a)  Melito  was  bishop  of  one  of  the  churches  to 
which  the  Apocalypse  was  directed,-  (6)  he  lived  near  the  time  of  John;  (c)  he 
was  a  diligent  student  on  this  very  subject;  ( d )  he  had  every  opportunity  of  ascer¬ 
taining  the  truth  on  the  subject;  (e)  he  regarded  it  as  the  work  of  the  apostle 
John;  (f)  and  he  wrote  a  Treatise,  or  commentary  on  it  as  an  inspired  book.  It 
is  not  easy  to  conceive  of  stronger  testimony  in  favor  of  the  book. 

Theophilus.  Lardner,  ii.  203-215.  He  was  bishop  of  Antioch,  and  flourished 
about  A.  D.  169-180.  He  wrote  a  work  against  the  “heresy”  of  Hermogenes, 
referred  to  by  Eusebius.  Ecc.  Hist.  iv.  24.  In  that  work  he  expressly  speaks  of 
the  Apocalypse  as  the  production  of  John,  and  Lardner  says  of  his  testimony, 
‘'That  the  book  of  Revelation  was  owned  by  him  is  undoubted  from  Eusebius. 
Eusebius  has  assured  us  that  Theophilus,  in  his  book  against  Hermogenes,  brought 
testimonies  from  the  Apocalypse  of  John.”  pp.  214,  215.  The  value  of  this  testi¬ 
mony  is,  that  Theophilus  doubtless  expressed  the  current  opinion  of  his  time,  and 
that  he  had  ample  opportunity  for  ascertaining  the  truth.  There  is  also  a  pas¬ 
sage  in  the  writings  of  Theophilus  which  seems  to  be  a  direct  allusion  to  the  Book 
of  Revelation:  “This  Eve,  because  she  was  deceived  by  the  Serpent  —  the  evil 
demon,  who  is  also  called  Satan,  who  thus  spoke  to  her  by  the  Serpent — does  not 
cease  to  accuse;  this  demon  is  also  called  the  dragon.”  Comp.  Rev.  xii.  9. 

Apollonius.  Lardner,  ii.  391-393.  He  flourished  about  A.  D.  192.  Eusebius 
says  of  him,  “He  makes  use  of  testimonies  out  of  the  Revelation  of  John.”  The 
value  of  this  testimony  is,  (a)  that  he  quotes  the  book  as  of  authority;  and 
(5)  that  he  ascribes  it  to  John,  evidently  meaning  the  Apostle  John. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.  Lardner,  ii.  222-259.  He  flourished  about  A.  D. 
192-220.  Many  of  his  writings  are  extant.  Lardner  (p.  245)  says  of  him,  “The 
book  of  Revelation  is  several  times  quoted  by  him,  and  once  in  this  manner : 
‘  Such  an  one,  though  here  on  earth  he  be  not  honored  with  the  first  seat,  shall 
sit  upon  the  four  and  twenty  thrones  judging  the  people,  as  John  says  in  the  Re¬ 
velation.’ ”  Comp,  Rev.  iv.  4,  xi.  16.  Lardner  adds,  “And  that  he  supposed  this 
writer  to  be  John  the  Apostle,  appears  from  another  place,  where  he  refers  to 
Rev.  xxi.  21,  as  the  words  of  the  apostle.”  Prof.  Stuart  says  (i.  317),  “  There  is 
no  good  ground  for  doubt,  from  any  thing  which  is  found  in  the  work,  that  he 
received  and  admitted  the  Apocalypse  as  a  work  of  John  the  Apostle.”  The 
known  character  of  Clement  makes  this  testimony  of  great  value. 

Tertullian.  He  was  the  contemporary  of  Clement,  and  was  the  most  ancient, 
and  one  of  the  most  learned  of  the  Latin  fathers.  Lardner,  ii.  267-306.  He  was 
born  at  Carthage,  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  and  died  about  A.  D. 
220.  He  was  bred  up  in  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  of  philoso¬ 
phy  and  the  Roman  law,  and  possessed  extensive  information.  “His  testimony 
to  the  Apocalypse  is  most  full  and  ample.  He  quotes,  or  refers  to  it  in  more  than 


INTRODUCTION. 


XVII 


seventy  passages  in  his  writings,  appealing  to  it  expressly  as  the  work  of  the 
apostle  John.”  Elliott,  i.  27.  “The  declarations  of  Tertullian  are  so  frequent 
and  plain,  that  no  doubt  can  possibly  remain  as  to  his  belief.”  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  318. 
“The  Revelation  of  John  is  often  quoted.  I  put  together  two  or  three  passages, 
which  show  his  full  persuasion  that  it  was  written  by  the  apostle  and  evangelist 
of  that  name.”  Lardner,  ii.  295.  One  of  the  passages  referred  to  by  Lardner  is 
the  following:  “  The  apostle  John,  in  the  Apocalypse,  describes  a  sharp  two-edged 
sword  coming  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.”  Another  is,  “Though  Marcion  rejects 
his  Revelation,  the  succession  of  bishops  traced  to  the  original,  will  assure  us 
that  John  is  the  author.”  There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  Tertullian 
regarded  the  apostle  John  as  the  author  of  the  book  of  Revelation;  and  his  con¬ 
fident  assertion  may  be  considered  an  expressive  of  the  prevailing  opinion  of  his 
time. 

Thus  far,  to  the  end  of  the  second  century,  the  testimony  of  the  fathers  of  the 
church,  as  far  as  we  now  have  it,  was  uniform  and  unbroken;  and  so  far  as 
historical  testimony  is  concerned,  this  should  be  permitted  to  decide  the  question. 
Marcion,  indeed,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Polycarp,  and  whom  Polycarp  called 
“the  first-born  of  Satan”  (Lardner,  ii.  95),  rejected  the  book  of  Revelation  (see 
the  declaration  of  Tertullian  in  Lardner,  ii.  275),  but  it  is  also  to  bo  remembered 
that  he  rejected  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  account  of  the  genealogy 
and  baptism  of  the  Saviour,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  epistles  to  Timothy, 
Titus,  the  Hebrews,  and  the  Catholic  epistles.  Lardner,  vi.  142-151,  347-350 ; 
viii.  489-513.  Besides  the  opinion  of  Marcion,  the  testimony  was  uniform,  with 
the  exception  of  the  heretical  sect  of  the  Alogi,  if  there  was  any  such  sect,  which 
is  generally  supposed  to  have  arisen  in  the  latter  half  of  this  century,  who  derived 
their  name  from  their  antipathy  to  the  name  of  Logos,  and  who  on  this  account 
denied  both  the  gospel  of  John  and  the  book  of  Revelation.  See  Lardner,  iv. 
190,  191 ;  viii.  627,  628.  Lardner,  however,  maintains  that  there  never  was  any 
Buch  a  sect.  viii.  628. 

(c)  The  third  half  century  after  the  death  of  John,  A.  D.  200-250.  Among 
the  names  embraced  in  this  period  are  those  of  Hippolytus,  who  flourished  about 
A.  D.  220;  Nepos,  an  Egpptian  bishop;  the  well-known  Origen,  the  most  acute 
critic  of  all  the  early  fathers,  and  who  devoted  his  life  to  the  study  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  ;  Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  246 ;  and  Metho¬ 
dius,  bishop  of  Olympia  in  Lycia.  All  these,  without  exception,  have  left  a  clear 
and  decided  expression  of  their  belief  that  the  apostle  John  was  the  author  of 
the  Apocalypse.  See  that  testimony  at  length  in  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  321-326. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  pursue  the  historical  evidence  further.  If  the  testimony 
in  favor  of  the  work  is  unbroken  and  clear  for  an  hundred  and  fifty  years,  the 
testimony  of  those  who  lived  subsequent  to  that  period  would  add  little  to  its 
strength.  To  the  names  already  mentioned,  however,  there  might  be  added  those 
of  Epiphanius,  Basil,  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  Ephrem  the  Syrian,  Ambrose,  Jerome, 
Augustine,  Hilary  of  Poictiers,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Chrysostom,  and  many  others. 

Such  is  the  external  positive  testimony  in  favor  of  the  opinion  that  the  book  of 
Revelation  was  written  by  the  apostle  John. 

2* 


XV111 


INTRODUCTION, 


To  this  might  be  added  certain  internal  marks,  or  certain  facts  in  the  life  of 
John  which  accord  with  this  supposition,  and  seem  to  confirm  it.  They  are  such 
that  if  they  did  not  exist  there  might  be  some  room  for  plausible  doubt,  though 
it  must  he  admitted  that,  in  themselves,  they  do  not  amount  to  positive  proof  of 
any  considerable  strength  that  he  was  the  author.  There  is  not  room  to  dwell 
upon  them,  and  they  can  only  be  briefly  referred  to.  They  are  such  as  these  : — 
(1.)  That  the  author  calls  himself  John,  evidently  with  the  design  of  representing 
himself  as  the  Apostle  of  that  name,  for  (a)  his  supposed  relation  to  the  churches 
of  Asia  Minor  is  such  as  the  relation  of  the  apostle  John  was,  and  ( b )  the  name 
John,  unless  there  was  something  to  qualify  it,  would  be  naturally  understood  as 
referring  to  the  apostle  of  that  name.  (2.)  The  fact  that  John  lived  at  Ephesus, 
and  was  well  known  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia  Minor.  (3.)  The  fact  that  he 
lived  to  extreme  old  age — to  the  time  when  the  book  was  supposed  to  have  been 
written.  See  §  2.  (4.)  The  fact  that  there  was  a  persecution  in  the  time  of  Domi- 

tian,  when  this  book  is  supposed  to  have  been  written ;  and  (5)  what  might  he 
derived  from  a  comparison  of  this  book  with  the  acknowledged  writings  of  John. 

II.  To  confirm  the  argument,  it  is  necessary  to  show  the  insufficiency  of  the 
reasons  for  doubting  that  John  was  the  author.  This  point  may  be  considered 
under  two  heads; — the  alleged  grounds  for  doubting  that  it  was  written  by  John 
by  the  ancients ;  and  the  reasons  alleged  by  the  moderns. 

.(1.)  The  ancients. 

(a)  It  has  been  maintained  that  it  was  rejected  by  Caius,  a  Presbyter  at  Rome. 
He  flourished,  according  to  Cave,  about  A.  D.  210.  See  Lardner,  ii.  394^410. 
There  is  a  single  passage  in  his  writings  from  which  it  has  been  inferred  that  he 
designed  to  reject  the  Apocalypse.  This  is  in  ther  following  words  :  “And  Cerin- 
thus  also,  who  by  his  revelations,  as  if  written  by  some  great  apostle,  imposes 
upon  us  monstrous  relations  of  things  of  his  own  invention,  as  shown  him  by  an 
angel,  says,  ‘  that  after  the  resurrection  there  shall  be  a  terrestrial  kingdom  of 
Christ,  and  that  men  shall  live  again  in  Jerusalem,  subject  to  sensual  desires  and 
pleasures.  And  being  an  enemy  to  the  divine  Scriptures,  and  desirous  to  seduce 
mankind,  he  says  there  will  he  a  term  of  a  thousand  years  spent  in  nuptial  enter¬ 
tainments.’  ”  Lardner,  ii.  400,  401. 

The  whole  force  of  this  depends  on  the  supposition  that  Caius  meant  to  refer  to 
Rev.  xx.  4 — 6. 

But  in  regard  to  this  the  following  remarks  may  he  made :  —  (a)  Caius  was 
strongly  opposed  to  Cerinthus  and  to  his  views ;  (h)  he  was  opposed  to  the  pre¬ 
vailing  doctrine  of  Chiliasm,  or  the  doctrine  of  the  Millennium,  as  then  exten¬ 
sively  held — that  Christ  would  reign  personally  on  the  earth  with  his  saints  for  a 
thousand  years ;  (c)  it  may  he  possible  that  Cerinthus  may  have  forged  a  work 
pretending  to  be  of  Apostolic  origin,  in  which  these  doctrines  were  affirmed ;  (d) 
it  is  possible  that  the  book  of  Revelation,  as  left  by  John,  may  have  been  inter¬ 
polated  and  corrupted  by  Caius  thus.  Some  one  of  these  suppositions  is  more 
probable  than  the  supposition  that  Caius  meant  to  reject  the  book  of  Revelation: — 
for 

1.  The  views  referred  to  by  Caius,  as  held  by  Cerinthus,  are  not  the  view 


INTRODUCTION, 


XIX 


which  are  found  in  Rev.  xx.  He  spoke  of  a  “terrestrial  kingdom  of  Christ;’' 
says  that  “men  would  again  live  in  Jerusalem that  they  “would  be  subject  to 
sensual  pleasures and  that  the  “  time  of  the  thousand  years  would  be  spent  in 
nuptial  entertainments.”  None  of  these  opinions  are  found  on  the  book  of  Re¬ 
velation  as  we  now  have  it. 

2.  The  title  given  by  Caius  to  the  book  —  Revelations  instead  of  Revelation  — 
'A.xoKa\v\pts  —  as  we  find  it  in  the  book  itself,  eh.  i.  1,  would  seem  to  indicate  a 
different  work  from  that  of  John.  Eusebius  always  refers  to  the  Apocalypse  by 
the  noun  singular  (Prof.  Stuart,  i.  341),  and  this  is  the  general  manner  in  which 
the  work  has  been  designated.  If  Caius  had  designed  to  refer  to  this,  it  is  proba¬ 
ble  that  he  would  have  used  the  common  term  to  designate  it. 

3.  These  views  receive  some  confirmation  from  a  passage  in  Theodoret,  “  who 
spoke  of  Cerinthus  in  such  a  way  as  seems  to  imply  that  he  had  forged  an  Apoca 
lypse  for  the  promotion  of  his  designs.”  That  passage  is,  “  Cerinthus  forged  cer¬ 
tain  revelations  as  if  he  himself  had  seen  them,  and  added  descriptions  of  certain 
terrible  things,  and  declares  that  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  will  be  established  on 
the  earth,”  Ac.  See  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  342.  On  the  whole,  nothing  of  material  im¬ 
portance  can  be  derived  from  the  testimony  of  Caius  in  proof  that  the  Apocalypse 
was  not  believed  to  have  been  written  by  John. 

( b )  Dionysius  of  Alexandria  doubted  the  genuineness  of  the  Apocalypse  as 
being  the  production  of  John,  though  he  did  not  deny  its  inspiration.  He  was 
made  bishop  of  the  See  of  Alexandria,  A.  D.  247,  or  248,  and  died  about  A.  D. 
264,  or  265.  See  Lardner,  ii.  643-722.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Origen,  and  enjoyed  a 
high  reputation.  The  full  testimony  of  Dionysius  in  regard  to  this  book  may  be 
seen  in  Lardner,  ii.  693-697.  I  will  copy  all  that  is  material  to  show  his  opinion. 
He  says,  “  Some  who  were  before  us  have  utterly  rejected  and  confuted  this  book, 
criticising  every  chapter;  showing  it  throughout  unintelligible  and  inconsistent; 
adding,  moreover,  that  the  inspiration  is  false,  forasmuch  as  it  is  not  John’s;  nor 
is  a  revelation  which  is  hidden  under  so  obscure  and  thick  a  veil  of  ignorance.” 
[Prof.  Stuart  (i.  346)  translates  this,  “It  contains,  moreover,  no  revelation;  for  it 
is  covered  with  a  strong  and  thick  veil  of  ignorance.”]  “  And  this  not  only  no 
apostle,  but  not  so  much  as  any  holy  or  ecclesiastical  man  was  the  author  of  this 
writing,  but  that  Cerinthus,  founder  of  the  heresy  called  after  him  the  Cerinthian, 
the  better  to  recommend*his  own  forgery,  prefixed  to  it  an  honorable  name.  For 
this  they  say  was  one  of  his  particular  notions,  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  should 
he  earthly;  consisting  of  those  things  which  he  himself,  a  carnal  and  sensual 
man,  most  admired,  the  pleasures  of  the  belly,  and  its  concupiscence;  that  is, 
eating,  and  drinking,  and  marriage;  and  for  the  more  decent  procurement  of 
these,  feastings,  and  sacrifices,  and  slaughters  of  victims.  But,  for  my  part,  I  dare 
not  reject  the  book,  since  many  of  the  brethren  have  it  in  high  esteem ;  but  allow¬ 
ing  it  to  be  above  my  understanding,  I  suppose  it  to  contain  throughout  some 
latent  and  wonderful  meaning;  for  though  I  do  not  understand  it,  I  suspect  there 
must  be  some  profound  sense  in  the  words;  not  measuring  and  judging  these 
things  by  my  own  reason,  but  ascribing  more  to  faith,  I  esteem  them  too  sublime 
to  be  comprehended  by  me.”  Then,  having  quoted  some  passages  from  tho  book, 


XX 


INTRODUCTION. 


he  adds,  speaking  of  the  author,  “  I  do  not  deny,  then,  that  his  name  is  John, 
and  that  this  is  John’s  book;  for  I  believe  it  to  be  the  work  of  some  holy  and 
inspired  person.  Nevertheless,  I  cannot  easily  grant  him  to  be  the  apostle,  the 
son  of  Zebedee,  brother  of  James,  whose  is  the  gospel  ascribed  to  John,  and  the 
Catholic  epistle ;  for  I  conclude  from  the  manner  of  each,  and  the  term  of  expres¬ 
sion,  and  the  conduct  of  the  book,  as  we  call  it,  that  her  is  not  the  same  person ; 
for  the  evangelist  nowhere  puts  down  his  name,  nor  does  he  speak  of  himself 
either  in  the  gospel  or  the  epistle.  I  think,  therefore,  that  he  [the  author]  is 
another,  one  of  them  that  dwelleth  in  Asia;  forasmuch  as  it  is  said,  that  there 
are  two  tombs  at  Ephesus,  each  of  them  called  John’s  tomb.  And  from  the  sen¬ 
timent,  and  words,  and  disposition  of  them,  it  is  likely  that  he  differed  from  him 
[who  wrote  the  gospel  and  epistle].” 

This  is  the  sum  of  all  that  Dionysius  says  in  regard  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
book. 

Respecting  this  the  following  remarks  may  be  made : — 

1.  Dionysius,  though  he  did  not  regard  the  work  as  the  work  of  John  the 
Apostle,  yet  received  it  as  an  inspired  book,  though  far  above  his  comprehension. 

2.  He  does  not  agree  with  those  who  altogether  rejected  it,  as  if  it  were  no 
revelation,  and  contained  no  inspired  truth. 

3.  He  did  not  ascribe  it,  as  it  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  Caius  did,  to 
Cerinthus. 

4.  All  the  objections  that  he  urges  to  its  being  the  work  of  the  apostle  John, 
are  derived  from  the  book  itself,  and  from  the  difficulty  of  supposing  that  the 
Gospel  of  John,  and  the  first  epistle  of  John,  should  have  been  written  by  the 
same  author.  He  refers  to  no  historical  proof  on  that  point ;  and  does  not  even 
intimate  that  it  genuineness  had  been  called  in  question  by  the  early  writers.  It 
is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  objections  of  Dionysius  should  not  be  allowed  to  set 
aside  the  strong  and  clear  proofs  of  an  historical  nature  already  adduced  from  the 
early  Christian  writers.  See  the  opinion  of  Dionysius  examined  more  at  length 
in  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  344^354.  Comp.  Hug.  Intro,  pp.  654-656. 

(c)  It  may  be  added,  in  regard  to  the  historical  testimony  from  the  ancients, 
that  the  book  is  not  found  in  many  of  the  early  catalogues  of  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  that  this  has  been  made  an  objection  to  its  authenticity. 
Thus  Gregory  of  Nazianzen,  in  a  piece  composed  in  verse,  containing  a  catalogue 
of  the  Canonical  Scriptures,  omits  the  book  of  Revelation ;  in  the  catalogue  of 
sacred  writings  annexed  to  the  canons  of  the  Council  of  Laodicea,  A.  D.  363,  it  is 
also  omitted ;  in  the  so-called  Canons  of  the  Apostles,  a  supposititious  work  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  fourth  century,  it  is  also  omitted ;  it  is  also  omitted  in  a  cata¬ 
logue  of  sacred  books  published  by  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  360;  and  it  is  men¬ 
tioned  by  Amphilocus,  bishop  of  Iconium,  A.  D.  380,  as  among  the  books  that 
were  doubtful:  —  “Some,”  says  he,  “admit  the  Apocalypse  of  John,  but  most 
persons  say  it  is  spurious.”  See  Michaelis,  Intro.  New  Tes.  iv.  489;  Prof.  Stuart, 
i.  357,  seq. 

In  regard  to  these  omissions,  and  the  doubts  entertained  by  later  writers  on  the 
subject,  it  may  be  remarked  in  general,  (1.)  that  it  is  well  known  that  in  the 


INTRODUCTION.- 


XXI 


latter  part  of  the  fourth  century  and  onward  many  doubts  were  entertained  as  to 
the  canonical  authority  of  til©  Apocalypse,  and  that,  together  with  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  the  second  epistle  of  Peter,  and  the  second  and  third  epistles  of  John, 
it  was  reckoned  among  the  books  called  Antilegomena ;  that  is,  books  spoken 
against,  or  books  whose  canonical  authority  was  not  admitted  by  all.  (2.)  This 
fact  shows,  as  has  been  often  remarked,  the  great  vigilance  of  the  church  in  the 
early  ages,  in  settling  the  canon  of  Scripture,  and  in  determining  what  books 
were  to  be  admitted,  and  what  were  to  be  rejected.  (3.)  These  doubts,  entertained 
in  a  later  age,  cannot  affect  the  clear  historical  testimony  of  the  early  writers,  as 
we  now  have  it ;  for  the  question  of  the  origin  of  the  Apocalypse,  so  far  as  the  histo¬ 
rical  testimony  is  concerned,  must  be  determined  by  tho  testimony  of  the  writers 
who  lived  near  the  time  when  it  is  alleged  to  have  been  written.  (4.)  The  objec¬ 
tions  alleged  against  the  Apocalypse  in  later  times,  were  wholly  on  internal 
grounds,  and  were  mainly  derived  from  the  fact  that  it  was  supposed  to  countenance 
the  doctrine  of  Chiliasm,  or  the  doctrine  of  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  and  tho 
saints,  for  a  thousand  years,  in  Jerusalem ;  and  from  the  fact  that  the  followers 
of  Cerinthus  appealed  to  this  book  in  support  of  their  pernicious  errors.  The 
book  seemed  (see  ch.  xx.)  to  countenance  the  views  early  entertained  by  many  on 
the  subject  of  the  Millennium,  and,  in  accordance  with  a  common  method  of 
controversy,  its  canonical  authority  was  therefore  called  in  question.  Thus  Hug 
(Intro,  p.  654),  says,  “It  was  amidst  the  disputes  concerning  the  Millennium,  that 
tho  first  explicit  and  well-authenticated  denial  of  the  Apocalypse  occurred.” 
Nepos,  Bishop  of  the  Arsinoitic  Prefecture  in  Egypt,  had  maintained  that  tho 
doctrine  of  the  Millennium  could  be  defended  from  the  book  of  Revelation,  by  a 
literal  exposition.  Dionysius  opposed  this  view,  and  in  the  violence  of  the  dis¬ 
pute  on  the  subject,  the  authority  of  the  Apocalypse  itself  was  called  in  question 
by  Dionysius,  on  the  grounds  referred  to  above.  “  He  did  this,  however,”  says 
Hug,  “with  such  moderation,  that  he  might  not  offend  those  who  had  so  readily 
agreed  to  a  compromise,-”  —  that  is,  a  compromise  by  which,  as  bishop,  he  had 
endeavored  to  reconcile  the  contending  parties.  Hug  has  shown  conclusively 
(pp.  654-656)  that  this  constitutes  no  objection  to  the  genuineness  of  the  book. 
It  was  on  such  internal  grounds  entirely  that  the  authenticity  of  the  book  was 
called  in  question,  and  that  it  was  ever  placed  among  the  disputed  books.  That 
objection  is,  of  course,  of  no  importance  now.  (5.)  It  is  well  known  that,  mainly 
by  the  influence  of  Jerome  and  Augustine  (see  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  334),  all  these 
doubts  were  removed,  and  that  the  Apocalypse  after  their  time  was  all  but  uni 
versally  received,  until  Luther,  for  reasons  derived  from  the  book  itself,  in  the 
early  part  of  his  life,  again  called  it  in  question. 

Such  is  a  summary  of  the  historical  argument  in  favor  of  the  genuineness  of 
the  book  of  Revelation ;  and  such  is  the  nature  of  the  evidence  which  has  satis¬ 
fied  the  Christian  world  at  large  that  it  is  the  work  of  the  apostle  John,  and  is, 
therefore,  entitled  to  a  place  as  an  inspired  book  in  the  canon  of  Scripture.  In 
ancient  times  there  were  no  objections  to  it  on  historical  grounds,  and  it  is  unne¬ 
cessary  to  say  that  there  can  be  none  on  these  grounds  now. 

(2.)  The  objections  to  its  genuineness  and  authenticity  in  modern  times,  are 


XXII 


INTRODUCTION. 


wholly  derived  from  the  contents  of  the  hook  itself.  These  objections,  as  stated 
by  De  Wette,  and  as  expressing  the  substance  of  all  that  is  urged  by  Ewald, 
Liicke,  Credner,  and  others,  are  the  following : 

1.  That  the  Apocalyptical  writer  calls  himself  John,  which  the  evangelist  never 
does.  It  is  added,  also,  by  Ewald,  Credner,  and  Hitzig,  that  in  chs.  xviii.  20,  and 
xxi.  14,  the  writer  expressly  excludes  himself  from  the  number  of  the  apostles. 

2.  That  the  language  of  the  book  is  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  fourth 
Gospel,  and  the  three  epistles  of  John  the  Apostle.  It  is  said  to  be  characterized 
by  strong  Hebraisms,  and  by  ruggedness  ;  by  negligence  of  expression,  and  by 
grammatical  inaccuracies ;  and  that  it  exhibits  the  absence  of  pure  Greek  words, 
and  of  the  apostle’s  favorite  expressions. 

3.  That  the  style  is  unlike  that  which  appears  in  the  Gospel  and  the  epistles. 
In  the  latter,  it  is  said,  there  is  calm,  deep  feeling ;  in  the  Apocalypse,  a  lively, 
creative  power  of  fancy. 

4.  That  the  doctrinal  aspect  of  the  book  is  different  from  that  of  the  apostle’s 
acknowledged  writings.  It  is  said  that  we  find  in  the  latter  nothing  of  the  “sen¬ 
suous  expectations  of  the  Messiah  and  of  his  kingdom,”  which  are  prominent  in 
the  Apocalypse ;  that  the  views  inculcated  respecting  spirits,  demons,  and  angels, 
are  foreign  to  John;  and  that  there  is  a  certain  spirit  of  revenge  flowing  through¬ 
out  the  Apocalypse,  quite  inconsistent  with  the  mild  and  amiable  disposition  of 
the  beloved  disciple. 

Eor  a  full  consideration  of  these  points,  and  a  complete  answer  to  these  objec¬ 
tions,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Commentary  of  Prof.  Stuart,  vol.  i.  pp.  371-422. 
A  more  condensed  reply  is  found  in  Kitto’s  Cyclopedia  of  Biblical  Literature,  in 
an  article  by  the  Rev.  S.  Davidson,  LL.  D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and 
Oriental  Languages  in  the  Lancashire  Independent  College,  vol.  ii.  pp.  614—618. 

The  objections  do  not  seem  to  me  to  have  the  importance  which  has  been 
attached  to  them  by  many  persons,  but  it  may  be  satisfactory  to  see  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  disposed  of  by  Dr.  Davidson  :  I  therefore  copy  his  answer  to 
them. 

“Let  us  now  consider  the  internal  evidence  in  favor  of  John  the  Apostle,  be¬ 
ginning  with  an  examination  of  the  arguments  adduced  on  the  other  side  by  De 
Wette.  These  do  not  possess  all  the  weight  that  many  assign  to  them.  We  shall 
follow  the  order  in  which  they  have  been  already  stated. 

1.  We  attach  no  importance  to  this  circumstance.  Why  should  not  a  writer  be 
at  liberty  to  name  himself  or  not  as  he  pleases ;  above  all,  why  should  not  a 
writer,  under  the  immediate  inspiration  of  the  Almighty,  omit  the  particulars 
which  he  was  not  prompted  to  record  ?  How  could  he  refrain  from  doing  so  ? 
The  Holy  Spirit  must  have  had  some  good  reason  for  loading  the  writer  to  set 
forth  his  name,  although  curiosity  is  not  gratified  by  assigning  the  reason.  The 
Old  Testament  prophets  usually  prefixed  their  names  to  the  visions  and  predic¬ 
tions  which  they  were  prompted  to  record;  and  John  does  the  same.  But  instead 
of  styling  himself  an  apostle,  which  carries  with  it  an  idea  of  dignity  and  official 
authority,  he  modestly  takes  to  himself  the  appellation  of  a  servant  of  Christ, 
the  brother  and  companion  of  the  faithful  in  tribulation.  This  corresponds  with 
the  relation  which  he  sustained  to  Christ  in  the  receiving  of  such  visions,  as  also 
with  the  condition  of  the  Redeemer  himself.  In  the  Gospel,  John  is  mentioned 
as  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  for  then  ho  stood  in  an  intimate  relation  to 
Christ,  as  the  Son  qf  man  appearing  in  the  form  of  a  servant ;  but  in  the  book 


INTRODUCTION, 


XX111 


before  us,  Christ  is  announced  as  the  glorified  Redeemer  who  should  quickly 
come  to  judgment,  and  John  is  his  servant,  entrusted  with  the  secrets  of  his 
house.  Well  did  it  become  the  apostle  to  forget  all  tho  honor  of  his  apostolic 
office,  and  to  be  abased  before  the  Lord  of  glory.  The  resplendent  vision  of  the 
Saviour  had  such  an  effect  upon  the  seer,  that  he  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead ;  and 
therefore  it  was  quite  natural  for  him  to  be  clothed  with  profound  humility,  to 
designate  himself  the  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  brother  and  companion  of 
the  faithful  in  tribulation.  Again,  in  ch.  xviii.  20,  the  prophets  are  said  to  bo 
represented  as  already  in  heaven  in  their  glorified  condition,  and  therefore  the 
writer  could  not  have  belonged  to  their  number.  But  this  passage  neither  affirms 
nor  necessarily  implies  that  the  saints  and  apostles  and  prophets  were  at  that  time 
in  heaven.  Neither  is  it  stated  that  all  the  apostles  had  then  been  glorified. 
Chapter  xxi.  14  is  alleged  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  modesty  and  humility  of 
John.  This  is  a  questionable  assumption.  The  official  honor  inseparable  from 
the  person  of  an  apostle  was  surely  compatible  with  profound  humility.  It  was  so 
with  Paul;  and  we  may  safely  draw  the  same  conclusion  in  regard  to  John.  In 
describing  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  it  was  necessary  to  introduce  the  twelve  apostles. 
The  writer  could  not  exclude  himself  (see  Liicke,  p.  389 ;  and  Guerike’s  Bei- 
trage,  p.  37,  sq.). 

2.  To  enter  fully  into  this  argument  would  require  a  lengthened  treatise.  Let 
us  briefly  notico  the  particular  words,  phrases,  and  expressions  to  which  Ewald, 
Liicke,  De  Wette,  and  Credner  specially  allude.  Much  has  been  written  by 
Ewald  concerning  the  Hebraistic  character  of  the  language.  The  writer,  it  is 
alleged,  strongly  imbued  with  Hebrew  modes  of  thought,  frequently  inserts  He¬ 
brew  words,  as  in  iii.  14;  ix.  11;  xii.  9,  10:  xix.  1,  3,  4,  6;  xx.  2;  xxii.  20; 
while  the  influence  of  cabbalistic  artificiality  is  obvious  throughout  the  entire 
book,  and  particularly  in  i.  4,  5  ;  iv.  2 ;  xiii.  18 ;  xvi.  14.  The  mode  of  employing 
the  tenses  is  foreign  to  the  Greek  language,  and  moulded  after  the  Hebrew  (i.  7 ; 
ii.  5,  16,  22,  23,  27;  iii.  9;  iv.  9-11;  xii.  2-4;  xvi.  15,  21;  xvii.  13,  14;  xviii.  11, 
15 ;  xxii.  7,  12).  So  also  the  use  of  the  participle  (i.  16;  iv.  1,  5,  8 ;  v.  6,  13;  vi. 
2,  5;  vii.  9,  10;  ix.  11;  x.  2;  xiv.  1,  14;  xix.  12,  13;  xxi.  14);  and  of  the  infini¬ 
tive  (xii.  7).  The  awkward  disposition  of  words  is  also  said  to  be  Hebraistic; 
such  as  a  genitive  appended  like  the  construct  state ;  the  stringing  together  of 
several  genitives  (xiv.  8,  10,  19;  xvi.  19;  xviii.  3,  14;  xix.  15;  xxi.  6;  xxii. 
18,  19) ;  and  the  use  of  the  Greek  cases,  which  are  frequently  changed  for 
prepositions  (ii.  10;  iii.  9;  vi.  1,  8 ;  viii.  7;  ix.  19;  xi.  6,  9;  xii.  5;  xiv.  2,  7); 
incorrectness  in  appositions  (i.  5  ;  ii.  20 ;  iii.  12 ;  iv.  2-4 ;  vi.  1 ;  vii.  9  ;  viii.  9 ;  ix. 
14;  xiii.  1-3;  xiv.  2,  12,  14,  20,  &c.);  a  construction  formed  of  an  airog  put 
after  the  relative  pronoun  (iii.  8;  vii.  2,  9;  xiii.  12;  xx.  8);  frequent  anoma¬ 
lies  in  regard  to  number  and  gender  (ii.  27;  iii.  4,  5;  iv.  8;  vi.  9,  10;  ix. 
13,  14;  xi.  15;  xiv.  1,  3;  xvii.  16;  xix.  14;  and  viii.  11;  xi.  18;  xv.  4;  xvii.  12, 
15;  xviii.  14;  xix.  21;  xx.  12;  xxi.  4,  24;  also,  xvi.  10;  xix.  1,  8,  9.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  this  it  is  alleged  by  Credner,  that  the  use  made  of  the  Old  Testament 
betrays  an  acquaintance  on  the  part  of  the  writer  with  tho  Hebrew  text  (comp, 
vi.  13,  14  with  Isa.  xxxiv.  4;  xviii.  2  with  Isa.  xiii.  21,  xxi.  9,  xxxiv  14,  Jer.  1. 
39;  xviii.  4,  5  with  Jer.  Ii.  6,  9,  45;  xviii.  7  with  Isa.  xlvii.  7,  8;  xviii.  21-23  with 
Jer.  xxv.  10,  li.  63,  64).  In  contrast  with  all  this,  we  are  reminded  of  the  fact 
that,  according  to  Acts  iv.  13,  John  was  an  unlearned  and  ignorant  man. 

The  book  is  deficient  in  words  and  turns  of  expression  purely  Greek,  such  as 
•navTOTC,  Tuiarorc,  ov&inore;  compound  verbs,  as  avayytWciv,  irapa\ap(5dveiv,  imfidWuv', 
the  double  negation ;  tho  genitive  absolute ;  the  attraction  of  the  relative  pro¬ 
noun  ;  the  regular  construction  of  the  neuter  plural  with  the  verb  singular  (ex¬ 
cept  viii.  3 ;  ix.  ?0 ;  xiv.  13;  xviii.  24;  xix.  14;  xxi.  12);  cikovuv  with  the  genitive. 
Favorite  expressions,  such  as  occur  in  the  Gospel  and  epistles,  are  seldom  found, 
as  dcaopai,  dcwpeoi,  cpyafypai,  phpara,  ndXiv,  (puivtiv,  pevciv,  Kad dig,  dig  (an  adverb  of 
time),  ohv,  ptv  pivroL,  Kdopos,  (pb>s,  osorla,  So^a^ctrdai,  bipouodai,  aldiviog,  airoWvadat, 

tiros  (rouro)  "va ;  the  historic  present.  There  are  also  favorite  expressions  of  the 
writer  of  this  book,  such  as  do  not  occur  in  John’s  authentic  writings:  obcovpevri , 
invopovrj ,  Kpareiv  rd  ivopa,  rr/v  SlSa^t/v,  iravroKparoip ,  6cbs  Kal  xajij p,  Svvapis,  Kpdrog, 


XXIV 


INTRODUCTION, 


IcX*1  S’  Tlphi  rptoTtSroK  is  rutv  vacp&v,  rj  apyh  rhs  Krlaews  roti  Qcov,  b  upx^v  tZv  fiaeiXeeir 
Tnsyrjs ,  iSt  in  the  beginning  of  a  sentence.  The  conjunction  el,  so  common  in  the 
Gospel,  does  not  occur  in  the  Apocalypse;  but  only  ei  pn ,  el  be  ptj,  and  ei  ns.  The 
frequent  joining  of  a  substantive  with  p eyas,  us  (puivfj  peydXtj,  SAi'^is  peyaXrj,  (pdfios 
peyas,  auarjos  peyas,  rather  reminds  one  of  Luke  than  John;  petfav,  so  frequent  in 
the  Gospel,  is  not  found  in  the  Revelation ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  loXvpos,  which 
occurs  seven  times  in  the  Apocalypse,  is  foreign  to  the  Gospel. 

The  following  discrepancies  between  the  language  of  the  Gospel  and  that  of 
the  epistles  have  been  noticed :  aXridtvds  is  used  of  God  both  in  the  Gospel  and 
the  Apocalypse,  but  in  different  senses ;  so  also  xtfptoj,  and  epyatypai ;  instead  of 
ibe  the  Apocalypse  has  only  ISov ;  instead  of  'lepoodXvpa  only  'lepovaaXfip ;  instead 
of  edv  tis,  as  in  the  Gospel,  ei  n; ;  itepi,  so  often  used  by  John,  occurs  only  once 
in  the  Apocalypse,  and  that  too  in  relation  to  place ;  o^Xos  is  used  in  the  plural. 
Words  denoting  seeing  are  differently  used  in  the  Gospel  and  Apocalypse;  thus, 
for  the  present  we  find  in  the  latter  (iXeiretv ,  dewpeiv  bpav ;  for  the  aorist  of  tho 
active  cTbov,  fiXeneiv,  and  dewpeiv ;  for  the  future  Sirreadai,  and  for  the  aorist  of  tho 
passive  also  Sirreadai ;  pevuv  has  a  different  meaning  from  that  which  it  bears  in 
the  Gospel ;  instead  of  b  d’p^wv  roD  Koapov,  and  b  KorripSs,  we  find  6  aaravas,  b  biapoXos, 
b  Spasu iv  b  peyas- 

Such  is  a  summary  statement  of  an  argument  drawn  out  at  great  length  by 
Liicke,  De  AVette,  Ewald,  and  Credner. 

Some  have  attempted  to  turn  aside  its  force  by  resorting  to  the  hypothesis  that 
the  book  was  originally  written  in  Hebrew,  and  then  translated  into  Greek.  This, 
however,  is  contradicted  by  the  most  decisive  internal  evidence,  and  is  in  itself 
highly  improbable.  The  Apocalypse  was  written  in  the  Greek  language,  as  all 
antiquity  attests.  How  then  are  we  to  account  for  its  Hebraistic  idioms  and 
solecisms  of  language,  its  negligences  of  diction,  and  ungrammatical  construc¬ 
tions?  One  circumstance  to  be  taken  into  account  is,  that  the  nature  of  the 
Gospel  is  widely  different  from  that  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  latter  is  a  prophetio 
book — a  poetical  composition — while  the  former  is  a  simple  record  in  prose,  of  the 
discourses  of  Jesus  in  the  days  of  his  flesh.  It  is  apparent,  too,  that  John  in  the 
Apocalypse  imitates  the  manner  of  Ezekiel  and  Daniel.  The  New  Testament 
prophet  conforms  to  the  diction  and  symbolic  features  of  the  former  seers.  ‘  If 
the  question  should  be  urged,  why  John  chose  these  models?  the  obvious  answer 
is,  that  he  conformed  to  the  taste  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  The  numerous 
apocryphal  works  of  an  Apocalyptical  nature,  which  were  composed  nearly  at  the 
same  time  with  the  Apocalypse,  such  as  the  book  of  Enoch,  the  Ascension  of 
Isaiah,  the  Testament  of  the  twelve  patriarchs,  many  of  the  Sibylline  Oracles,  the 
fourth  book  of  Ezra,  the  Pastor  of  Hermas,  and  many  others  which  are  lost —  all 
testify  to  the  taste  and  feelings  of  the  times  when,  or  near  which,  the  Apocalypse 
was  written.  If  this  method  of  writing  was  more  grateful  to  the  time  in  which 
John  lived,  it  is  a  good  reason  for  his  preferring  it.®  In  consequence  of  such 
imitation,  the  diction  has  an  Oriental  character;  and  the  figures  are  in  the  highest 
style  of  imagery  peculiar  to  the  East.  But  it  is  said  that  J ohn  was  an  illiterate 
man.  Illiterate,  doubtless,  he  was  as  compared  with  Paul,  who  was  brought  up 
at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel;  yet  he  may  have  been  capable  of  reading  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  books ;  and  he  was  certainly  inspired.  Rapt  in  ecstacy,  he  saw  wondrous 
visions.  He  was  in  the  Spirit.  And  when  writing  the  things  he  beheld,  his  lan¬ 
guage  was  to  be  conformed  to  the  nature  of  such  marvellous  revelations.  It  was 
to  be  adapted  to  the  mysterious  disclosures,  the  vivid  pictures,  the  moving  scenes, 
the  celestial  beings  and  scenery  of  which  ho  was  privileged  to  tell.  Hence  it  was 
to  be  lifted  up  far  above  the  level  of  simple  prose  or  biographic  history,  so  as  to 
correspond  with  the  sublime  visions  of  the  seer.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that 
ho  was  not  in  the  circumstances  of  an  ordinary  writer.  He  was  inspired.  How 
often  is  this  fact  lost  sight  of  by  the  German  critics!  It  is  therefore  needless  to 
inquire  into  his  education  in  the  Hebrew  language,  or  his  mental  culture  while 
residing  in  Asia  Minor,  or  the  smoothness  of  the  Greek  language  as  current  in 


*  Stuart,  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  pp.  353,  354. 

■I  ** 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXV 


the  place  where  he  lived,  before  and  after  he  wrote  the  Apocalypse.  The  Holy 
Spirit  qualified  him  beyond  and  irrespective  of  ordinary  means,  for  the  work  of 
writing.  However  elevated  the  theme  he  undertook,  he  was  assisted  in  employ¬ 
ing  diction  as  elevated  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  demanded.  We  place,  there¬ 
fore,  little  reliance  upon  the  argument  derived  from  the  time  of  life  at  which  the 
Apocalypse  was  composed,  though  Olshausen  and  Guerike  insist  upon  it.  Written, 
as  they  think,  twenty  years  before  the  Gospel  or  epistles,  the  Apocalypse  exhibits 
marks  of  inexperience  in  writing,  of  youthful  fire,  and  of  an  ardent  temperament. 
It  exhibits  the  first  essays  of  one  expressing  his  ideas  in  a  language  to  which  he 
was  unaccustomed.  This  may  be  true ;  but  we  lay  far  less  stress  upon  it  than 
these  authors  seem  inclined  to  do.  The  strong  Hebraized  diction  of  the  book  we 
account  for  on  the  ground  that  the  writer  was  a  Jew ;  and,  as  such,  expressed  his 
Jewish  conceptions  in  Greek;  that  he  imitated  the  later  Old  Testament  prophets, 
especially  the  manner  of  Daniel;  and  that  the  only  prophetic  writing  in  the  New 
Testament  naturally  approaches  nearer  the  Old  Testament,  if  not  in  subject,  at 
least  in  coloring  and  linguistic  features. 

These  considerations  may  serve  to  throw  light  upon  the  language  of  the  book, 
after  all  the  extravagances  of  assertion  in  regard  to  anomalies,  solecisms,  and 
ruggednesses,  have  been  fairly  estimated.  For  it  cannot  be  denied  that  many 
rash  and  unwarrantable  assumptions  have  been  made  by  De  Wette  and  others 
relative  to  the  impure  Greek  said  to  be  contained  in  the  Apocalypse.  Winer  has 
done  much  to  check  such  bold  assertions,  but  with  little  success  in  the  case  of 
those  who  are  resolved  to  abide  by  a  strong  and  prevalent  current  of  opinion. 
We  venture  to  affirm,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  there  are  books  of  the 
New  Testament  almost  as  Hebraizing  as  the  Apocalypse;  and  that  the  anomalies 
charged  to  the  account  of  the  Hebrew  language  may  be  paralleled  in  other  parts 
of  the  New  Testament  or  in  classical  Greek.  What  shall  be  said,  for  instance,  to 
the  attempt  of  Hitzig  to  demonstrate  from  the  language  of  Mark’s  Gospel,  as 
compared  with  that  of  the  Apocalypse,  that  both  proceeded  from  one  author,  viz., 
John  Mark?  This  author  has  conducted  a  lengthened  investigation  with  the  view 
of  showing  that  all  the  peculiarities  of  language  found  in  the  Apocalypse  are 
equally  presented  in  the  second  Gospel,  particularly  that  the  Hebraisms  of  the 
one  correspond  with  those  of  the  other.  Surely  this  must  lead  to  new  investiga¬ 
tions  of  the  Apocalyptic  diction,  and  possibly  to  a  renunciation  of  those  extrava¬ 
gant  assertions  so  often  made  in  regard  to  the  harsh,  rugged,  Hebraized  Greek  of 
the  Apocalypse.  Who  ever  dreamed  before  of  the  numerous  solecisms  of  Mark’s 
language  ?  and  yet  Hitzig  has  demonstrated  its  similarity  to  the  Apocalyptic  as 
plausibly  as  Ewald,  Liieke,  and  ethers  have  proved  the  total  dissimilarity  between 
the  diction  of  the  Apocalypse  and  that  of  John’s  Gospel. 

The  length  allotted  to  this  article  will  not  allow  the  writer  to  notice  every  term 
and  phrase  supposed  to  be  peculiar.  This  can  only  be  done  with  success  by  him 
who  takes  a  concordance  to  the  Greek  Testament  in  his  hand,  with  the  determi¬ 
nation  to  test  each  example ;  along  with  a  good  syntax  of  classical  Greek,  such 
as  Bernhardy’s.  In  this  way  he  may  see  whether  the  alleged  Hebraisms  and 
anomalies  have  not  their  parallels  in  classical  Greek.  Some  of  the  allegations 
already  quoted  are  manifestly- incorrect,  e.  g.  that  aKoxno  with  the  genitive  is  not 
found  in  the  Apocalypse.  On  the  contrary,  it  occurs  eight  times  with  the  genitive. 
Other  words  are  adduced  on  the  principle  of  their  not  occurring  so  frequently  in 
the  book  before  us  as  in  the  Gospel  and  epistles.  But  by  this  mode  of  reasoning 
it  might  be  shown,  that  the  other  acknowledged  writings  of  the  apostle  John,  for 
instance  his  first  epistle,  are  not  authentic.  Thus  fc/jpara,  one  of  the  words  quoted, 
though  frequently  found  in  the  Gospel,  is  not  in  any  of  the  three  epistles ;  there¬ 
fore,  these  epistles  were  not  written  by  John.  It  is  found  once  in  the  Apocalypse. 
Again,  epyd^opat,  which  is  found  seven  times  in  the  Gospel,  and  once  in  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse,  as  also  once  in  each  of  the  second  and  third  epistles,  is  not  in  the  first 
epistle ;  therefore  the  first  epistle  proceeded  from  another  writer  than  the  author 
of  the  second  and  third.  The  same  reasoning  may  be  applied  to  Qetoplo).  Again, 
it  is  alleged  that  the  regular  construction  of  neuters  plural  with  singular  verbs  is 
not  found,  with  the  exception  of  six  instances.  To  say  nothing  of  the  large  list 

8 


XXVI 


INTRODUCTION. 


of  exceptions,  let  it  be  considered,  that  the  plural  verb  is  joined  with  plural 
nouns  where  animate  beings,  especially  persons,  are  designated.  Apply  now  this 
principle,  which  regularly  holds  good  in  classical  Greek,  to  the  Apocalypse,  and 
nothing  peculiar  will  appear  in  the  latter.  Should  there  still  remain  examples  of 
neuters  plural  designating  things  without  life,  we  shall  find  similar  ones  in  the 
Greek  writers.  Another  mode  in  which  the  reasoning  founded  upon  the  use  of 
peculiar  terms  and  expressions  may  be  tested,  is  the  following.  It  is  admitted 
that  there  are  words  which  occur  in  the  Gospel  and  epistles,  but  not  in  the  Apo¬ 
calypse.  The  adverb  -rdvrort  is  an  example.  On  the  same  principle  and  by  virtue 
of  the  same  reasoning,  it  may  be  denied,  as  far  as  language  is  concerned,  that  1 
Timothy  was  written  by  Paul,  because  irdvroTe,  which  is  found  in  his  other  epis¬ 
tles,  does  not  occur  in  it.  In  this  manner  we  might  individually  take  up  each 
word  and  every  syntatical  peculiarity  on  which  the  charge  of  harshness,  or  sole¬ 
cism,  or  Hebraizing  has  been  fastened.  It  is  sufficient  to  state,  that  there  are  very 
few  real  solecisms  in  the  Apocalypse.  Almost  all  that  have  been  adduced  may 
be  paralleled  in  Greek  writers,  or  in  those  of  the  New  Testament.  The  words  of 
Winer,  a  master  in  this  department,  are  worthy  of  attention  :  ‘  The  solecisms  that 
appear  in  the  Apocalypse  give  the  diction  the  impress  of  great  harshness,  but 
they  are  capable  of  explanation,  partly  from  anacoluthon  and  the  mingling  of  two 
constructions,  partly  in  another  manner.  Such  explanation  should  have  been 
always  adopted,  instead  of  ascribing  these  irregularities  to  the  ignorance  of  the 
author,  who,  in  other  constructions  of  a  much  more  difficult  nature  in  this  very 
book,  shows  that  he  was  exceedingly  well  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  grammar. 
For  most  of  these  anomalies  too,  analogous  examples  in  the  Greek  writers  may 
be  found,  with  this  difference  alone,  that  they  do  not  follow  one  another  so  fre¬ 
quently  as  in  the  Apocalypse’  ( Grammatik ,  fiinfte  Auflage,  pp.  273,  4).  Should 
the  reader  not  be  satisfied  with  this  brief  statement  of  Winer,  he  is  referred  to 
his  Exeget.  Studien,  i.  154,  sq.,  where  the  Professor  enters  into  details  with  great 
ability. 

The  following  linguistic  similarities  between  John’s  Gospel  and  the  Apocalypse 
deserve  to  be  cited :  ptrd  ravra,  Apoc.  i.  19  ;  iv.  1 ;  vii.  1,  9 ;  ix.  12 ;  xv.  5 ;  xviii. 
1 ;  xix.  1 ;  xx.  3 ;  Gosp.  iii.  22 ;  v.  1,  14 ;  vi.  1 ;  vii.  1 ;  xix.  38  ;  xxi.  1 ;  iii.  22 ; 
v.  1,  14 ;  vi.  1 ;  vii.  1 ;  xix.  38 ;  xxi.  1 ;  f taprvpia ,  Apoc.  i.  2,  9  ;  vi.  9  ;  xi.  7 ;  xii. 
11,  17  ;  xix.  10 ;  xx.  4.  Gosp.  paprvpeu)  or  paprvpia,  i.  7,  8,  15,  19,  32,  34 ;  ii.  25 ; 
iii.  11,  26,  28,  32,  33;  iv.  3,  9,  44;  v.  31,  32,  33,  34,  36,  37,  39;  1  Epist.  i.  2;  iv. 

14;  v.  6-11.  iva,  Apoc.  ii.  10,  21;  iii.  9,  11,  18;  vi.  2,  4,  11;  vii.  1,  Ac.  Ac. 

Gosp.  vi.  5,  7,  12,  15,  28,  29,  30,  38,  39,  40,  50;  xi.  4,  11,  15,  16,  19,  31,  37,  42, 

50,  52,  53,  55,  57 ;  xii.  9,  10  20,  23,  35,  Ac.  1  Epist.  of  John,  i.  3,  4,  9;  ii.  1, 

19,  27,  28.  6-kif,  Gosp.  vii.  24;  xi.  44.  Apoc.  i.  16.  md^uv,  Apoc.  xix.  20.  Gosp. 
vii.  30,  32,  44;  viii.  20;  x.  39 ;  xi.  57 ;  xxi.  3,  10.  rnpt'iv  t6v  \6yov,  ras  tvroXaj,  or 
some  similar  expression,  Apoc.  iii.  8,  10 ;  xii.  17  ;  xiv.  12 ;  xxii.  7,  9.  Gosp.  viii. 

51,  55  ;  xiv.  15 ;  xxiii.  24,  Ac.  b  vikHv,  Apoc.  ii.  7,  11,  17,  26 ;  iii.  5,  15,  21 ;  xv. 
2  ;  xxi.  7.  This  verb  is  quite  common  in  the  first  epistle,  ii.  13,  14;  iv.  4;  v.  4, 
5.  Gosp.  xvi.  33.  85u> p  Apoc.  xxi.  6 ;  xxii.  17;  comp.  Gosp.  vii.  38.  Com¬ 
pare  also  the  joining  together  of  the  present  and  the  future  in  Apoc.  ii.  5  and 
Gosp.  xiv.  3.  The  assertion  of  the  same  thing  positively  and  negatively,  Apoc. 

ii.  2,  6,  8,  13 ;  iii.  8,  17,  21 ;  Gosp.  i.  3,  6,  7,  20,  48 ;  iii.  15,  17,  20 ;  iv.  42 ;  v.  19, 

24 ;  viii.  35,  45 ;  x.  28 ;  xv.  5,  6,  7.  1  Epist.  ii.  27,  Ac.  In  several  places  in 

the  Apocalypse  Christ  is  called  the  Lamb;  so  also  in  the  Gospel,  i.  29,  36. 
Christ  is  called  6  \6yos  tov  Qeov,  Apoc.  xix.  13,  and  in  the  Gospel  of  John  only  has 
he  the  same  epithet,  rripeiv  ik  tiv6;,  Apoc.  iii.  10.  Gosp.  xvii.  15.  ctpdTTCiv, 
Apoc.  v.  6,  9,  12;  vi.  4,  9 ;  xiii.  3,  8;  xviii.  24;  only  in  the  1st  Epist.  of  John, 

iii.  12.  exclv  pip°s,  Apoc.  xx.  6.  Gosp.  xiii.  8.  ntpmariiv  p\rd  tivos,  Apoc.  iii.  4. 
Gosp.  vi.  66.  oKrjvio),  Apoc.  vii.  15;  xii.  12;  xiii.  6;  xxi.  3.  Gosp.  i.  14. 
The  expulsion  of  Satan  from  heaven  is  expressed  thus  in  the  Apoc,  xii.  9 :  i0\rj9rj 
eis  T7i v  yrjv ;  in  the  Gosp.  it  is  said,  vvv  b  ap^tov  tov  sicpov  tovtov  hc(i\ridfiotT<u  tfu >, 
xii.  31.  (See  Scholz,  Die  Apokalypse  des  heilig.  Johannes  ubersetzt,  erklart,  u.  s. 
w.  Frankfurt  am  Main,  1828,  8vo.;  Schulz,  Ueber  den  Schriftsteller,  Character  und 
Werth  des  Johannes,  Leipzig,  1803,  8vo. ;  Donker  Curtius,  Specimen  hermeneuti- 


INTRODUCTION. 


xxvii 


cotheologicum  de  Apocalypsi  ab  indole,  doctrina  et  scribendi  genere  Johann  is 
Apostoli  non  abhorrente,  Trajecti  Batav.  1799.  8vo. ;  Kolthoff,  Apocalypsis  Joanni 
Apostoli  vmdicata,  Hafniae,  1834,  8vo.;  Stein  (in  Winer  and  Engelhardt’s 
Krilisch.  Journal,  v.  i.),  and  the  Jena  Literatur-Zeitung  for  April,  1833,  No.  61). 
It  ia  true,  that  some  of  these  expressions  are  said  by  Liicke,  De  Wette,  and 
Credner,  to  be  used  in  a  different  sense  in  the  Apocalypse;  others  not  to  be  cha¬ 
racteristic,  hut  rather  accidental  and  casual;  others  not  original,  but  borrowed. 
Such  assertions,  however,  proceed  more  from  a  priori  assumption  than  from  any 
inherent  truth  they  possess.  In  regard  to  the  charge  of  cabbalism,  especially  in 
the  use  of  numbers,  it  is  easily  disposed  of.  The  cabbala  of  the  Jews  was  widely 
different  from  the  instances  in  the  Apocalypse  that  have  been  quoted.  Perhaps 
John’s  use  of  the  number  666  comes  the  nearest  to  one  kind  of  the  cabbala;  but 
still  it  is  so  unlike  as  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the  apostle  did  not  employ 
the  cabbalistic  art.  His  mysterious  indications  of  certain  facts,  and  the  reasons 
of  their  being  in  some  measure  involved  in  darkness,  are  explicable  on  other  than 
J ewish  grounds.  There  is  no  real  cause  for  believing  that  the  apostle  had  recourse 
to  the  artificial  and  trifling  conceits  of  the  Rabbins.  In  short,  this  argument  is 
by  no  means  conclusive.  As  far  as  the  language  is  concerned  nothing  militates 
against  the  opinion  that  the  Apocalypse  proceeded  from  John,  who  wrote  the 
Gospel.  The  contrary  evidence  is  not  of  such  a  nature  as  to  demand  assent. 
When  rigidly  scrutinized,  it  does  not  sustain  the  conclusion  so  confidently  built 
upon  it. 

But  it  is  also  affirmed,  that  the  doctrinal  views  and  sentiments  inculcated  in 
the  Apocalypse  are  quite  different  from  those  found  in  the  Gospel.  This  may  be 
freely  allowed  without  any  detriment  to  their  identity  of  authorship.  How  slow 
the  Germans  are  in  learning  that  a  difference  in  the  exhibition  of  truths  substan¬ 
tially  the  same,  is  far  from  being  a  contradiction !  A  difference  of  subject  in  con¬ 
nection  with  a  different  plan,  demands  correspondent  dissimilarity  of  treatment. 
Besides,  there  must  be  a  gradual  development  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  Sensuous  expectations  of  the  Messiah,  such  as  are 
alleged  to  abound  in  the  Apocalypse,  may  be  perfectly  consistent  with  the  spi¬ 
rituality  of  his  reign,  though  it  appears  to  us  that  the  representations  so  designated 
are  figurative,  shadowing  forth  spiritual  realities  by  means  of  outward  objects. 

But  what  is  to  be  said  of  the  pneumatological,  demonological,  and  angelogieal 
doctrines  of  the  book?  The  object  for  which  John’s  Gospel  was  primarily  written 
did  not  lead  the  apostle  to  introduce  so  many  particulars  regarding  angels  and 
evil  spirits.  The  intervention  of  good  and  the  malignant  influence  of  evil  spirits 
are  clearly  implied  in  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  particularly  in  Zeehariah  and 
Daniel.  It  is  therefore  quite  accordant  with  the  prophetic  Hebraistic  character 
of  the  Apocalypse,  to  make  angelic  agency  a  prominent  feature  in  the  book.  And 
that  such  agency  is  recognised  in  the  Gospels,  is  apparent  to  the  most  cursory 
reader.  The  special  object  with  which  the  fourth  Gospel  was  written  was  different 
from  that  which  prompted  the  composition  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  therefore  the 
subject-matter  of  both  is  exceedingly  diverse.  But  still  there  is  no  opposition  in 
doctrine.  The  same  doctrinal  views  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  the  representa¬ 
tions  contained  in  them.  In  the  one,  the  Redeemer  is  depicted  in  his  humble 
career  on  earth ;  in  the  other,  in  his  triumphs  as  a  king — or  rather,  in  the  victo¬ 
rious  progress  of  his  truth  in  the  world,  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  Satan 
and  wicked  men  to  suppress  it.  As  to  a  spirit  of  revenge  in  the  Apocalyptic 
writer,  it  is  not  found.  The  inspired  prophet  was  commissioned  to  pronounce  woes 
and  judgments  as  soon  to  befal  the  enemies  of  Christ,  in  consequence  of  their 
persevering,  malignant  efforts.  As  well  might  an  evil  disposition  be  attributed  to 
the  blessed  Saviour  himself,  in  consequence  of  his  denunciation  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees.  The  same  John  who  wrote  the  Apocalypse  says,  in  the  second 
epistle,  ver.  10,  ‘if  there  come  any  unto  you  and  bring  not  this  doctrine,  receive 
him  not  into  your  house,  neither  bid  him  God  speed.’  It  must  ever  strike  the 
simple  reader  of  the  Apocalypse,  as  a  positive  ground  for  attributing  the  author¬ 
ship  to  John  the  Apostle,  that  he  styles  himself  the  servant  of  God  by  way  of 
eminence,  which  none  other  at  that  time  would  have  ventured  to  do ;  and  that  he 


XXviii  INTRODUCTION. 

employs  the  expression,  I  John,  after  the  manner  of  Daniel,  as  if  he  were  the 
only  prophet  and  person  of  the  name.  Nor  can  it  be  well  believed  that  a  disciple 
of  the  apostle,  or  any  other  individual,  should  have  presumed  to  introduce  John 
as  the  speaker,  thus  deceiving  the  readers.  The  apostle  was  well  known  to  the 
Christians  of  his  time,  and  especially  to  the  Asiatic  churohes.  He  did  not  there¬ 
fore  think  it  necessary  to  say  John  the  Apostle  for  the  sake  of  distinguishing 
himself  from  any  other.  (See  Zullig’s  Die  Offenbarung  Johannis,  Stuttgart,  1834, 
8vo.  p.  136.)” 

§  2.  The  time  of  writing  the  Apocalypse. 

The  evidence  as  to  the  date  of  the  Apocalypse,  may  be  considered  as  external 
or  historical,  and  internal. 

1.  External  or  historical.  On  this  point  the  testimony  of  the  early  Christian 
Fathers  is  almost  or  quite  uniform,  that  it  was  in  the  latter  part  of  the  life  of  the 
apostle  John,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian;  that  is  about  A.  D. 
95  or  96. 

The  principal  testimony  to  this  fact  is  that  of  Irenasus.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  he  was  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  who  was  himself  the  disci¬ 
ple  of  the  apostle  John.  See  §  1,  (6).  He  had,  therefore,  every  opportunity  of 
obtaining  correct  information,  and  doubtless  expresses  the  common  sentiment  of 
his  age  on  the  subject.  His  character  is  unexceptionable,  and  he  had  no  induce¬ 
ment  to  bear  any  false  or  perverted  testimony  in  the  case.  His  testimony  is  plain 
and  positive  that  the  book  was  written  near  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Domitian,  and 
the  testimony  should  be  regarded  as  decisive  unless  it  can  be  set  aside.  His  lan¬ 
guage  in  regard  to  the  book  of  Revelation  is  : — “It  was  seen  no  long  time  ago,  but 
almost  in  our  age,  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian.”  Lardner,  ii.  181.  Or, 
as  the  passage  is  translated  by  Prof.  Stuart : — “  The  Apocalypse  was  seen  not  long 
ago,  but  almost  in  our  generation,  near  the  end  of  Domitian’s  reign.”  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  therefore,  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  passage,  or  as  to  the  time  when 
Irenaeus  believed  the  book  to  have  been  written.  Domitian  was  put  to  death  A. 
D.  96,  and  consequently,  according  to  Irenaeus,  the  Apocalype  must  have  been 
written  not  far  from  this  time. 

This  testimony  of  Irenaeus  is  confirmed  by  that  of  Clement  of  Alexandria. 
Relating  the  well-known  story  of  John  and  the  robber,  he  speaks  of  the  event  as 
having  occurred  on  his  return  from  exile  in  Patmos  “after  the  death  of  the  tyrant,” 
and  represents  him  as  then  an  infirm  old  man.  The  testimony  in  the  book  itself, 
(ch.  i.  9,)  is  clear  that  John  was  on  the  island  of  Patmos,  when  these  visions  were 
seen.  The  “tyrant”  whose  death  is  here  referred  to,  must  necessarily  be  either 
Nero  or  Domitian,  as  these  were,  up  to  the  end  of  the  first  century,  the  only  im¬ 
perial  persecutors  of  the  Christians.  It  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  Nero,  since  at 
the  time  of  his  persecution  (A.  D.  64)  John  could  not  be  supposed  to  be  an  “  infirm 
old  man,”  being  probably  not  much  above,  if  indeed  so  much  as  sixty  years  of  age. 
See  Eusebius,  Eccl.  Hist.  B.  iii.  ch.  23.  Of  this  testimony,  Prof.  Stuart,  who  him¬ 
self  supposes  that  the  Apocalypse  was  written  before  the  death  of  Nero,  says  (i. 
264),  “The  tyrant  here  meant  is  probably  Domitian;  at  least,  although  he  is  not 
named  by  Clement,  it  is  clear  that  Eusebius  so  understands  the  matter.” 


I 


INTRODUCTION.  xxix 

Victorinus,  Bishop  of  Pettaw,  and  martyr  in  Diocletian’s  persecution,  in  his 
Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse,  written  towards  the  close  of  the  third  century, 
says  twice  expressly  that  the  Apocalypse  was  seen  by  the  apostle  John  in  the  isle 
of  Patmos,  when  banished  thither  by  the  Roman  Emperor  Domitian.  See  the 
passages  quoted  in  Elliott,  i.  39,  and  in  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  264.  The  testimony  is  un¬ 
equivocal. 

To  these  testimonies  from  the  early  Fathers,  may  be  added  that  of  Jerome,  who 
says  that  “John  saw  the  Apocalypse  on  the  island  of  Patmos,  to  which  he  was 
sent  by  Domitian,”  and  in  another  place  he  says  that  this  occurred  in  the  four¬ 
teenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Domitian.  Adv.  Jovin.  Lib.  L,  Lardner,  iv.  446,  447. 

And  to  these  plain  testimonies  may  be  added  those  of  Sulpicius  Severus,  and 
Orosius,  contemporaries  of  Augustinej  Gregory  Turonensis  (cent,  vi.),  Isidorus 
Hispaleusis  (cent,  vii.),  Marianus  Scotus,  Primasius,  and  others.  See  Prof.  Stuart, 
i.  264,  265,  and  Elliott,  i.  38,  39. 

Such  is  the  positive  testimony  that  the  book  was  written  near  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Domitian,  and  about  A.  D.  96.  It  is  true  that,. notwithstanding  this  posi¬ 
tive  testimony,  there  were  some  writers  who  assigned  it  to  an  earlier  date.  Thus 
Epiphanius,  Bishop  of  Salamis  in  Cyprus,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fourth  eentury, 
speaks  of  John  as  having  prophesied  in  the  isle  of  Patmos  in  the  days  of  the  em¬ 
peror  Claudius  (A.  D.  41-54),  a  time  when,  as  Michaelis  observes,  it  does  not  ap¬ 
pear  from  history  that  there  was  any  imperial  persecution  of  Christians  whatever, 
and  when,  moreover,  the  probability  is  that,  of  the  seven  Apocalyptic  churches, 
scarcely  one  was  in  existence,  and  the  apostle  John  was  in  no  way  associated  with 
them.  Lardner  (iv.  190)  seems  to  suspect  that  in  the  passage  referred  to,  the 
name  Claudius  was  a  fault  of  the  transcriber.  Epiphanius,  however,  received  the 
Apocalypse  as  the  work  of  John,  and  as  an  inspired  book.  Lardner,  iv.  190. 
Others  have  ascribed  the  date  of  the  book  of  Revelation  to  the  time  of  Nero. 
Thus  in  the  later  Syriac  version,  the  title-page  declares  that  it  was  written  in 
Patmos,  whither  John  was  sent  by  Nero  Cesar.  This  version,  however,  was  made 
in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  and  can  have  little  authority  in  determining 
the  question.  It  is  not  known  by  whom  the  version  was  made,  or  on  what 
authority  the  author  relied,  when  he  said  that  John  was  banished  to  Patmos  in 
the  time  of  Nero.  So  also  Andreas  and  Arethas,  commentators  on  the  book  of 
Revelation,  one  of  them  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  and  the  other  in 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  make  quotations  from  the  book  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  show  that  they  supposed  that  it  was  written  before  the  destruction  of  Jeru¬ 
salem.  They,  however,  made  no  express  declaration  on  that  point,  and  their  tes¬ 
timony  at  any  rate,  at  that  late  period,  is  of  little  value.  A  few  other  later  writers 
also  supposed  that  the  book  was  written  at  an  earlier  period  than  the  reign  of 
Domitian.  See  Prof.  Stuart,  i.  268,  269. 

Such  is  the  sum  of  the  historical  testimony  as  to  the  time  when  the  Apocalypse 
was  written ;  and  that  testimony,  it  seems  to  me,  is  so  clear  as  to  settle  the  point 
so  far  as  the  historical  evidence  is  concerned,  that  the  book  was  written  near  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian,  that  is,  about  A.  D.  95  or  96.  My  exposition  of  the 
book  proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  written  at  that  time. 

3* 


XXX 


INTRODUCTION. 


2.  There  is  another  inquiry,  however,  as  to  the  internal  evidence,  for  on  this 
ground  it  has  been  maintained  that  it  must  have  been  written  before  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  time  of  Nero.  See  the  argument  in  Prof.  Stuart,  i. 
270-282. 

Now,  in  regard  to  this,  it  may  be  remarked  in  general,  that  on  the  supposi¬ 
tion  that  it  was  written  near  the  close  of  the  life  of  John,  and  in  the  time  of  Do- 
mitian,  it  can  be  shown  that  there  is  no  internal  improbability  or  inconsistency; 
that  is,  in  other  words,  all  the  known  circumstances  in  regard  to  John,  and  to  the 
condition  of  the  church  at  that  time,  would  accord  with  that  supposition.  For, 

(а)  It  is  known  that  J ohn  spent  many  of  the  later  years  of  his  life  at  Ephesus, 
in  the  midst  of  the  seven  churches  to  which  the  book  was  addressed,  and  the 
epistles  in  the  book  are  such  as  they  would  be  on  that  supposition. 

(б)  It  is  admitted  that  there  was  a  persecution  of  Christians  in  the  time  of  Do- 
mitian ;  and  of  the  persecution  which  he  excited  against  Christians  Mosheim  re¬ 
marks  that  “he  was  an  emperor  little  inferior  to  Nero  in  baseness  of  character  and 
conduct.  This  persecution  undoubtedly  was  severe;  but  it  was  of  short  continu¬ 
ance,  as  the  emperor  was  soon  murdered.”  Mosheim,  i.  69.  It  commenced  about 
A.  D.  93  or  94.  It  is  not  certainly  known  how  far  it  extended,  but  as  the  ground 
of  the  persecution  was  a  fear  of  Domitian  that  he  would  lose  his  empire  from  some 
person  among  the  relatives  of  Christ  who  would  attempt  a  revolution  (Mosheim,  i. 
69,  Milman,  Hist,  of  Christianity,  193),  there  is  every  probability  that  it  would  be 
directed  particularly  to  the  East,  and  the  countries  near  where  the  Saviour  lived 
and  died. 

(c)  It  is  not  improbable  that  John  would  be  batiished  in  this  persecution.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  influence  among  Christians,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  he 
would  not  escape  the  notice  of  those  who  were  actively  engaged  in  carrying  on 
the  persecution.  Moreover,  it  is  as  probable  that  he  would  be  banished  as  that  he 
would  be  put  to  death,  for,  though  we  have  few  facts  respecting  this  persecution, 
and  few  names  are  mentioned,  yet  we  have  one  recorded  instance  in  which  banish¬ 
ment  on  account  of  professing  the  Christian  religion  took  place.  Thus  Milman 
(Hist,  of  Christianity,  p.  193),  speaking  of  two  of  the  cousin-germans  of  Domitian, 
says,  “The  one  fell  an  early  victim  to  his  jealous  apprehensions.  The  other, 
Flavius  Clemens,  is  described  as  a  man  of  the  most  contemptible  indolence  of 
character.  His  powerful  kinsman,  instead  of  exciting  the  fears,  enjoyed  for  some 
time  the  favor  of  Domitian.  He  received  in  marriago  Domitilla,  the  niece  of  the 
emperor;  his  children  were  adopted  as  heirs  to  his  throne;  Clemens  himself  ob¬ 
tained  the  consulship.  On  a  sudden  these  harmless  kinsmen  became  dangerous 
conspirators ;  they  were  arraigned  on  the  unprecedented  charge  of  Atheism  and 
Jewish  manners;  the  husband  Clemens  was  put  to  death;  the  wife  Domitilla, 
banished  to  the  desert  island  of  either  Pontia  or  Pandataria.”  Nothing  is  more 
probable,  therefore,  than  that  John  the  Apostle  should  be  also  banished  to  a  desert 
island — and  Patmos  was  admirably  adapted  to  such  a  purpose.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
i.  9.  There  is,  therefore,  every  thing  in  the  circumstances  to  make  it  •probable  that 
tho  book  was  written  at  the  time  in  which  it  is  so  uniformly  said  by  the  early 
historians  to  have  been.  Those  things  seem  to  me  to  make  it  proper  to  acquiesce 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXI 


in  the  general  opinion  so  long  entertained  in  regard  to  tho  date  of  the  Apocalypse, 
for  there  is,  perhaps,  no  book  of  the  New  Testament  whose  date  is  better  deter¬ 
mined  on  historical  grounds  than  this.  These  considerations  also  make  it  un¬ 
necessary  to  examine  the  alleged  internal  evidence  from  the  book,  that  it  was 
written  before  the  destruction  of  J erusalem,  especially  as  it  will  be  shown  in  the 
Notes,  that  the  passages  usually  relied  on,  ch.  vi.  9,  10;  vii. ;  xi.  3,  8;  xvii.  8,  11, 
and  ch.  i.  1,  3;  xxii.  7,  20,  are  susceptible  of  an  easy  and  satisfactory  explanation 
on  the  supposition  that  the  book  was  written  in  the  time  of  Domitian,  or  after  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

§  3.  The  place  where  the  hook  was  written. 

The  book  itself  purports  (ch.  i.  9),  to  have  been  written  in  the  island  of  Patmos, 
where  the  writer  says  he  was  “for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus  Christ:”  that  is,  clearly,  where  he  had  been  banished  for  his  attachment  to 
the  Saviour.  For  an  account  of  this  island,  see  Notes  in  ch.  L  9.  The  only  question 
that  has  ever  been  raised  on  this  point  is,  whether  this  was  a  reality,  or  a.  poetical 
fiction ;  that  is,  whether  the  writer  in  his  visions  merely  seemed  to  have  been 
transferred  to  the  place,  and  this  was  made  the  imaginary  scene  of  the  vision. 
The  latter  supposition  has  been  entertained  by  Eichhorn  in  his  Introduction  to  the 
New  Testament  (1810),  and  by  some  other  writers. 

In  favor,  however,  of  understanding  this  as  a  literal  fact,  the  following  conside¬ 
rations  may  be  suggested: 

1.  The  clear  statement  of  the  writer  himself  (ch.  i.  9) : — a  statement  that  should 
bo  received  as  literally  true,  unless  there  is  something  in  the  character  of  the  com¬ 
position,  or  some  intrinsic  improbability  in  the  case,  to  set  it  aside.  If  the  com¬ 
position  were  avowedly  fictitious  or  poetical,  then  it  would  be  understood  that 
such  a  statement  was  not  to  be  received  literally.  And  thus,  in  a  prophetic  record 
it  might  be  clear  that  it  was  a  mere  visionary  representation  in  which  the  prophet 
seemed  to  be  transported  to  some  place,  where  there  would  be  no  danger  of  mis¬ 
understanding  it.  Undoubtedly  on  this  principle  some  of  the  visions  of  Ezekiel 
and  Jeremiah  are  to  be  regarded  as  located  at  some  place  remote  from  that  where 
the  prophet  was;  and  thus  many  of  the  visions  in  this  book  are  located  in  heaven 
or  elsewhere.  But  these  cases  are  wholly  different  from  the  statement  in  ch.  i.  9. 
Patmos  is  not  represented  as  tho  mere  scene  of  a  vision.  The  statement  occurs 
in  a  plain  prose  narrative,  and  there  is  no  intrinsic  improbability  that  it  is  true. 

2.  This  accords  with  the  representation  of  history,  and  with  the  probabilities  of 
the  case,  that  John  was  actually  banished  to  Patmos  in  a  time  of  persecution.  See 
£  2.  On  this  point  the  representations  of  history  are  uniform,  and  they  are  such 
that  if  a  writer  had  designed  to  forge  a  book  in  the  name  of  John,  he  would  in  all 
probability  have  fixed  on  Patmos  as  the  scene  of  the  vision  from  the  fact  that  ho 
was  actually  banished  there. 

3.  If  Patmos  was  merely  a  fictitious  place,  why  should  John  select  it?  What 
was  there  in  that  island  that  would  have  occurred  to  him  as  a  proper  place  to  bo 
the  scene  of  such  visions?  It  was  little  known;  it  had  no  sacred  associations ;  it 


xxxn 


INTRODUCTION 


had  never  been  represented  as  a  place  visited  by  the  Most  High;  and  it  had  n« 
particular  relation  to  the  scenes  which  are  referred  to.  One  born  in  Judea  and 
trained  under  the  influence  of  the  Hebrew  religion;  one  who  was  a  disciple  of 
Christ,  and  who  had  witnessed  the  scene  of  the  transfiguration  or  the  ascension, 
would  have  been  much  more  likely  to  select  Sinai,  Carmel,  Hermon,  Tabor,  or 
Olivet,  as  the  scene  where  the  visions  were  to  be  laid.  These  were  consecrated 
spots.  On  these  God  had  manifested  himself  in  a  peculiar  manner;  had  conversed 
with  men,  and  had  given  glorious  exhibitions  of  his  character  and  plans.  Why 
should  not  one  of  these  spots — any  one  of  them  in  itself  is  as  well  adapted  to 
be  the  scene  of  such  visions  as  the  lonely  isle  of  Patmos  —  have  been  selected? 
Why  was  a  Grecian  island  chosen — a  place  not  once  named  in  all  the  sacred 
writings,  and  so  small  and  so  desolate  as  to  have  been  almost  entirely,  before  this, 
unknown  even  in  the  heathen  world? 

4.  All  the  circumstances  have  the  aspect  of  reality.  It  was  a  real  persecution 
to  which  the  writer  refers,  and  it  was  a  real  aflliction  which  he  was  experiencing, 
and  the  concinnity  of  the  passage  requires  us  to  understand  this  as  a  real  transfer 
to  a  lonely  island.  If  that  were  a  mere  vision,  then  we  should  be  required  also, 
to  understand  the  statement  that  he  was  “a  companion  of  others  in  tribulation,” 
as  a  vision  also,  and  his  affliction  as  an  account  of  an  ideal  transfer  to  that  island. 
But  this  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  passage  in  ch.  i.  9;  and  the  whole,  there¬ 
fore,  should  be  understood  as  the  statement  of  a  literal  fact. 

These  considerations  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  common  opinion  that  the 
visions  were  seen  in  the  island  of  Patmos  has  every  probability  in  its  favor,  and 
should  be  received  as  correct.  Whether  the  record  was  actually  made  on  that 
island,  or  was  made  afterwards,  is  a  point  on  which  no  light  can  be  observed,  and 
which  is  of  no  importance.  Prom  such  passages,  however,  as  those  in  ch.  x.  4; 
xiv.  13;  xix.  9,  and  xxi.  5,  it  would  seem  probable  that  the  record  was  made  as 
Boon  as  the  visions  were  seen,  and  that  the  book  was  actually  written  in  Patmos. 

§  4.  The  nature  and  design  of  the  look. 

This  must  be  learned  from  an  examination  of  the  book  itself,  and  the  views  en¬ 
tertained  on  this  point  will  be  determined  in  a  great  measure  by  the  principles 
which  are  adopted  in  interpreting  it.  From  the  examination  which  I  have  given 
of  the  book,  and  the  methods  of  interpretation  which  I  have  adopted,  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  matter  and  design  of  the  book  may  be  expressed  in  the  following  specifi¬ 
cations  : — 

1.  It  was  composed  in  a  time  of  persecution,  and  in  view  of  the  persecutions  and 
hostilities,  external  and  internal,  to  which  the  church  was  then,  and  would  be,  ex¬ 
posed.  Christianity  was  then  in  its  infancy.  It  was  comparatively  feeble.  It 
encountered  the  opposition  of  the  world.  The  arm  of  the  civil  power  was 
raised  to  crush  it.  It  was  also  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  internal  foes,  and 
persecutions  would  arise  from  its  own  bosom,  and  formidable  enemies  in  future 
times  would  seem  to  endanger  its  very  existence.  Heresies,  and  divisions,  and 
corruptions  of  doctrine  and  of  practice,  might  be  expected  to  exist  in  its  own 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXX1I1 


bosom ;  times  of  conflict  and  darkness  would  come;  changes  would  occur  in  govern¬ 
ments,  that  would  deeply  affect  the  welfare  of  the  church;  and  there  might  bo 
periods  when  it  would  seem  to  be  doubtful  whether  the  true  church  would  not 
become  wholly  extinot.  The  faith  of  Christians  was,  doubtless,  sorely  tried  in  the 
persecution  which  existed  when  the  book  was  written,  and  would  be  in  like  man¬ 
ner  often  sorely  tried  in  the  corruptions  and  persecutions  of  future  ages. 

2.  The  Apocalypse  is  designed  to  meet  this  state  of  feeling  by  furnishing  the 
assurance  that  the  Gospel  would  ultimately  prevail;  that  all  its  enemies  would 
be  subdued,  and  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  set  up  over  all  the  world.  It 
was  intended  to  impart  consolation  to  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages,  and  in  all 
forms  of  persecution  and  trial,  by  the  assurance  that  the  true  religion  would  bo 
at  last  triumphant,  thus  furnishing  an  illustration  of  the  truth  of  the  declara¬ 
tions  of  the  Savior  respecting  the  church,  that  the  “gates  of  hell  should  not  pre¬ 
vail  against  it.”  Matt.  xvi.  18.  Hence  every  thing  in  the  book  tends  to  the  final 
triumph  of  the  gospel;  and  hence,  at  the  close  (ch.  xx.),  we  have  the  assurance  of 
its  far-spread  diffusion  over  the  earth,  for  a  period  of  a  thousand  years,  and 
(chs.  xxi.  xxii.)  a  graphic  view  of  the  state  of  the  redeemed  when  they  shall 
be  delivered  from  sin  and  wo,  and  when  all  tears  shall  be  wiped  away  from  their 
eyes. 

3.  The  method  of  doing  this  is  by  giving  a  rapid  glance  at  the  great  events  of 
history  bearing  on  the  church  in  all  coming  times  till  it  should  be  triumphant;  or 
by  sketching  a  bold  outline  of  the  principal  things  that  would  serve  to  endanger 
the  church,  and  the  principal  divine  interpositions  in  behalf  of  the  church,  until 
its  triumph  should  be  secured  upon  the  earth.  This  might  have  been  done  by 
direct  statement,  or  by  plain  and  positive  assertion,  as  it  was  by  many  of  the 
prophets;  but  the  end,  in  this  case,  would  be  better  secured  by  a  glance  at  future 
history  in  such  a  way  that  while  the  great  fact  of  the  final  triumph  of  the 
gospel  would  be  kept  before  the  church,  there  might  be  furnished  a  clear  demon¬ 
stration,  in  the  end,  of  the  divine  origin  and  inspiration  of  the  book  itself.  This 
latter  object,  indeed,  would  have  been  in  fact  accomplished  by  a  plain  declaration, 
but  it  would  be  best  accomplished  by  such  details  as  would  show  that  the  whole 
course  of  events  was  comprehended  by  the  Holy  Spirit — the  real  author  of  the 
■whole.  A  general  view  of  these  details  may  be  seen,  according  to  the  principles 
which  I  have  adopted  in  the  interpretation  of  the  work,  in  the  analysis  at  the  close 
of  the  introduction,  §  5. 

4.  The  method  in  which  this  is  mainly  done  in  this  book  is  by  pictures  or 
symbols  ;  for,  above  all  the  other  books  in  the  Bible,  the  Apocalypse  is  charac¬ 
terised  by  this  method  of  representation,  and  it  may  eminently  be  called  a  book 
of  symbols.  It  is  this  which  has  made  it  appear  to  be  so  obscure ;  and  this  parti¬ 
cularly  which  has  given  occasion  for  so  great  a  variety  in  the  methods  of  inter¬ 
preting  it — for  there  is  no  kind  of  representation  that  furnishes  occasion  for  so 
much  fanciful  interpretation  as  that  of  symbolical  writing.  The  true  principle  of 
interpreting  symbolical  language  has  been  hitherto  little  understood,  and  conse¬ 
quently  every  writer  has  indulged  his  own  fancy  in  affixing  such  a  meaning  to  the 
symbol  as  he  chose.  The  result  has  been  that  there  has  been  no  generally  ad- 


XXXIV 


INTRODUCTION 


mitted  principle  of  interpretation  respecting  this  book,  and  that  the  variety  of 
conjectures  indulged,  and  the  wild  and  vain  theories  advanced,  have  produced  the 
impression  that  the  book  is  not  susceptible  of  a  plain  and  sensible  exposition.  A 
very  common  belief  is,  that  symbolical  language  must,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
be  obscure  and  unintelligible,  and  that  a  book  written  in  the  manner  of  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse  must  always  be  liable  to  the  wild  vagaries  of  imagination  which  have  been 
so  commonly  exhibited  in  the  attempts  to  explain  this  book.  These  considerations 
make  it  proper  to  offer  a  few  remarks  here  about  the  nature  of  symbolical  language, 
and  on  the  question  whether  a  book  written  in  that  language  is  necessarily  unin¬ 
telligible,  or  incapable  of  a  plausible  interpretation. 

A  symbol  is  properly  a  representation  of  any  moral  thing  by  the  images  or  pro¬ 
perties  of  natural  things.  Thus  a  circle  is  a  symbol  of  eternity,  as  having  neither 
beginning  nor  end;  an  eye  is  a  symbol  of  wisdom;  a  lion  of  courage;  a  lamb  of 
meekness  and  gentleness.  This  general  idea  of  symbols  is  found  in  types,  enigmas, 
parables,  fables,  allegories,  emblems,  hieroglyphics,  &c.  The  symbols  mostly  used 
in  the  book  of  Revelation  are  pictures,  and  could  be  painted — and  indeed  a  great 
part  of  the  book  could  be  represented  in  a  panorama,  and  would  constitute  a  series 
of  the  most  splendid  drawings  that  the  world  can  conceive.  The  following  re¬ 
marks  may  throw  some  light  on  the  reason  why  this  mode  of  representation  was 
adopted,  and  on  the  question  whether  a  book  written  in  this  manner  is  necessarily 
unintelligible. 

(а)  This  method  of  representation  is  not  uncommon  in  the  ancient  prophecies. 
A  considerable  portion  of  Daniel  and  Ezekiel  is  written  in  this  way;  and  it  is  often 
resorted  to  by  Isaiah  and  the  other  prophets.  It  was  a  method  of  representation 
which  accorded  well  with  the  warm  and  glowing  imagination  of  the  Orientals,  and 
with  the  character  of  mind  in  the  early  periods  of  the  world.  It  was  supposed  to 
be  capable  of  conveying  ideas  of  important  events;  although  it  was  doubtless  un¬ 
derstood  that  there  might  be  some  degree  of  obscurity  in  the  representation,  and 
that  study  and  ingenuity  might  be  requisite  in  understanding  it — as  is  always  the 
case  with  parables  and  enigmas.  We  have  frequent  instances  in  the  Bible  of  a 
oertain  kind  of  trial  of  skill  in  expounding  dark  sayings  and  riddles,  when  the 
sense  was  intentionally  so  conveyed  as  to  demand  acuteness  of  thought  in  the  ex¬ 
planation.  The  utterance  of  truths  in  symbolic  language  accorded  much  with  this 
prevailing  bent  of  mind  in  the  ancient  and  the  oriental  world — as  we  see  in  the 
symbolical  representations  in  Egypt.  If  the  use  of  symbols,  therefore,  in  the 
Apocalypse  be  urged  as  an  objection  to  the  book,  the  objection  would  lie  with 
equal  force  against  no  small  part  of  the  writings  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  prophets, 
and  against  a  method  of  writing  which  was  actually  in  extensive  use  in  the  early 
ages  of  the  world.  To  object  to  it,  must  be  to  object  that  our  own  methods  and 
views  were  not  the  views  and  methods  of  all  past  ages;  that  the  improved  modes 
of  communication  in  existence  now  were  not  in  existence  always. 

(б)  Such  a  method  of  representation  may  be,  however,  clear  and  intelligible. 
The  purpose  of  prophecy  does  not  require  that  there  should  be  in  all  cases  an  ex¬ 
plicit  statement  of  what  will  occur,  or  a  particular  detail  of  names,  dates,  and  cir¬ 
cumstances  —  for  if  such  a  statement  were  made,  it  is  plain  that  it  would  be 


INTRODUCTION. 


xxxv 


possible,  on  the  one  hand,  for  an  impostor  so  to  shape  his  conduct  as  to  seem  to 
fulfil  the  prophecy,  and,  on  the  other,  for  wicked  men,  knowing  exactly  what  was 
predicted,  to  prevent  its  fulfilment.  All  that  is  demanded  in  such  predictions  is 
(1)  such  a  statement  as  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  future  event;  (2)  such  a  state¬ 
ment  as,  when  fairly  interpreted,  describes  such  an  event;  and  (3)  such  a  state¬ 
ment  as  that,  when  the  event  occurs,  it  shall  be  clear  that  this  was  the  event 
referred  to,  or  that  the  prediction  cannot  properly  be  referred  to  any  other  event: 
that  is,  so  that  they  shall  compare  with  each  other  as  the  two  parts  of  a  tally  do. 
Now  that  symbolical  language  may  have  these  characteristics,  and  may  be  in 
these  respects  sufficiently  clear  and  plain,  is  evident  from  the  following  consi¬ 
derations  :  — 

1.  A  picture  may  be  a  correct  representation  of  an  event.  It  was  thus  among 
the  Mexicans,  who,  by  means  of  pictures,  were  enabled  to  give  a  correct  represent¬ 
ation  of  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards,  and  to  convey  to  their  monarch  a  correct 
idea  of  the  number  and  character  of  the  Spanish  forces. 

The  following  extract  from  Dr.  Robertson’s  History  of  America,  Book  v.  §  xii., 
referring  to  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards  in  Mexico,  will  illustrate  this:  “During 
this  interview  [an  interview  between  Cortes  and  the  ambassadors  of  Montezuma], 
some  painters  in  the  train  of  the  Mexican  chiefs,  had  been  diligently  employed  in 
delineating,  upon  white  cotton  cloths,  figures  of  the  ships,  the  horses,  the  artillery, 
the  soldiers,  and  whatever  else  attracted  their  eyes,  as  singular.  When  Cortes 
observed  this,  and  was  informed  that  these  pictures  were  to  be  sent  to  Montezuma, 
in  order  to  convey  to  him  a  more  lively  idea  of  the  strange  and  wonderful  objects 
now  presented  to  their  view,  than  any  wards  could  communicate,  he  resolved  to 
render  the  representation  still  more  animated  and  interesting,  by  pahibiting  such 
a  spectacle  as  might  give  both  them  and  their  monarch  an  impression  of  the 

extraordinary  prowess  of  his  followers  and  the  irresistible  force  of  their  arms.” 

2.  A  symbol  may  be  as  definite  in  its  signification  as  the  arbitrary  character 
which  constitutes  a  letter  with  us,  or  the  arbitrary  character  which  denotes  a 
syllable  or  a  word  with  the  Chinese.  There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  the 
letters  in  most  languages  were  at  first  pictures  or  symbols;  but  whether  this  is 
true  or  not,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that  such  might  have  been  the  case,  and  that  as 
definite  ideas  might  have  been  attached  to  the  symbols  employed  as  to  the  arbi¬ 
trary  marks  or  signs.  Thus,  it  is  easy  to  suppose  that  a  circle,  a  lion,  an  eagle,  a 
horse,  a  banner,  an  axe,  a  lamb,  might  have  been  so  employed  as  always  to  denote 
the  same  thing,  in  the  same  way  as  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  do,  and  thus,  con¬ 
sequently,  the  number  of  symbols  employed  might  have  been  very  numerous, 
though  still  retaining  their  definite  character. 

3.  The  truth  of  these  remarks  has  been  illustrated  by  the  recent  investigations 
of  the  symbolical  language  or  hieroglyphical  signs  in  Egypt.  On  the  celebrated 
Rosetta  stone,  an  inscription  was  found  in  three  compartments  of  the  stone,  in 
three  different  languages — the  first  in  hieroglyphical  or  symbolical  language,  the 
language  used  by  the  priests ;  the  second  in  enchorical  or  demotic  language  —  the 
language  in  common  use  among  the  Egyptian  people;  and  the  third  in  Greek.  It 
was  conjectured  that  the  inscription  in  each  language  was  the  same,  and  that 


XXXVI 


INTRODUCTION. 


consequently  there  might  be  a  key  for  explaining  the  symbols  or  the  hiero¬ 
glyphics  so  common  in  Egypt.  Acting  on  this  suggestion,  Champollion  was 
enabled  to  read  the  inscription  in  the  Egyptian  language,  and  to  determine  the 
meaning  of  the  symbols  in  so  common  use  in  the  ancient  inscriptions,  and  the 
symbolical  language  of  Egypt  became  as  intelligible  as  other  ancient  forms  of 
record — as  it  was  undoubtedly  when  it  was  at  first  employed.  Each  of  the  symbols 
had  a  well-known  signification,  and  was  adapted  to  convey  a  definite  idea.  An 
account  of  this  stone,  and  of  the  symbols  of  Egypt  generally,  may  be  seen  in 
Gliddon’s  Ancient  Egypt,  ch.  i.  The  symbols  employed  by  the  Hebrew  prophets 
may  have  had,  as  used  by  them,  as  definite  a  meaning,  and  may  be  as  susceptible 
of  as  clear  an  interpretation  now,  as  the  symbols  employed  in  Egypt,  or  as  any 
other  language.  The  only  real  difficulty  in  interpreting  them  may  have  arisen 
from  the  fact  that  they  referred  to  future  events  (see  Notes  on  Rev.  xvi.  12);  the 
employment  of  such  methods  of  writing  was  in  accordance  with  the  genius  of  the 
Orientals,  and  gave  great  poetic  beauty  to  their  compositions. 

4.  It  should  be  added,  however,  that  peculiar  care  is  necessary  in  the  interpre¬ 
tation  of  writings  of  this  character.  There  is  much  room  for  the  indulgence  of 
the  imagination,  and  facts  have  shown  that  in  almost  nothing  has  so  much 
indulgence  been  given  to  the  fancy  as  in  the  interpretation  of  such  books  as 
Daniel  and  the  Apocalypse.  Indeed  the  explanations  of  these  books  have  been 
so  loose  and  wild  as,  with  many,  to  bring  the  whole  science  of  the  interpretation 
of  the  prophecies  into  contempt,  and  to  produce  the  very  common  impression  that 
a  rational  and  consistent  exposition  of  such  books  as  Daniel  and  the  Apocalypse 
is  impossible.  A  better  mode  of  interpretation,  it  is  hoped,  however,  is  to  prevail; 
a  mode  in  which  there  will  be  more  careful  attention  to  the  true  meaning  of 
symbols,  and  to  tb«  proper  laws  of  symbolic  language.  The  true  method  may  not 
have  been  reached,  and  many  errors  may  occur  before  it  shall  be  reached.  For 
many  ages  the  meaning  of  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  was  entirely  unknown. 
Thousands  of  conjectures  had  been  made  as  to  the  method  of  reading  those 
symbols;  vast  ingenuity  had  been  exhausted;  the  hope  was  sometimes  entertained 
that  the  clew  had  been  discovered,  but  it  was  at  last  felt  that  all  those  proposed 
methods  were  fanciful,  and  the  world  had  settled  down  in  despair  as  to  the  pos¬ 
sibility  of  deciphering  their  meaning.  The  accidental  discovery  of  the  Rosetta 
stone,  and  the  patient  labors  of  De  Sacy,  Akerblad,  TycVsen,  and  especially  of 
Champollion,  have  changed  the  views  of  the  world  on  that  subject,  and  the  hiero¬ 
glyphics  of  Egypt  have  become  as  intelligible  as  any  other  language.  It  is  possible 
that  the  same  may  be  true  in  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  symbols  of  the  sacred 
prophets;  and  that  although  those  of  Daniel  and  John  may  have  seemed  to  be  as 
obscure  as  those  of  Egypt,  and  although  the  most  wild  and  extravagant  opinions  may 
have  been  entertained  in  regard  to  their  meaning,  yet  the  time  may  come  when 
those  books  shall  take  their  place  among  the  well-understood  portions  of  the  Bible, 
and  when  the  correspondence  of  the  predictions  couched  under  these  symbols 
with  the  events  shall  be  so  clear  that  there  shall  be  no  lingering  doubt  on  any 
mind  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  divine  communications  to  mankind.  Whether 
this  attempt  to  explain  one  of  those  books  will  contribute  any  thing  to  a  better 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXV1J 


understanding  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  symbolical  language  employed  by  the 
prophets,  must  be  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the  reader. 

§5.  The  plan  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  hook  of  Revelation  may  he  regarded  as  divided  into  seven  portions,  em¬ 
bracing  the  following  general  joints: — The  Introduction,  ch.  i. ;  The  Epistles 
to  the  seven  churches,  chs.  ii.  iii. ;  The  Preparatory  Vision,  ch.  iv. ;  The  relation 
of  the  church  to  the  external  world,  embracing  the  outward  or  secular  aspect  of 
things  as  hearing  on  the  church,  chs.  v.-xi.,  1-18;  The  internal  state  of  the 
church — embracing  the  rise  and  destiny  of  Antichrist;  or,  the  internal  history  of 
the  church  until  the  overthrow  of  that  formidable  power,  and  the  permanent  and 
triumphant  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  the  last  temporary  apostacy, 
and  the  general  judgment,  chs.  xi.  19;  xii.-xx.;  The  final  condition  of  the  righteous 
in  their  state  of  triumph  and  glory,  chs.  xxi.  xxii.  1-5 ;  and  the  epilogue  or  con¬ 
clusion,  ch.  xxii.  6-21.  This  plan,  as  pursued  in  this  attempt  to  explain  the  book, 
may  be  seen  more  in  detail  in  the  Analysis  on  the  following  pages. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION. 


PART  FIRST. 

GENERAL  INTRODUCTION,  CH.  I. 

1.  The  title  and  design  of  the  Book,  ch.  i.  1-3. 

2.  Dedication  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  ch.  i.  4r-8. 

3.  Vision  of  the  Redeemer,  ch.  i.  9-18. 

4.  Commission  to  write  to  the  seven  churches,  ch.  i.  19,  20. 

PART  SECOND. 

EPISTLES  TO  THE  SEVEN  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA,  CHS.  II.  III. 

1.  Epistle  to  the  church  at  Ephesus,  ch.  ii.  1-7. 

2.  Epistle  to  the  church  at  Smyrna,  ch.  ii.  8-11. 

3.  Epistle  to  the  church  at  Pergamos,  ch.  ii.  12-17. 

4.  Epistle  to  the  church  at  Thyatira,  ch.  ii.  18-29. 

5.  Epistle  to  the  church  at  Sardis,  ch.  iii.  1-6. 

6.  Epistle  to  the  church  at  Philadelphia,  ch.  iii.  7-13. 

7.  Epistle  to  the  church  at  Laodicea,  ch.  iii.  14-22. 

PART  THIRD. 

PREPARATORY  VISION,  CH.  IV. 

1.  The  scene  laid  in  heaven,  ch.  iv.  1,  2. 

2.  The  vision  of  God,  of  the  elders,  and  of  the  living  creatures,  ch.  ir.  3-8. 

3.  The  worship  rendered  to  God,  ch.  iv.  9-11. 

PART  FOURTH. 

THE  EXTERNAL  RELATIONS  OF  THE  CHURCH  —  THE  RELATION  TO  SECULAR 
AFFAIRS,  POLITICAL  CHANGES  AND  REVOLUTIONS,  AS  BEARING  ON  THE 
CHURCH,  CHS.  V-XI.,  1-18. 

L  The  sealed  book,  containing  the  record  of  these  events,  in  the  hand  of  him 
that  sat  on  the  throne.  The  Lamb  of  God  only  could  open  it.  The  joy  in  heaven 
that  one  was  found  who  could  open  the  seals,  ch.  v. 


(xxxviii) 


ANALYSIS 


YX*nr 


II.  The  opening  of  the  seals. 

2.  The  opening  of  the  first  seal,  ch.  vi.  1,  2. 

The  white  horse.  Peace,  prosperity,  and  triumph: — fulfilled  in  the  state  of 
the  Roman  empire  from  the  death  of  Domitian,  A.  D.  96,  to  the  acces¬ 
sion  of  Commodus,  A.  D.  180. 

2.  The  opening  of  the  second  seal,  ch.  vi.  3,  4. 

The  red  horse.  Bloodshed,  discord,  civil  strife :  —  fulfilled  in  the  state  of 
the  Roman  empire  from  the  death  of  Commodus,  A.  D.  193,  and  on¬ 
ward. 

3.  The  opening  of  the  third  seal,  ch.  vi.  5,  6. 

The  black  horse.  Calamity,  distress,  want,  trouble  : — fulfilled  in  the  Roman 
empire  in  the  scarcity  of  food  that  prevailed ;  the  excessive  taxation ; 
the  special  order  not  to  destroy  the  olive-yards  and  vineyards,  the 
sources  of  revenue,  in  the  time  of  Caracalla,  A.  D.  211,  and  onward. 

4.  The  opening  of  the  fourth  seal,  ch.  vi.  7,  8. 

The  pale  horse.  The  reign  of  Death,  in  the  form  of  famine,  pestilence, 
disease  :  —  fulfilled  in  the  Roman  empire  in  the  bloodshed,  famine,  and 
pestilence  that  prevailed  in  the  time  of  Decius,  Gallus,  iEmilianus,  Va¬ 
lerian,  and  Gallianus,' A.  D.  243-268. 

5.  The  opening  of  the  fifth  seal,  ch.  vi.  9-11. 

The  martyrs.  Fulfilled  in  the  Roman  empire  in  the  persecutions,  particu¬ 
larly  in  the  time  of  Diocletian,  A.  D.  284-304 : — the  last  of  the  efforts  in 
the  Pagan  world  to  extinguish  the  Christian  name. 

6.  The  opening  of  the  sixth  seal,  ch.  vi.  12-17. 

Consternation  and  alarm  as  if  the  world  was  coming  to  an  end: — fulfilled 
in  the  Roman  empire  in  the  threatening  invasions  of  the  Goths  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Danube,  pressed  on  by  the  Huns,  and  producing 
universal  alarm  and  consternation,  A.  D.  365,  and  onwards. 

Intermediate  vision  between  the  opening  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  seals.  A 
view  of  the  persecution  of  the  church,  and  the  glory  of  the  saints  in  [heaven — 
designed  to  sustain  the  mind  in  the  midst  of  so  much  gloom,  and  to  furnish  the 
assurance  that  innumerable  multitudes  of  men  would  be  brought  to  glory,  ch. 
vii. 

(а)  The  impending  storm  of  wrath  that  seemed  to  threaten  universal  de¬ 
struction  is  suspended  in  order  that  the  servants  of  God  might  be  sealed, 
ch.  vii.  1-3. 

(б)  The  sealing  process — indicating  the  preservation  of  the  church  in  these 
times  of  danger,  and  the  influences  that  would  designate  and  save  the 
true  people  of  God  in  all  time  to  come,  ch.  vii.  4-8. 

(c)  A  vision  of  an  immense  host  before  the  throne,  gathered  out  of  all 
people  and  all  lands,  ch.  vii.  9-12. 

(d)  A  view  of  the  martyrs  who  would  be  saved: — a  view  designed  to  give 
comfort  in  the  trials  that  would  come  upon  the  people  of  God  in  this 
world,  ch.  vii.  13,  14. 


ANALYSIS. 


(e)  A  view  of  the  happiness  of  heaven — where  all  suffering  will  cease,  and 

all  tears  be  wiped  away,  ch.  vii.  15-17. 

7.  The  opening  of  the  seventh  seal,  ch.  viii. — xi.  1-18. 

Seven  trumpets  given  to  seven  angels  to  sound,  and  the  preparatory  ar¬ 
rangements  for  sounding,  ch.  viii.  1-6. 

Two  series  of  events  referring  to  the  West  and  the  East  in  the  downfall  of 
the  Roman  Empire. 

A.  The  West — to  the  fall  of  the  Western  empire — four  trumpets. 

(а)  The  first  trumpet  sounded,  ch.  viii.  7. 

The  invasion  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  Alario,  king  of  the  Goths,  A.  D. 
395-410. 

(б)  The  second  trumpet  sounded,  ch.  viii.  8,  9. 

The  invasion  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  Genseric,  king  of  the  Vandals, 
A.  D.  428-468. 

(c)  The  third  trumpet  sounded,  ch.  viii.  10,  11. 

The  invasion  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  Attila,  king  of'the  Huns,  ‘Scourge 
of  God,’  A.  D.  433-453. 

(d)  The  fourth  trumpet  sounded,  ch.  viii.  12,  13. 

The  final  conquest  of  Rome  and  the  Western  Empire  by  Odoacer,  king 
of  the  Heruli,  A.  D.  476-490. 

B.  The  East — to  the  fall  of  the  Eastern  Empire — two  trumpets,  ch.  ix. 

(e)  The  fifth  trumpet  sounded,  ch.  ix.  1-12. 

The  Mohammedans,  or  Saracens. 

(/)  The  sixth  trumpet  sounded,  ch.  ix.  13-19. 

The  Turkish  power. 

The  interval  between  the  fall  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  and  the  sounding 
of  the  seventh  trumpet,  ch.  ix.  20 — xi.  13. 

(a)  The  result  of  these  judgments,  ch.  20,  21. 

They  produce  no  change  in  the  moral  condition  of  the  world: — fulfilled 
in  the  state  of  the  Papal  world  after  the  conquest  of  Constantinople, 
and  before  the  Reformation. 

(b)  An  angel  is  seen  descending  from  heaven  with  emblems  of  majesty, 

joy,  and  peace,  ch.  x :  —  fulfilled  in  the  Reformation. 

1.  The  angel  with  the  rainbow  on  his  head,  and  his  face  like  the  sun,  a 
proper  symbol  of  the  Reformation  as  a  work  of  peace,  and  accom¬ 
panied  with  light  and  knowledge,  ch.  x.  1. 

2.  The  little  book  in  his  hand,  a  symbol  of  the  principal  agent  in  the 
Reformation  —  a  book  —  the  Bible,  ch.  x.  2. 

3.  His  crying  with  a  loud  voice  —  symbolical  of  the  Reformation  as 
arresting  the  attention  of  the  nations,  ch.  x.  3. 

4.  The  seven  thunders — the  anathemas  of  Papal,  Rome — the  thunder  of 
the  seven-hilled  city,  ch.  x.  3. 


ANALYSIS 


xli 


5.  The  purpose  of  John  to  record  what  the  seven  thunders  had  uttered, 
and  the  command  not  to  write :  —  the  mistake  which  the  Reformers 
were  in  danger  of  making,  by  regarding  the  doctrine  of  the  Papacy  as 
the  truth  of  God,  ch.  x.  4. 

6.  The  solemn  oath  of  the  angel  that  the  time  predicted  would  not  then 
occur,  but  would  occur  in  the  time  when  the  seventh  angel  should 
sound  (ch.  x.  5-7) :  —  fulfilled  in  the  anticipations  of  the  Reformers 
that  the  world  was  about  to  come  to  an  end,  and  the  reign  of  Christ 
about  to  commence,  and  the  assurance  of  the  angel  that  this  would 
not  then  occur,  but  that  a  long  and  important  interval  must  take  place. 

7.  The  command  given  to  John  to  go  and  take  the  little  book  from  the 
hand  of  the  angel  (ch.  x.  8) :  —  fulfilled  in  the  delivery  of  the  Bible 
again  to  the  church. 

8.  The  command  to  eat  it,  and  the  consequences  —  sweet  in  the  mouth, 
and  bitter  to  the  belly  (ch.  x.  9,  10) : — the  effect  of  the  pure  word  of 
God  on  the  soul  indicated  by  the  one;  the  bitter  consequences,  in 
persecution  and  opposition,  that  would  result  from  the  attempt  to  make 
the  truth  known  to  the  world — indicated  by  the  other. 

9.  The  assurance  that  he  would  yet  prophesy  before  many  people,  and 
nations,  and  tongues,  and  kings  (ch.  x.  10): — fulfilled  in  the  restora¬ 
tion  of  preaching  in  the  church,  founded  on  the  Bible,  and  in  the  im¬ 
mediate  and  ultimate  influence  of  the  Bible  in  making  the  gospel 
known  to  the  world. 

(c)  The  measuring  of  the  holy  city,  ch.  xi.  1,  2  : — the  determining  of  what 
constituted  the  true  church  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation. 

(d)  The  two  witnesses,  ch.  xi.  3-13.  Those  who  bore  faithful  testimony  to 
the  truth  in  all  the  corruptions  of  the  church;  their  trials  and  their 
triumph : — fulfilled  in  the  succession  of  true  and  sincere  Christians  whom 
God  raised  up  from  time  to  time  to  testify  to  the  truth.  They  would  be 
persecuted,  and  many  of  them  would  be  put  to  death ;  they  would  seem 
to  be  finally  silenced,  and  would  be  treated  with  great  indignity,  as  if 
their  dead  bodies  should  remain  unburied;  they  would,  however, 
come  to  life  again ;  —  that  is,  at  the  time  of  theReformation  they  would 
rise  and  testify  against  the  corruptions  of  the  Papacy,  and  would  triumph 
as  if  they  ascended  visibly  and  gloriously  to  heaven. 

The  sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet.  The  final  triumph  of  the  church, 
and  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  overthrow  of  all  its 
enemies,  ch.  xi.  14—18.  This  ends  the  first  series  of  visions ;  and  this  ex¬ 
presses  in  general  terms  what  is  drawn  out  more  in  detail  in  the  next 
series  of  visions  (Part  V.),  embracing  more  particularly  the  rise  and  pro¬ 
gress  of  Antichrist. 


4* 


xlii 


ANALYSIS. 


PART  FIFTH. 

THE  CHURCH  INTERNALLY  ;  THE  RISE  OF  ANTICHRIST,  AND  THE  EFFECT  Of 
THAT  FORMIDABLE  POWER  ON  THE  INTERNAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH, 
TO  THE  TIME  OF  THE  OVERTHROW  OF  THAT  GREAT  POWER,  AND  THE  TRI¬ 
UMPHANT  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD,  CH.  XI.  19,  XII-XX. 

A.  General  Introduction  to  this  series  of  visions,  ch.  xi.  19,  xii. 

(1.)  A  new  vision  of  the  temple  of  God  opened  in  heaven,  ch.  xi.  19. 

(2.)  A  representation  of  the  church,  under  the  image  of  a  beautiful  woman, 
ch.  xii.  1. 

(3.)  The  particular  thing  designed  to  be  represented  —  the  church  about  to 
increase  and  to  fill  the  world,  ch.  xii.  3. 

(4.)  The  deadly  hostility  of  Satan  to  the  church,  and  his  purpose  to  destroy 
it,  represented  by  a  great  red  dragon  waiting  to  destroy  the  man-child,  ch. 
xii. ;  3,  4. 

(5.)  The  ultimate  safety  of  the  church,  represented  by  the  child  caught  up  to 
heaven,  ch.  xii.  5. 

(6.)  The  fact  that  the  church  would  be  a  long  time  obscure  and  hidden  — 
represented  by  the  woman  fleeing  into  the  wilderness,  ch.  xii.  6. 

(7.)  A  scenic  representation  of  the  great  contest  going  on  in  the  universe 
about  the  church, — represented  by  a  conflict  in  heaven  between  Michael, 
the  Protector  of  the  church,  with  his  angels,  and  Satan,  the  great  enemy 
of  the  church,  with  his  angels,  ch.  xii.  7. 

(8)  The  ultimate  discomfiture  of  Satan,  represented  by  his  being  overcome 
and  cast  out  of  heaven,  ch.  xii.  8,  9. 

(9.)  A  song  of  victory  in  view  of  this  triumph,  ch.  xii.  10,  11. 

(10.)  The  fact  that  Satan  would  be  allowed,  for  a  limited  time,  to  persecute 
•  the  church,  ch.  xii.  12,  13. 

(11.)  The  church  in  the  wilderness,  ch.  xii.  14—17. 

(a)  The  church  would  be  driven  into  obscurity — like  a  woman  fleeing  into 
a  desert  —  representing  the  condition  of  the  church  while  the  Papacy 
should  have  the  ascendency,  ver.  14. 

(b)  The  church  would  still  be  preserved,  though  in  obscurity — represented 
by  the  woman  nourished  by  some  unseen  power,  ver.  14. 

(c)  Satan  would  still  rage  against  the  church — represented  by  the  dragon 
pouring  forth  a  flood  of  waters  to  overwhelm  the  woman,  ver.  15. 

(d)  The  church  would  be  protected,  as  if  the  earth  should  open  its  mouth 
to  swallow  up  the  water — representing  the  interpositions  from  an  unex¬ 
pected  quarter  in  delivering  the  church  from  its  perils,  ver.  16. 

( e )  The  wrath  of  Satan  against  the  remnant — representing  the  attempts  of 
the  Papacy  to  cut  off  individuals  when  open  and  general  persecution  no 
longer  raged,  ver.  17. 


ANALYSIS.  xliii 

B.  The  two  beasts,  representing  the  great  persecuting  power  in  the  church,  ch. 

xiii. 

(1.)  The  first  beast,  representing  the  Roman  civil ,  or  secular  power  that  sus¬ 
tained  the  Papacy  in  its  career  of  persecution,  ch.  xiii.  1-10. 

(2.)  The  second  beast,  representing  the  Papal  ecclesiastical  power  —  giving 
life  to  the  former,  and  perpetuating  its  influence  on  the  earth,  ch.  xiii. 
11-18. 

C.  A  representation  designed,  under  a  succession  of  symbols,  to  cheer  and 

sustain  the  church  in  its  present  and  prospective  trials,  with  the  assurance  of 

its  final  triumph,  and  the  ultimate  destruction  of  all  its  foes,  ch.  xiv. 

(1.)  A  vision  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven,  triumphant  and  rejoicing,  vs.  1-5. 

(2.)  The  ultimate  spread  of  the  gospel  through  all  the  world,  vs.  6,  7. 

(3.)  The  fall  of  Babylon,  the  great  anti-christian  power,  ver.  8. 

(4.)  The  final  overthrow  of  all  the  upholders  of  that  anti-christian  power, 
vs.  9-12. 

(5.)  The  blessed  state  of  those  who  should  die  in  the  Lord  in  any  time, 
whether  of  persecution  or  peace,  ver.  13. 

(6.)  The  consummation  of  all  things — the  final  triumph  of  the  church,  and 
the  overthrow  of  the  wicked,  vs.  14-20. 

(а)  The  great  harvest  of  the  world  by  the  Son  of  God — the  gathering  in 
of  the  righteous,  vs.  14-16. 

(б)  The  final  overthrow  and  destruction  of  the  wicked,  vs.  17-20. 

D.  Preparation  for  the  final  judgment  on  the  beast  and  his  image,  ch.  xv. 

(a)  A  new  wonder  is  seen  in  heaven ;  seven  angels  appear,  having  the  seven 
last  plagues,  to  fill  up  or  complete  the  wrath  of  God,  ver.  1. 

(b)  Those  who  in  former  times  had  suffered  from  persecution  by  the  power 
represented  by  the  beast,  but  who,  in  the  midst  of  trial  and  temptation, 
had  maintained  their  faith  steadfast,  now  appear  to  celebrate  with  a  song 
of  victory  the  prospective  downfall  of  the  great  foe,  vs.  2-4. 

(c)  Arrangements  made  for  executing  the  wrath  of  God.  The  temple  is  open 
in  heaven;  seven  angels  come  out  having  the  seven  last  plagues;  one  of 
the  four  living  creatures  gives  command  to  them  to  go  and  execute  the 
divine  purpose,  presenting  seven  golden  bowls  full  of  the  wrath  of  God; 
the  temple  is  forthwith  filled  with  smoke,  preventing  all  access  to  the  Mercy- 
seat,  and  indicating  that  the  divine  purpose  was  inexorable,  vs.  5-8. 

E.  The  execution  of  the  purpose,  ch.  xvi. 

(1.)  The  first  vial,  vs.  1,  2.  The  first  blow  struck  on  the  Papacy  in  the 
French  Revolution. 

(2.)  The  second  vial,  ver.  3.  The  scenes  of  blood  and  carnage  in  that  Revo¬ 
lution.  < 

(3.)  The  third  vial,  vs.  4-7.  The  calamities  brought  by  the  French  invasions 
upon  the  countries  where  the  most  bloody  persecutions  had  been  waged — 
the  North  of  Italy. 

(4.)  The  fourth  vial,  vs.  8,  9.  The  overturning  of  the  governments  that  sus- 


xliv 


ANALYSIS. 


tained  the  Papal  power,  in  the  wars  consequent  on  the  French  Revolu¬ 
tion. 

(5.)  The  fifth  vial,  vs.  10,  11.  The  direct  assault  on  the  Papal  power ;  the 
capture  of  the  Pope  himself,  and  the  temporary  entire  subjugation  of  Rome 
by  the  French  arms. 

(6.)  The  sixth  vial,  vs.  12-16.  The  decline  of  the  Turkish  power;  the 
rapid  extension  of  the  gospel  in  the  East ;  the  rallying  of  the  strength  of 
Paganism,  Mohammedanism,  and  Romanism  —  represented  by  the  three 
frogs  that  came  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false 
prophet ;  the  preparation  of  those  powers  as  if  for  some  great  conflict,  and 
the  decisive  struggle  between  the  church  and  its  foes,  as  if  the  issue  were 
staked  on  a  single  battle — in  Armageddon. 

(7.)  The  seventh  vial,  vs.  17-21.  The  complete  and  final  overthrow  of  the 
Papal  power,  as  if  in  a  tremendous  storm  of  hail,  lightning,  and  thunder, 
accompanied  with  an  earthquake. 

F.  A  particular  description  of  the  judgment  on  this  formidable  anti-christian 
power,  under  a  new  image  of  an  harlot  (ch.  xvii.),  in  the  form  of  an  explana¬ 
tory  Episode. 

(1.)  Introduction  to  the  Episode  —  the  vision  of  the  woman  sitting  on  many 
waters,  vs.  1-3. 

(2.)  A  particular  description  of  the  anti-christian  power  referred  to,  under  the 
image  of  an  abandoned  and  gaily-attired  woman,  vs.  3-6. 

(3.)  A  particular  explanation  of  what  is  designed  to  be  represented  by  the 
image  of  the  scarlet-colored  woman,  vs.  7-18. 

(a)  The  angel  promises  to  explain  it,  ver.  7. 

(b)  A  symbolical  representation  of  the  design  of  the  vision,  vs.  8-14. 

(c)  A  more  literal  statement  of  what  is  meant,  vs.  15-18.  The  whole  de¬ 
signed  to  characterize  Papal  Rome,  and  to  describe  the  manner  of  its  rise 
and  the  means  of  its  ultimate  destruction. 

Q.  A  description  of  the  effect  of  that  judgment  in  pouring  out  the  seventh  vial 
on  that  formidable  anti-christian  power,  under  the  image  of  a  rich  and  luxu¬ 
rious  city : — a  further  explanatory  Episode,  ch.  xviii. 

(1.)  A  vision  of  an  angel  coming  from  heaven,  vs.  1-3. 

(2.)  A  warning  voice  calling  on  the  people  of  God  to  come  out  of  the  mystical 
Babylon,  and  not  to  partake  of  her  sin  and  her  doom,  vs.  4-8. 

(3.)  Lamentation  over  her  fate : — - 

(а)  By  kings,  that  had  lived  delicately  with  her,  vs.  9,  10. 

(б)  By  merchants  that  had  been  enriched  by  her,  vs.  11-17. 

(e)  By  mariners  that  had  trafficked  with  her,  vs.  17-19. 

(4.)  Rejoicing  over  her  fate,  ver.  20. 

(5.)  The  final  destruction  of  the  mystical  Babylon — the  Papal  power — repre¬ 
sented  by  a  millstone  cast  by  an  angel  into  the  sea,  vs.  21-24. 

H.  A  further  episodical  representation  of  the  effects  that  would  result  from  the 


ANALYSIS. 


xlv 


fall  of  tlie  powers  that  opposed  the  reign  of  the  Son  of  God  and  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  Millennium,  with  an  account  of  the  final  destruction  of  these 
powers,  ch.  xix. 

(Jl.)  A  hymn  of  the  heavenly  hosts  in  view  of  the  destruction  of  the  mystical 
Babylon,  vs.  1-7. 

(а)  A  voice  of  many  people  in  heaven,  shouting  Hallelujah,  vs.  1,  2. 

(б)  The  sound  echoed  and  repeated  as  the  smoke  of  her  torment  ascends, 
ver.  3. 

(c)  The  four  and  twenty  elders,  and  the  four  living  creatures  unite  in  the 
song,  ver.  4. 

( d )  A  voice  heard  commanding  them  to  praise  God,  ver.  5. 

(e)  The  mighty  shout  of  Hallelujah  echoed  and  repeated  from  unnumbered 
hosts,  vs.  6,  7. 

(2.)  The  marriage  of  the  Lamb  as  the  reason  of  this  increased  joy,  vs.  8,  9. 
(3.)  John,  overcome  with  this  scene,  and  filled  with  rapturous  joy  in  view  of 
the  final  triumphs  of  the  church,  prostrates  himself  before  the  angel  to  wor¬ 
ship  him,  ver.  10. 

(4.)  The  final  conquest  over  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet,  vs.  11-21. 

(а)  A  description  of  the  conqueror  —  the  Son  of  God  —  as  he  goes  forth  to 
victory,  attended  by  the  armies  of  heaven,  vs.  11-16. 

(б)  An  angel  is  seen  standing  in  the  sun,  calling  on  all  the  fowls  of  heaven 
to  come  to  the  great  feast  prepared  for  them  in  the  destruction  of  the 
enemies  of  God,  vs.  17,  18. 

(c)  The  final  war,  vs.  19-21.  The  beast  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  and 
their  armies  gather  together  for  the  battle;  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet 
taken,  and  cast  into  the  lake  that  burns  with  fire  and  brimstone ;  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  the  enemies  of  the  church  slain.  The  last  enemy  of  the  church 
on  earth  is  destroyed,  and  the  way  is  prepared  for  its  universal  triumph. 

I  The  Millennial  period  and  the  final  judgment,  ch.  xx. 

(1.)  The  binding  of  Satan,  vs.  1-3. 

(2.)  The  Millennium,  vs.  4-6.  Thrones  are  placed  as  if  there  were  to  be  a 
judgment;  the  spirit  of  the  martyrs  and  saints  is  revived  again  as  if  they 
were  raised  from  the  dead,  and  lived  again  on  the  earth ;  Satan  is  confined, 
and  the  church  enjoys  a  state  of  repose  and  prosperity,  for  the  period  of  a 
thousand  years. 

(3.)  The  release  of  Satan  for  a  little  time,  vs.  7,  8.  After  the  thousand  years 
are  expired,  he  is  permitted  to  go  forth  again  among  the  nations,  and  to 
•  awaken  a  new  form  of  hostility  to  Christ  and  the  church. 

(4.)  The  final  overthrow,  subjugation,  and  punishment  of  Satan  and  those  op¬ 
posing  hosts,  and  the  final  triumph,  therefore,  of  the  church,  vs.  7,  8. 

(5.)  The  final  judgment  on  all  mankind,  vs.  11-15.  All  the  dead  are  raised; 
the  sea  gives  up  its  dead ;  death  and  Hades  give  up  thoir  dead,  and  a  solemn 
and  just  judgment  is  pronounced  on  all  mankind,  and  the  wicked  are 
consigned  to  the  lake  of  fire. 


xlvi 


ANALYSIS. 


PART  SIXTH. 

THE  FINAL  CONDITION  OF  THE  RIGHTEOUS  —  THE  STATE  OF  FUTURE  BLESn*- 
EDNESS,  CHS.  XXI.  XXII.  1-5. 

(1.)  A  vision  of  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  as  the  final  abode  of  the 
righteous,  ch.  xxi.  1. 

(2.)  That  blessed  future  abode  represented  under  the  image  of  a  beautiful  city 
descending  from  heaven,  ch.  xxi.  2-4. 

(3.)  A  particular  description  of  the  city,  as  the  final  abode  of  the  righteous — - 
its  general  appearance,  its  walls,  its  gates,  its  foundations,  its  size,  its  light, 
its  inmates,  Ac.,  ch.  xxi.  9-27. ;  xxii.  1-5. 

PART  SEVENTH. 

THE  EPILOGUE,  OR  CONCLUSION,  CH.  XXII.  6-20. 

(а)  A  solemn  declaration  that  the  things  revealed  in  this  book  are  true,  vs.  6,  7. 

(б)  The  effect  of  those  revelations  on  John,  vs.  8,  9. 

(c)  A  command  not  to  seal  up  what  had  been  revealed,  ver.  10. 

(d)  The  unchangeable  condition  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  in  the  future 
state,  vs.  14,  15. 

(e)  The  blessedness  of  those  who  have  a  right  to  enter  into  the  Holy  City, 
ver.  15. 

(/)  Jesus  declares  himself  to  be  author  of  all  these  revelations,  ver.  16. 

(g)  The  free  invitations  of  the  gospel  to  all  men,  ver.  17. 

(h)  A  solemn  injunction  not  to  change  any  thing  that  had  been  written  in 
this  book,  vs.  18,  19. 

(»)  The  assurance  of  the  Saviour  that  he  would  come  quickly,  and  the  joyous 
assent  of  John  to  this,  and  prayer  that  it  might  occur,  ver.  20. 

(j)  The  benediction,  ver.  21. 


THE  BOOK  OF  REVELATION 


CHAPTER  I. 

HE  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  God  gave  unto  him,  to 
show  unto  his  servants  things  which 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANALYSIS  OP  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  contains  a  general  Intro¬ 
duction  to  the  whole  book,  and  com¬ 
prises  the  following  parts  : — 

I.  The  announcement  that  the  object 
of  the  book  is  to  record  a  revelation 
which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  made 
of  important  events  which  were  shortly 
to  occur,  and  which  were  signified  by  an 
angel  to  the  author — John,  vs.  1-3.  A 
blessing  is  pronounced  on  him  who  should 
read  and  understand  the  book,  and  spe¬ 
cial  attention  is  directed  to  it  because 
the  time  was  at  hand  when  the  pre¬ 
dicted  event  would  occur. 

II.  Salutation  to  the  seven  churches 
of  Asia,  vs.  4-8.  To  those  churches,  it 
would  seem  from  this,  the  book  was  ori¬ 
ginally  dedicated  or  addressed,  and  two 
of  the  chapters  (II.  and  III.)  refer  ex¬ 
clusively  to  them.  Among  them  evi¬ 
dently  the  author  had  resided  (ver.  9), 
and  the  whole  book  was  doubtless  sent 
to  them,  and  committed  to  their  keeping. 
In  this  salutation,  the  author  wishes  for 
them  grace,  mercy,  and  peace  from  “him 
which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is 
to  come”  —  the  original  fountain  of  all 
light  and  truth — referring  to  the  Father; 
“from  the  seven  spirits  which  are  before 
the  throne” — referring  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
(see  Note  on  ver.  4),  by  whom  all  grace 
is  communicated  to  men ;  and  from  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  revela¬ 
tion  is  imparted.  As  it  is  his  revelation  ; 
as  it  is  designed  peculiarly  to  glorify 
him ;  and  as  it  predicts  the  final  triumph 
of  his  religion,  the  author  appends  to  this 
reference  to  him  a  special  ascription  of 
praise,  vs.  5-8.  He  refers  to  the  great 
work  which  he  had  done  for  his  people 
in  redeeming  them,  and  making  them 
kings  and  priests  to  God;  he  assures 
those  to  whom  he  wrote  that  he  would 
come  in  glory  to  the  world  again,  and 
that  all  eyes  would  see  him ;  and  he  re¬ 
presents  the  Redeemer  himself  as  ap¬ 
plying  to  his  own  person  a  title — “Alpha 
and  Omega” — “  the  beginning  and  the 


must  shortly  come  to  pass ;  and  he 
sent  and  signified  it  by  his  angel 
unto  his  servant  John: 


ending” — which  indicates  his  exalted 
nature,  and  his  supreme  authority. 

III.  The  commission  of  the  writer;  or 
his  authority  for  thus  addressing  the 
churches  of  Asia,  vs.  9-20.  His  autho¬ 
rity  to  do  this  is  derived  from  the  fact 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  had  appeared  to  him 
personally  in  his  exile,  and  had  directed 
him  to  reveal  what  he  saw  in  vision,  and 
to  send  it  to  those  churches. — The  state¬ 
ment  of  this  commission  is  made  as  im¬ 
pressive  as  it  well  could  be.  (a)  The 
writer  was  an  exile — banished  to  a  lonely 
island  on  account  of  the  common  faith, 
ver.  9.  (6)  On  the  day  of  Christian  rest 

—  the  day  set  apart  to  the  memory  of 
the  Saviour,  and  which  he  sacredly  ob¬ 
served  in  his  solitude  as  holy  time  — 
when  in  the  spirit  of  calm  contempla¬ 
tion  on  the  truths  appropriate  to  this 
day,  he  suddenly  heard  the  voice  of  his 
Redeemer,  like  a  trumpet,  commanding 
him  to  record  what  he  saw,  and  to  send 
it  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  vs.  10, 
11.  (c)  Then  follows  (vs.  12-18)  a  mag¬ 

nificent  description  of  the  appearance  of 
the  Saviour,  as  he  appeared  in  his  glory. 
He  is  seen  standing  in  the  midst  of  seven 
golden  candlesticks;  clothed  in  a  long 
white  robe ;  girded  with  a  girdle  of  gold; 
his  hair  white,  his  eyes  like  a  flame  of 
fire,  his  feet  like  brass,  and  his  voice  like 
the  roaring  of  mighty  waters.  In  his 
hand  are  seven  stars,  and  from  his  mouth 
goes  a  sharp  sword,  and  his  countenance 
is  like  the  sun  in  the  full  splendor  of  its 
shining.  John  falls  at  his  feet  as  if  hie 
were  dead;  and  the  Saviour  lays  his 
right  hand  upon  him,  and  animates  him 
with  the  assurance  that  though  he  had 
himself  been  dead  he  is  now  alive,  and 
would  forever  live,  and  that  he  has  the 
keys  of  hell  and  death.  ( d )  Then  fol¬ 
lows  the  commission  itself,  vs.  19,  20. 
He  was  to  make  a  record  of  the  things 
which  he  saw.  He  was  especially  to 
unfold  the  meaning  of  the  seven  stars 
which  he  saw  in  the  right  hand  of  the 
Saviour,  and  of  the  seven  golden  can¬ 
dlesticks,  as  referring  to  the  seven 


48 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


churches  of  Asia  Minor;  and  was  then 
to  describe  the  series  of  visions  which 
pertained  to  the  future  history  and  des¬ 
tiny  of  the  church  at  large. 

In  the  scene  represented  in  this  chap¬ 
ter,  there  is  some  imagery  which  would 
be  suggested  by  the  arrangements  in  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  it  has  been 
supposed  (Elliott,  i.  72,  73)  that  the  vi¬ 
sion  was  laid  there,  and  that  Christ  is 
represented  as  walking  among  the  seven 
lamps  “habited  as  the  ancient  High 
Priest.”  But  the  vision  is  not  such  an 
one  as  would  have  been  presented  in  the 
holy  place  in  the  temple.  In  that  place 
there  was  but  one  lamp-stand,  with  seven 
sconces ;  here,  there  were  seven  separate 
lamp-stands:  —  there  were  there  no 
“  stars,”  and  the  vestments  of  the  Jewish 
High  Priest  were  not  those  in  which  the 
Saviour  is  represented  as  appearing.  He 
had  no  mitre,  no  ephod,  no  breast-plate, 
and  no  censer.  The  object  was  not  to 
represent  Christ  as  a  priest,  or  as  super¬ 
seding  the  Jewish  high  priest;  but  to 
represent  him  with  costume  appropriate 
to  the  Son  of  God — as  having  been 
raised  from  the  dead,  and  received  to 
the  glory  of  heaven.  His  vestments  are 
neither  those  of  a  prophet,  a  king,  nor  a 
priest :  not  with  such  garments  as  the 
ancient  prophets  wore ;  nor  with  crown 
and  sceptre  such  as  monarchs  bear;  nor 
yet  with  the  usual  habiliments  of  a 
priest.  He  appears  as  the  Son  of  God, 
irrespective  of  the  offices  that  he  bears, 
and  comes  as  the  glorified  Head  of  the 
Church  to  declare  his  will  in  regard  to 
the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  and  to  dis¬ 
close  the  future  for  the  guidance  and 
comfort  of  his  church  at  large.  The 
scene  appears  to  be  laid  at  Patmos,  and 
the  apostle  in  the  vision  of  the  Saviour 
does  not  appear  to  have  regarded  himself 
as  transferred  to  any  other  place.  The 
view  which  is  to  be  kept  before  the  mind 
in  the  description  of  “  the  things  that 
are”  (chs.  ii.  iii.),  is  that  of  seven  burn¬ 
ing  lamps,  and  the  Son  of  God  standing 
among  them.  Thus,  amidst  these  lamps 
representing  the  churches,  he  dictates 
to  the  apostle  what  he  shall  write  to  the 
churches ;  thus  with  seven  stars  in  his 
hand,  representing  the  angels  of  the 
churches,  he  dictates  what  shall  be  said 
to  them.  Is  it  unnatural  to  suppose 
that  the  position  of  those  lamps  might 
have  been  arranged  in  the  vision  in  a 
manner  resembling  the  geographical 


position  of  the  churches  themselves  ?  If 
so,  the  scene  would  be  more  significant, 
and  more  sublime. 

1.  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ. 
This  is  evidently  a  title  or  caption  of  the 
whole  book,  and  is  designed  to  comprise 
the  substance  of  the  whole ;  for  all  that 
the  book  contains  would  be  embraced  in 
the  general  declaration  that  it  is  a  Reve¬ 
lation  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  word  ren¬ 
dered  Revelation — ’AkokoXv^ls — whence 
we  have  derived  our  word  Apocalypse — 
means  properly  an  uncovering;  that 
is,  nakedness — from  'aroKa\v-T<i> — to  un¬ 
cover.  It  would  apply  to  any  thing 
which  had  been  covered  up  so  as  to  be 
hidden  from  the  view — as  by  a  veil ;  by 
darkness ;  in  an  ark  or  chest,  and  then 
made  manifest  by  removing  the  cover¬ 
ing.  It  comes  then  to  be  used  in  the 
sense  of  disclosing  or  revealing,  by  re¬ 
moving  the  veil  of  darkness  or  ignorance. 
“  There  is  nothing  covered  that  shall  not 
be  revealed.”  It  may  be  applied  to  the 
disclosing  or  manifesting  of  any  thing 
which  was  before  obscure  or  unknown. 
This  may  be  done  (a)  by  instruction  in 
regard  to  that  which  was  before  obscure ; 
that  is,  by  statements  of  what  was  un¬ 
known  before  the  statements  were  made, 
as  in  Luke  ii.  32,  where  it  is  said  that 
Christ  would  be  “  a  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles” — 0£>f  els  diroKaX^iv  eS-v&v, — or 
when  it  is  applied  to  the  divine  mys¬ 
teries,  purposes,  or  doctrines,  before 
obscure  or  unknown,  but  made  clear  by 
light  revealed  in  the  Gospel,  Rom.  xvi. 
25 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  10,  xiv.  6 ;  Eph.  iii.  5  (6). 
By  the  event  itself;  as  the  manifestation 
of  the  wrath  of  God  at  the  day  of  judg¬ 
ment  will  disclose  the  true  nature  of  his 
wrath.  “After  thy  hardness  and  im¬ 
penitent  heart  treasurest  up  to  thyself 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath,  and 
revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of 
God,”  Rom.  ii.  5.  “  Por  the  earnest  ex¬ 
pectation  of  the  creature  waiteth  for  the 
manifestation  (Gr.,  revelation)  of  the  sons 
of  God,”  (Rom.  viii.  19),  that  is,  till  it 
shall  be  manifest  by  the  event  what  they 
who  are  the  children  of  God  are  to  be. 
In  this  sense  the  word  is  frequently  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  second  advent  or  appearing 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  disclosing 
him  in  his  glory,  or  showing  what  he 
truly  is : — 2  Thess.  i.  7,  “  When  the  Lord 
shall  be  revealed” — tv  rfj  dsoKaXoi^ei — 
in  the  revelation  of  Jesus'Christ.  1  Cor. 
i.  7,  “Waiting  for  the  coming”  (the  re- 


CHAPTER  I, 


49 


A.  D.  96.] 


velation — rr/v  arroiraAoduv)  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.”  1  Peter,  i.  7,  “At  the  ap¬ 
pearing”  (Gr.,  revelation)  “of  Jesus 
Christ.”  See  also  1.  Pet.  iv.  13,  “  When 
his  glory  shall  be  revealed.”  (e).  It  is 
used  in  the  sense  of  making  known  what 
is  to  come — whether  by  words,  signs,  or 
symbols — as  if  a  veil  were  lifted  from 
that  which  is  hidden  from  human  vision, 
or  which  is  covered  by  the  darkness  of 
the  unknown  future.  This  is  called  a 
revelation,  because  the  knowledge  of  the 
event  is  in  fact  made  known  to  the 
world  by  him  who  alone  can  see  it,  and 
in  such  a  manner  as  he  pleases  to  em¬ 
ploy,  though  many  of  the  terms  or  the 
symbols  may  be,  from  the  necessity  of 
the  case,  obscure ;  and  though  their  full 
meaning  may  be  disclosed  only  by  the 
event.  It  is  in  this  sense,  evidently, 
that  the  word  is  used  here ;  and  in  this 
sense  that  it  is  more  commonly  employed 
when  we  speak  of  a  revelation.  Thus 
the  word  {gala)  is  used  in  Amos 

r  v 

iii.  7 :  “  Surely  the  Lord  God  will  do 
nothing  but  he  revealeth  his  secret  unto 
his  servants.”  SoJobxxxiii.  16,  “Thus 
he  openeth  (marg.,  revealeth,  or  un- 
covereth,  Heb.  nbr)  the  ears  of  men ;” 

that  is,  in  a  dream,  he  discloses  to  their 
ears  his  truth  before  concealed  or  un¬ 
known.  Comp.  Dan.  ii.  22,  28,  29,  x.  1. 
Deut.  xxix.  29.  These  ideas  enter  into  the 
word  as  used  in  the  passage  before  us. 
The  idea  is  that  of  a  disclosure  of  an  ex¬ 
traordinary  character,  beyond  the  mere 
ability  of  man,  by  a  special  communi¬ 
cation  from  heaven.  This  is  manifest, 
not  only  from  the  usual  meaning  of  this 
word,  but  by  the  word  prophecy,  in  ver. 
3,  and  by  all  the  arrangements  by  which 
these  things  were  made  known.  The 
ideas  which  would  be  naturally  con¬ 
veyed  by  the  use  of  this  word  in  this 
connection  are  two:  (1)  that  there  was 
something  which  was  before  hidden, 
obscure,  or  unknown,  and  (2)  that  this 
was  so  disclosed  by  these  communi¬ 
cations  as  to  be  seen  or  known.  The 
things  hidden  or  unknown  were  those 
which  pertained  to  the  future ;  the  me¬ 
thod  of  disclosing  them  was  mainly  by 
symbols.  In  the  Greek,  in  this  passage, 
the  article  is  wanting — ZSwuct&mpis — a 
Revelation,  not  S  the  Revelation.  This 
is  omitted  because  it  is  the  title  of  a 
book,  and  because  the  use  of  the  article 
might  imply  that  this  was  the  only  re- 
5  , 


velation,  excluding  other  books  claiming 
to  be  a  revelation ;  or  it  might  imply 
some  previous  mention  of  the  book,  or 
knowledge  of  it  in  the  reader.  The 
simple  meaning  is,  that  this  was  “a 
Revelation ;”  it  was  only  a  part  of  the 
Revelation  which  God  has  given  to 
mankind. 

The  phrase  “the  Revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ,”  might,  so  far  as  the  construc¬ 
tion  of  the  language  is  concerned,  refer 
either  to  Christ  as  the  subject  or  object. 
It  might  either  mean  that  Christ  is  the 
object  revealed  in  this  book,  and  that  its 
great  purpose  is  to  make  him  known  — 
and  so  the  phrase  is  understood  in  the 
commentary  called  Hyponoia  (New  York, 
1844) ;  or  it  may  mean  that  this  is  a  re¬ 
velation  which  Christ  makes  to  man¬ 
kind — that  is,  it  is  his  in  the  sense  that 
he  communicates  it  to  the  world.  That 
this  latter  is  the  meaning  here  is  clear, 
(1)  because  it  is  expressly  said  in  this 
verse  that  it  was  a  revelation  which  God 
gave  to  him ;  (2)  because  it  is  said  that 
it  pertains  to  things  which  must  shortly 
come  to  pass;  and  (3)  because,  in  fact, 
the  revelation  is  a  disclosure  of  events 
which  were  to  happen,  and  not  of  the 
person  or  work  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
f  Which  God  gave  unto  him.  Which 
God  imparted  or  communicated  to  J esu3 
Christ.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the 
representations  every  where  made  in  the 
scriptures,  that  God  is  the  original  foun¬ 
tain  of  truth  and  knowledge,  and  that, 
whatever  was  the  original  dignity  of  the* 
Son  of  God,  there  was  a  mediatorial 
dependence  on  the  Father.  See  John,  v. 
19,  20  :  “Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
The  Son  can  do  nothing  of  himself,  but 
what  he  seeth  the  Father  do ;  for  what¬ 
soever  he  doeth,  then  also  doeth  the  Son 
likewise.  For  the  Father  loveth  the 
Son,  and  showeth  him  (Seticvvaiv  avrui)  all 
things  that  himself  doeth.”  John  vii. 
16:  “My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his 
that  sent  me.”  John  viii.  28  :  “As  my 
Father  hath  taught  me  (ibibat-E  yc),  I 
speak  these  things.”  Johnxii.  49:  “For 
I  have  not  spoken  of  myself;  but  the 
Father  which  sent  me,  he  gave  me  a 
commandment,  what  I  should  say,  and 
what  I  should  speak.”  See  also  John 
xiv.  10,  xvii.  7,  8.  Matt.  xi.  27.  Mark 
xiii.  32.  The  same  mediatorial  depend¬ 
ence  the  apostle  teaches  us  still  subsists 
in  heaven  in  his  glorified  state,  and  will 
continue  until  ho  has  subdued  all  things 


50 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


(1  Cor.  xv.  24-28),  and  hence,  even  in  that 
state,  he  is  represented  as  receiving  the 
Revelation  from  the  Father  to  commu¬ 
nicate  it  to  men.  To  show  unto  his  ser¬ 
vants.  That  is,  to  his  people ;  to  Chris¬ 
tians,  often  represented  as  the  servants 
of  God  or  of  Christ.  1  Pet.  ii.  16.  Rev. 
ii.  20,  vii.  3,  xix.  2,  xxii.  3.  It  is  true 
that  the  word  is  sometimes  applied  by 
way  of  eminence  to  the  prophets  (1 
Chron.  vi.  49,  Dan.  vi.  20),  and  to  the 
apostles  (Rom.  i.  1,  Gal.  i.  10,  Phil.  i.  1, 
Titus  i.  1,  James  i.  1);  but  it  is  also 
applied  to  the  mass  of  Christians,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not 
be  so  understood  here.  The  book  was 
sent  to  the  churches  of  Asia,  and  was 
clearly  designed  for  general  use;  and 
the  contents  of  the  book  were  evidently 
intended  for  the  churches  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer,  in  all  ages  and  lands.  Comp, 
ver.  3.  The  word  rendered  to  shew 
“+rttT£BPm—  commonly  denotes  to  point 
out ;  to  cause  to  see ;  to  present  to  the 
sight;  and  is  a  word  eminently  appro¬ 
priate  here,  as  what  was  to  be  revealed 
was,  in  general,  to  be  presented  to  the 
sight  by  sensible  tokens  or  symbols. 

Things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass. 
Not  all  the  things  that  will  occur,  but 
such  as  it  was  deemed  of  importance  for 
his  people  to  be  made  acquainted  with. 
Nor  is  it  certainly  implied  that  all  the 
things  that  are  communicated  would 
shortly  come  to  pass,  or  would  soon  oc¬ 
cur.  Some  of  them  might  perhaps  lie 
in  the  distant  future,  and  still  it  might 
be  true  that  there  were  those  which 
were  revealed  in  connexion  with  them, 
which  would  soon  occur.  The  word 
rendered  “  things”  —  a  —  is  a  pronoun, 
and  might  be  rendered  what  :  “  he 

showed  to  his  servants  what  things  were 
about  to  occur;”  not  implying  that  he 
showed  all  the  things  that  would  hap¬ 
pen,  but  such  as  he  judged  to  be  needful 
that  his  people  should  know.  The  word 
would  naturally  embrace  those  things 
which,  in  the  circumstances,  were  most 
desirable  to  be  known.  The  phrase 
rendered  “must  come  to  pass,’ — <5e 7  yc- 
vccr&ac  —  would  imply  more  than  mere 
futurity.  The  word  used — Set — means 
it  needs,  there  is  need  of,  and  implies  that 
there  is  some  kind  of  necessity  that  the 
event  should  occur.  That  necessity  may 
either  arise  from  the  felt  want  of  any  thing, 
as  where  it  is  absent,  or  wanting,  Xen. 
Cyr.  4,  10,  ib.  7,  5,  9 ;  or  from  the  na¬ 


ture  of  the  case,  or  from  a  sense  of  duty — 
as  Matt.  xvi.  21,  “Jesus  began  to  show 
to  his  disciples  that  he  must  go  (Sci 
anc\$c7v)  to  Jerusalem,”  comp.  Matt, 
xxvi.  35  ;  Mach.  xiv.  31 ;  Luke,  ii.  49  ; 
or  the  necessity  may  exist,  because  a 
thing  is  right  and  just,  meaning  that  it 
ought  to  be  done,  as  Luke  xiii.  14, 

“  There  are  six  days  in  which  men  ought 
to  work” — Sec  epyafarSai;  Luke  xiii.  16, 
“And  ought  not  this  woman  (oiic  cScc) 
whom  Satan  hath  bound,  <fcc.,  be  loosed 
from  the  bond,”  (comp.  Mark  xiii.  14; 
John  iv.  20  ;  Acts  v.  29,  11 ;  Tim.  ii.  6 ; 
Matt.  viii.  33;  xxv.  27);  or  the  necessity 
may  be  that  it  is  conformable  to  the 
divine  arrangement,  or  is  made  neces¬ 
sary  by  divine  appointment,  as  in  John 
iii.  14:  “As  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser¬ 
pent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must 
(Sc7)  the  son  of  man  be  lifted  up  ;”  John 
xx.  9,  “for  as  yet  they  know  not  the 
Scriptures,  that  he  must  (Sc7)  rise  again 
from  the  dead.”  Comp.  Acts  iv.  12;  xiv. 
22,  et  al.  In  the  passage  before  us,  it  is 
implied,  that  there  was  some  necessity 
that  the  things  referred  to  should  occur. 
They  were  not  the  result  of  chance ;  they 
were  not  fortuitous.  It  is  not,  however, 
stated  what  was  the  ground  of  the  neces¬ 
sity — whether  because  there  was  a  want 
of  something  to  complete  a  great  arrange¬ 
ment;  or  because  it  was  right  and  proper 
in  existing  circumstances ;  or  because 
such  was  the  divine  appointment.  They 
were  events  which,  on  some  account, 
must  certainly  occur,  and  which  there¬ 
fore  it  was  important  should  be  made 
known.  The  real  ground  of  the  neces¬ 
sity,  probably  was  founded  in  the  design 
of  God  in  redemption.  He  intended  to 
carry  out  his  great  plans  in  reference  to 
his  church,  and  the  things  revealed  here 
must  necessarily  occur  in  the  completion 
of  that  design.  —  The  phrase  rendered 
shortly — Iv  ra^ci — is  one  whose  meaning 
has  been  much  controverted,  and  on 
which  much  has  been  made  to  dependin 
the  interpretation  of  the  whole  book."' 
The  question  has  been  whether  the  phrase 
necessarily  implies  that  the  events  refer¬ 
red  to  were  soon  to  occur,  or  whether  it 
may  have  such  an  extent  of  meaning 
as  to  admit  the  supposition  that  the 
events  referred  to,  though  beginning  soon, 
would  embrace  in  their  developement  far 
distant  years,  and  would  reach  the  end 
of  all  things.  Those  who  maintain  (as 
Prof.  Stuart)  that  the  book  was  written 


CHAPTER  I. 


51 


A.  D.  96.] 

before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
that  the  portion  in  chs.  iv.-xi.  has  special 
reference  to  Jerusalem  and  Judea,  and 
the  portion  in  chs.  xii.-xix.  to  perse¬ 
cuting  and  heathen  Rome,  maintain  the 
former  opinion ;  those  who  suppose  that 
chs.  iv.-xi.  refers  to  the  irruption  of 
Northern  barbarians  in  the  Roman  em¬ 
pire,  and  chs.  xii.  seq.  to  the  rise  and  the 
persecutions  of  the  Papal  power,  embrace 
the  latter  opinion.  All  that  is  proper  in 
this  place  is,  without  reference  to  any 
theory  of  interpretation,  to  enquire  into 
the  proper  meaning  of  the  language ;  or 
to  ascertain  what  idea  it  would  naturally 
convey,  (a)  The  phrase  properly  and 
literally  means,  with  quickness,  swift¬ 
ness,  speed;  that  is,  speedily  quickly, 
shortly.  Rob.  Lex. ;  Stuart  in  loc.  It 
is  the  same  in  meaning  as  comp. 

1  Cor.  iv.  19,  “But  I  will  come  to  you 
shortly,  if  the  Lord  will.”  Luke  xiv.  21, 
“  Go  out  quickly  into  the  streets.”  Luke 
xvi.  6,  “  Sit  down  quickly,  and  write 
fifty.”  J ohn  xi.  31,  “  She  rose  up  hastily 
(ra^iw;)  and  went  out.”  Gal.  i.  6,  “  That 
ye  are  so  soon  removed  (ra%/ws)  from 
him  that  called  you.”  1  Tim.  v.  22, 
“  Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man.”  See 
also  Phil.  ii.  19,  24 ;  and  Thess.  ii.  2 ;  and 
ii.  Tim.  iv.  9.  The  phrase  used  here — iv 
Ta%£i — occurs  in  Luke  xviii.  8,  “he  will 
avenge  them  speedily”  (lit.  with  speed); 
Acts  xii.  7,  “Arise  up  quickly Acts 
xxii.  18,  “get  thee  quickly  out  of  Jeru¬ 
salem  ;”  Acts  xxv.  4,  “  would  depart 
shortly Rom.  xvi.  20,  “bruise  Satan 
under  your  feet  shortly  and  Rev.  i.  lj 
xxii.  6. — The  essential  idea  is,  that  the 
thing  which  is  spoken  of  was  soon  to  oc¬ 
cur,  or  it  was  not  a  remote  and  distant 
event.  There  is  the  notion  of  rapidity, 
of  haste,  of  suddenness.  It  is  such  a 
phrase  as  is  used  when  the  thing  is  on  the 
point  of  happening,  and  could  not  be 
applied  to  an  event  which  was  in  the 
remote  future,  considered  as  an  inde¬ 
pendent  event  standing  by  itself. — The 
same  idea  is  expressed  in  regard  to  the 
same  thing,  in  ver.  3,  “the  time  is  at 
hand”  —  i>  yap  icaipd?  iyyv; ;  that  is,  it  is 
near;  it  is  soon  to  occur.  Yet  (6)  it  is 
not  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  mean¬ 
ing  is  that  all  that  there  is  in  the  book 
was  soon  to  happen.  It  may  mean 
that  the  series  of  events  which  were  to 
follow  on  in  their  proper  order  was 
soon  to  commence,  though  it  might  be 
that  the  sequel  would  be  remote.  The 


first  in  the  scries  of  events  was  soon 
to  begin,  and  the  others  would  follow 
on  in  their  train,  though  a  portion  of 
them,  in  the  regular  order,  might  be 
in  a  remote  futurity.  If  we  suppose 
that  there  was  such  an  order;  that 
a  series  of  transactions  was  about  to 
commence  involving  a  long  train  of 
momentous  developements,  and  that  the 
beginning  of  this  was  to  occur  soon,  the 
language  used  by  John  would  be  that 
which  would  be  naturally  employed  to 
express  it.  Thus,  in  case  of  a  revolution 
in  a  government,  when  a  reigning  prince 
should  be  driven  from  his  kingdom,  to 
be  succeeded  by  a  new  dynasty  which 
would  long  occupy  the  throne,  and  in¬ 
volving  as  the  consequence  of  the  revo¬ 
lution  important  events  extending  far 
into  the  future,  we  would  naturally  say 
that  these  things  were  shortly  to  occur, 
or  that  the  time  was  near.  It  is  cus¬ 
tomary  to  speak  of  a  succession  of  events 
or  periods  as  near,  however  vast  or  in¬ 
terminable  the  series  may  be,  when  the 
commencement  is  at  hand.  Thus  we 
say,  that  the  great  events  of  the  eternal 
world  are  near;  that  is,  the  beginning  of 
them  is  soon  to  occur.  So  Christians 
now  speak  often  of  the  Millennium  as 
near,  or  as  about  to  occur,  though  it  is 
the  belief  of  many  that  it  will  be  pro¬ 
tracted  for  many  ages.  ( c )  That  this  is 
the  true  idea  here  is  clear,  whatever 
general  view  of  interpretation  in  regard 
to  the  book  is  adopted.  Even  Prof. 
Stuart,  who  contends  that  the  greater 
portion  of  the  book  refers  to  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  persecutions 
of  heathen  Rome,  admits  that  “the 
closing  part  of  the  Revelation  relates 
beyond  all  doubt  to  a  distant  period,  and 
some  of  it  to  a  future  eternity”  (II.  p.  5); 
and  if  this  be  so,  then  there  is  no  impro¬ 
priety  in  supposing  that  a  part  of  the 
series  of  predictions  preceding  this  may 
lie  also  in  a  somewhat  remote  futurity. 
The  true  idea  seems  to  be  that  the  writer 
contemplated  a  series  of  events  that  were 
to  occur;  and  that  this  series  was  about 
to  commence.  How  far  into  the  future 
it  was  to  extend,  is  to  be  learned  by  the 
proper  interpretation  of  all  the  parts  of 
the  series.  *\]  And  he  sent.  Gr.  “Sending 
by  his  angel,  signified  it  to  his  servant 
John.”  The  idea  is  not  precisely  that  he 
sent  his  angel  to  communicate  the  mes¬ 
sage,  but  that  he  sent  hy  him,  or  employed 
him  as  an  agent  in  doing  it.  The  thing 


52 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


2  Who  bare  record  of  the  word 
of  God,  and  of  the  testimony  of 

sent  was  rather  the  message  than  the 
angel.  And  signified  it.  hrjpavev.  He 
indicated  it  by  signs  and  symbols.  The 
word  occurs  in  the  N ew  Testament  only  in 
John  xii.  33  ;  xviii.  32 ;  xxi.  19 ;  Acts  xi. 
28 ;  xxv.  27,  and  in  the  passage  before 
us,  in  all  which  places  it  is  rendered  sig¬ 
nify,  signifying,  or  signified.  It  pro¬ 
perly  refers  to  some  sign,  signal,  or  token 
by  which  any  thing  is  made  known 
(comp.  Matt.  xxvi.  28;  Rom.  iv.  11 ;  Gen. 
ix.  12,  13;  xvii.  11;  Luke  ii.  12;  2  Cor. 
xii.  12 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  22),  and  is  a  word 
most  happily  chosen  to  denote  the  man¬ 
ner  in  which  the  events  referred  to  were 
to  be  communicated  to  John — for  nearly 
the  whole  book  is  made  up  of  signs  and 
symbols.  If  it  be  asked  what  was  signi¬ 
fied  to  J  ohn,  it  may  be  replied  that  either 
the  word  “  it’’  may  be  understood,  as  in 
our  translation,  to  refer  to  the  Apocalypse 
or  Revelation,  or  what  he  saw — boa  die — 
as  Prof.  Stuart  supposes ;  or  it  may  be 
absolute,  without  any  object  following, 
as  Prof.  Robinson  (Lex.)  supposes.  The 
general  sense  is,  that  sending  by  his 
angel,  he  made  to  John  a  communication 
by  expressive  signs  or  symbols.  •[[  By 
his  angel.  That  is,  an  angel  was  em¬ 
ployed  to  cause  these  scenic  representa¬ 
tions  to  pass  before  the  mind  of  the 
apostle.  The  communication  was  not 
made  directly  to  him,  but  was  through 
the  medium  of  a  heavenly  messenger 
employed  for  this  purpose.  Thus  in 
Rev.  xxii.  6,  it  is  said,  “and  the  Lord 
God  of  the  holy  prophets  sent  his  angel 
to  show  unto  his  servants  the  things 
which  must  shortly  be  done.”  Comp.  vs. 
8,  9  of  that  chapter.  There  is  frequent  al¬ 
lusion  in  the  Scriptures  to  the  fact  that 
angels  have  been  employed  as  agents  in 
making  known  the  divine  will,  or  in  the 
revelations  which  have  been  made  to 
men.  Thus  in  Acts  vii.  53,  it  is  said, 
“  who  have  received  the  law  by  the  dis¬ 
position  of  angels.”  Heb.  ii.  2,  “  For  if 
the  word  spoken  by  angels  was  steadfast,” 
Ac.  Gal.  iii.  19,  “And  it  was  ordained 
by  angels  in  the  hand  of  a  mediator.” 
Comp.  Notes  on  Acts  vii.  38,  53.  There 
is  almost  no  further  reference  to  the 
agency  of  the  angel  employed  for  this 
service,  in  the  book,  and  there  is  no  dis¬ 
tinct  specification  of  what  he  did,  or  of 
his  great  agency  in  the  case.  John  is 


Jesus  Christ,  and  of  all  things  that 
he  saw. 


everywhere  represented  as  seeing  the 
symbols  himself,  and  it  would  seem  that 
the  agency  of  the  angel  was,  either  to 
cause  those  symbols  to  pass  before  the 
apostle,  or  to  convey  their  meaning  to 
his  mind.  How  far  John  himself  under¬ 
stood  the  meaning  of  these  symbols,  we 
have  not  the  means  of  knowing  with  cer¬ 
tainty.  The  most  probable  supposition 
is,  that  the  angel  was  employed  to  cause 
these  visions  or  symbols  to  pass  before 
his  mind,  rather  than  to  interpret  them. 
If  an  interpretation  had  been  given,  it  is 
inconceivable  that  it  should  not  have 
been  recorded,  and  there  is  no  more  pro¬ 
bability  that  their  meaning  should  have 
been  disclosed  to  John  himself  for  his 
private  use,  than  that  it  should  have 
been  disclosed  and  recorded  for  the  use 
of  others.  It  would  seem  probable,  there¬ 
fore,  that  John  had  only  that  view  of 
the  meaning  of  what  he  saw,  which  any 
one  else  might  obtain  from  the  record  of 
the  visions.  Comp.  Notes  on  1  Peter  i. 
10-12.  ^Untohis  servant  John.  Nothing 
could  be  learned  from  this  expression  as 
to  what  John  was  the  author  of  the  book, 
whether  the  apostle  of  that  name  or 
some  other.  Comp.  Intr.  £  1.  It  can¬ 
not  be  inferred  from  the  use  of  the  word 
servant  rather  than  apostle,  that  the 
apostle  John  was  not  the  author,  for  it 
was  not  uncommon  for  the  apostles  to 
designate  themselves  merely  by  the  words 
servants,  or  servants  of  God.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Rom.  i.  1. 

2.  Who  hare  record  of  the  word  of 
God.  Who  bore  witness  to,  or  testified 
of  —tuapTvprjae — the  word  of  God.  He 
regarded  himself  merely  as  a  witness  of 
what  he  had  seen,  and  claimed  only  to 
make  a  fair  and  faithful  record  of  it. 
John  xxi.  24:  “This  is  the  disciple 
which  testifieth  —  b  paprvp&v — of  these 
things,  and  wrote  these  things.”  John 
xix.  35 :  “  And  he  that  saw  it  hare 
record’’ — pepaprvprjKe.  Compare  also  the 
following  places,  where  the  apostle  uses 
the  same  word  of  himself,  1  John,  i.  2; 
iv.  14.  The  expression  here,  “the  word 
of  God,"  is  one  the  meaning  of  which 
has  been  much  controverted,  and  is 
important  in  its  bearing  on  the  ques¬ 
tion  who  was  the  author  of  the  book  of 
Revelation.  The  main  enquiry  is,  whe¬ 
ther  the  writer  refers  to  the  “  testimony” 


CHAPTER  I. 


53 


A.  D.  96.] 

which  he  bears  in  this  hook  respecting 
the  “word  of  God;”  or  whether  he  refers 
to  some  testimony  on  that  subject  in 
some  other  book  with  which  those  to 
whom  he  wrote  were  so  familiar  that 
they  would  at  once  recognize  him  as  the 
author ;  or  whether  he  refers  to  the  fact 
that  he  had  borne  his  testimony  to  the 
great  truths  of  religion,  and  especially 
respecting  Jesus  Christ,  as  a  preacher 
who  was  well  known,  and  who  would  be 
characterized  by  this  expression.  The 
phrase  “  the  word  of  God” — rdv  \6yov  rdv 
Jtou  occurs  frequently  in  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament  (Comp.  John  x.  35 ;  Acts  iv.  31 ; 
vi.  2,  7 ;  xi.  1 ;  xii.  24),  and  may  either 
mean  the  word  or  doctrine  respecting 
God — that  which  teaches  what  God  is ; 
or  that  which  he  speaks  or  teaches.  It 
is  more  commonly  used  in  the  latter 
sense  (Comp,  the  passages  referred  to 
above),  and  especially  refers  to,  what 
God  speaks  or  commands  in  the  gospel. 
The  fair  meaning  of  this  expression 
would  be,  that  John  had  borne  faithful 
witness  to,  or  testimony  of,  the  truth 
which  God  had  spoken  to  man  in  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  So  far  as  the  language 
here  used  is  concerned,  this  might  apply 
either  to  a  written  or  an  oral  testimony ; 
either  to  a  treatise  like  that  of  his  gospel, 
to  his  preaching,  or  to  the  record  which 
he  was  then  making.  Yitringa  and 
others  suppose  that  the  reference  here  is 
to  the  Gospel  which  he  had  published, 
and  which  now  bears  his  name  ;  Liicke 
and  others,  to  the  revelation  made  to 
him  in  Patmos,  the  record  of  which  he 
now  makes  in  this  book;  Prof.  Stuart 
and  others,  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
teacher  or  preacher  of  the  gospel,  and 
that  (Comp.  ver.  9)  the  allusion  is  to 
the  testimony  which  he  had  borne  to 
the  gospel,  and  for  which  ho  was  an 
exile  in  Patmos.  Is  it  not  possible  that 
these  conflicting  opinions  may  be  to 
some  extent  harmonized,  by  supposing 
that  in  the  use  of  the  aorist  tense — 
luapTvprjtre — the  writer  meant  to  refer 
to  a  characteristic  of  himself,  to  wit, 
that  ho  was  a  faithful  witness  of  the 
word  of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ, 
whenever  and  however  made  known  to 
him?  With  an  eye,  perhaps,  to  the 
record  which  he  was  about  to  make  in 
this  book,  and  intending  to  include  that, 
may  ho  not  also  refer  to  what  had  been 
and  was  his  well-known  character  as  a 
t fitness  of  what  God  communicated  to 
5* 


him  ?  He  had  always  borne  this  testi¬ 
mony.  He  always  regarded  himself  as 
such  a  witness.  He  had  been  an  eye¬ 
witness  of  what  had  occurred  in  the  life, 
and  at  the  death  of  the  Saviour  (See 
notes  on  2  Pet.  i.  17,  18),  and  had,  in  all 
his  writings  and  public  ministrations, 
borne  witness  to  what  he  had  seen  and 
heard;  for  that  (ver.  9),  he  had  been 
banished  to  Patmos;  and  he  was  now 
about  to  carry  out  the  same  characteristic 
of  himself  by  bearing  witness  to  what  he 
saw  in  these  new  revelations.  This 
would  be  much  in  the  manner  of  John, 
who  often  refers  to  this  characteristic  of 
himself  (Comp.  John  xix.  35;  xxi.  24; 
1  John  i.  2),  as  well  as  harmonize  the 
different  opinions.  The  meaning  then 
of  the  expression  “who  bare  record  of 
the  word  of  God,”  as  I  understand  it,  is, 
that  it  was  a  characteristic  of  the  writer 
to  bear  simple  but  faithful  testimony  to 
the  truth  which  God  communicated  to 
men  in  the  gospel.  If  this  be  the  correct 
interpretation,  it  may  be  remarked  (a) 
that  this  is  such  language  as  John  the 
apostle  would  be  likely  to  use,  and  yet 
( b )  that  it  is  not  such  language  as  an 
author  would  be  likely  to  adopt  if  there 
was  an  attempt  to  forge  a  book  in  his 
name.  The  artifice  would  be  too  refined 
to  occur  probably  to  any  one,  for  al¬ 
though  perfectly  natural  for  John,  it 
would  not  be  so  natural  for  a  forger  of  a 
book  to  select  this  circumstance  and 
weave  it  thus  unostentatiously  into  his 
narrative,  f  And  of  the  testimony  of 
Jesus  Christ.  That  is,  in  accordance 
with  the  interpretation  above,  of  the 
testimony  which  Jesus  Christ  lore  to  the 
truth;  not  of  a  testimony  respecting 
Jesus  Christ.  The  idea  is,  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  himself  a  witness  to  the 
truth,  and  that  the  writer  of  this  book 
was  a  witness  merely  of  the  testimony 
which  Christ  had  borne.  Whether  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  Christ  was  borne  in 
his  preaching  when  in  the  flesh ;  or 
whether  made  known  to  the  writer  by 
him  at  any  subsequent  period,  it  was 
his  office  to  make  a  faithful  record  of 
that  testimony.  As  he  had  always 
before  done  that,  so  he  was  about  to  do 
it  now  in  the  new  revelation  made  to 
him  in  Patmos,  which  he  regarded  as  a 
new  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
truth,  ver.  1.  It  is  remarkable  that,  in 
confirmation  of  this  view,  John  so  often 
describes  the  Lord  Jesus  as  a  witness, 


54 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


3  Blessed  d  is  he  that  readeth, 

d  Lu.  11.  28. 


or  represents  him  as.  having  come  to 
bear  his  faithful  testimony  to  the  truth. 
Thus  in  ver.  5  :  “And  from  Jesus  Christ, 
who  is  the  faithful  and  true  witness.” 
John  viii.  18,  “I  am  one  that  bear  wit¬ 
ness —  b  yaprvpSiv  —  of  myself.”  John 
xviii.  37  :  “  To  this  end  was  I  born,  and 
for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that 
I  should  bear  witness — iva  yapmpfiaoi — to 
the  truth.”  Rev.  iii.  14  :  “  These  things 
saith  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  true 
witness” — o  pap-ms  b  Trnrrds  K.  r.  X.  Of 
this  testimony  which  the  Lord  Jesus 
came  to  bring  to  man  respecting  eternal 
realities,  the  writer  of  this  book  says 
that  he  regarded  himself  as  a  witness.  To 
the  office  of  bearing  such  testimony,  he 
had  been  dedicated;  that  testimony  he 
was  now  to  bear,  as  lie  had  always  done. 

And  of  all  things  that  he  saw.  baa 
re  hie.  This  is  the  common  reading  in 
the  Greek,  and  according  to  this  reading 
it  would  properly  mean,  “and  whatso¬ 
ever  he  saw;”  that  is,  it  would  imply 
that  he  bore  witness  to  “the  word  of 
God,”  and  to  “the  testimony  of  Jesus 
Christ,”  and  to  whatever  he  saw”  — 
meaning  that  the  things  which  he  saw, 
and  to  which  he  refers,  were  things  ad¬ 
ditional  to  those  to  which  he  had  referred 
by  “the  word  of  God,”  and  the  “testi¬ 
mony  of  Christ.”  From  this  it  has  been 
supposed  that  in  the  former  part  of  the 
verse  he  refers  to  some  testimony  which 
he  had  formerly  borne,  as  in  his  gospel 
or  in  his  preaching,  and  that  here  he 
refers  to  what  he  “saw”  in  the  visions 
ofthe  Revelation  as  something  additional 
to  the  former.  But,  it  should  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  the  word  rendered  and~rs — 
is  wanting  in  a  large  number  of  manu¬ 
scripts  (see  Wetstein),  and  that  it  is  now 
omitted  in  the  best  editions  of  the  Greek 
Testament — as  by  Griesbach,  Tittmann 
and  Hahn.  The  evidence  is  clear  that  it 
should  be  omitted,  and  if  so  omitted,  the 
reference  is  to  whatever  he  had  at  any 
time  borne  his  testimony  to,  and  not 
particularly  to  what  passed  before  him  in 
the  visions  of  this  book.  It  is  a  general 
affirmation  that  he  had  always  borne 
a  faithful  testimony  to  whatever  he 
had  seen  respecting  the  word  of  God,  and 
the  testimony  of  Christ.  The  correct 
rendering  of  the  whole  passage,  then, 
would  be,  'and  sending  by  his  angel,  he 


and  they  that  hear  the  words  of 


signifies  it  to  his  servant  John,  who  bare 
record  of’  [i.  e.  whose  character  and 
office  it  was  to  bear  his  testimony  to] 

‘  the  word  of  God/  [the  message  which 
God  has  sent  to  me],  ‘and  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  Jesus  Christ’  [the  testimony 
which  Christ  bore  to  the  truth],  '  what¬ 
soever  he  saw.’  He  concealed  nothing; 
he  held  nothing  back ;  he  made  it  known 
precisely  as  it  was  seen  by  him.  Thus 
interpreted,  the  passage  refers  to  what 
was  a  general  characteristic  of  the  writer, 
and  is  designed  to  embrace  all  that  was 
made  known  to  him,  and  to  affirm  that 
he  was  a  faithful  witness  to  it.  There 
were  doubtless,  special  reasons  why  John 
was  employed  as  the  medium  through 
which  this  communication  was  to  be 
made  to  the  church  and  the  world. 
Among  these  reasons  may  have  been  the 
following:  (a)  That  he  was  the  “beloved 
disciple.”  (h)  That  he  was  the  only  sur¬ 
viving  apostle,  (c)  That  his  character  f  a 
was  such  that  his  statements  would  be 
readily  received.  Comp.  John  xix.  35/ 
xxi.  24;  3  John  12.  ( d )  It  may  he  that 

his  mind  was  better  fitted  to  be  the  me¬ 
dium  of  these  communications  than  that 
of  any  other  of  the  apostles — even  if  they 
had  been  then  alive.  There  is  almost  ! 
no  one  whose  mental  characteristics  are 
less  correctly  understood  than  those  of 
the  apostle  John.  Among  the  most  gen-  ’ 
tie  and  amiable  of  men ;  with  a  heart  so 
fitted  for  love  as  to  be  known  as  “the 
beloved  disciple”  —  he  yet  had  mental 
characteristics  which  made  it  proper  that 
he  should  be  called  “a  son  of  Thunder” 
(Mark  iii.  17);  a  mind  fitted  to  preserve 
and  record  the  profound  thoughts  in  his 
gospel;  a  mind  of  high  poetic  order, 
fitted  for  the  magnificent  conceptions  in 
this  book. 

3.  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth.  That 
is,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  privilege  at¬ 
tended  with  many  blessings,  to  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  mark  the  disclosures  to  be 
made  in  this  book ;  the  important  reve¬ 
lations  respecting  future  times.  Prof. 
Stuart  supposes  that  this  refers  to  a  pub¬ 
lic  reading,  and  that  the  phrase  “those 
who  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy” 
refers  to  those  who  listened  to  the  public 
reader,  and  that  both  the  reader  and 
hearer  should  regard  themselves  as  highly 
favored.  It  is,  however,  more  in  accord- 


CHAPTER  I. 


55 


A.  D.  96.J 


this  propheuy,  and  keep  those 
things  which  are  written  therein : 
for  the  time c  is  at  hand. 

4  John  to  the  seven  *  churches 
which  are  in  Asia :  Grace  be  unto 

e  Ja.  6.  8,  9.  g  ver.  11. 

ance  with  the  usual  meaning  of  the  word 
rendered  “read,”  to  suppose  that  it  refers 
to  the  act  of  one’s  reading  for  himself ; 
to  learn  by  reading.  So  Robinson  (Lex.) 
understands  it.  The  Greek  word,  indeed, 
would  bear  the  other  interpretation  (see 
Luke  iv.  16 ;  Acts  xiii,  27 ;  xv.  21 ; 
2  Cor.  iii.  15),  but  as  this  book  was  sent 
abroad  to  be  read  by  Christians,  and  not 
merely  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  minis¬ 
ters  of  religion  to  be  read  by  them  to 
others,  it  is  more  natural  to  interpret  the 
word  in  the  usual  sense.  And  hear 
the  words  of  this  prophecy.  As  they 
shall  be  declared  or  repeated  by  others ; 
or  perhaps  the  word  hear  is  used  in  a 
sense  that  is  not  uncommon,  that  of 
giving  attention  to;  taking  heed  to. 
The  general  sense  is,  that  they  were 
to  be  regarded  as  highly  favored  who 
became  acquainted  in  any  way  with 
what  is  here  communicated.  The  writer 
does  not  say  that  they  were  blessed  who 
understood  it,  or  that  they  who  read  or 
heard  it  would  fully  understand  it ;  but 
it  is  clearly  implied,  that  there  would  be 
so  far  an  understanding  of  its  meaning 
as  to  make  it  a  felicitous  condition  to 
have  been  made  acquainted  with  it. 
An  author  could  not  be  supposed  to  say 
that  one  should  regard  his  condition  as 
a  favored  one  who  merely  heard  words 
that  he  could  not  understand,  or  who 
had  placed  before  him  magnificent  sym¬ 
bols  that  had  to  him  no  meaning.  The 
word  prophecy  is  used  here  in  its  more 
strict  sense  as  denoting  the  disclosure  of 
future  events  —  a  large  portion  of  the 
book  being  of  this  nature.  It  is  here 
synonymous  with  Revelation,  in  ver.  1. 

And  keep  these  things  which  are  written 
therein.  Keep  in  mind  those  things 
which  relate  to  the  future ;  and  obey 
those  things  which  are  required  as  truth 
and  duty.  The  blessing  which  results 
from  having  in  possession  the  revealed 
truth  of  God  is  not  merely  in  reading  it, 
or  in  hearing  it :  it  results  from  the  fact 
that  the  truth  is  properly  regarded,  and 
exerts  a  suitable  influence  over  our  lives. 
Comp.  Ps.  xix.  11. — “And  in  keeping 


you,  and  peace,  from  him  *  which 
is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to 
come ;  and  from  the  seven  *  Spirits 
which  are  before  his  throne. 

A  ver.  8.  A  Zee.  4. 10.  c.  3. 1.  and  4.  5. 


of  them,  there  is  great  reward.”  For 
the  time  is  at  hand.  See  ver.  1.  Th* 
word  here  used  —  iyyvs  —  has  the  same 
signification  substantially  as  the  word 
“shortly”  in  ver.  1.  It  would  apply  to 
any  event  whose  beginning  was  soon  to 
occur,  though  the  end  might  be  remote, 
for  the  series  of  events  might  stretch  far 
into  the  future.  It  cannot  be  doubted, 
however,  that  the  writer  meant  to  press 
upon  them  the  importance  of  attending 
to  these  things,  from  the  fact  that  either 
entirely  or  in  part  these  things  were  soon 
to  happen. — It  may  be  inferred  from 
this  verse,  that  it  is  possible  so  to  under¬ 
stand  this  book,  as  that  it  may  convey 
useful  instruction.  This  is  the  only  book 
in  the  Bible  of  which  a  special  blessing 
is  pronounced  on  him  who  reads  it;  but 
assuredly  a  blessing  would  not  be  pro¬ 
nounced  on  the  perusal  of  a  book  which 
is  entirely  unintelligible.  While,  there¬ 
fore,  there  may  be  many  obscurities  in 
this  book,  it  is  also  to  be  assumed  that  it 
may  be  so  far  understood  as  to  be  useful 
to  Christians,  in  supporting  their  faith, 
and  giving  them  elevated  views  of  the 
final  triumph  of  religion,  and  of  the  glory 
of  the  world  to  come.  Any  thing  is  a 
blessing  which  enables  us  with  well- 
founded  hope  and  joy  to  look  forward  to 
the  heavenly  world.  — 

4.  John  to  the.  seven  churches  which 
are  in  Asia.  The  word  Asia  is  used  in 
quite  different  senses  by  different  writers. 
It  is  used  (1.)  as  referring  to  the  whole 
eastern  continent  now  known  by  that 
name;  (2.)  Hither  Asia,  or  Asia  Minor; 
(3-)  That  part  of  Asia  which  Attalus  III, 
king  of  Pergamos  gave  to  the  Romans, 
viz :  Mysia,  Phrygia,  Lycaonia,  Lydia, 
Caria,  Pisidia,  and  the  Southern  coast; 
that  is,  all  in  the  Western,  South-western, 
and  Southern  parts  of  Asia  Minor;  and 
(4.)  in  the  New  Testament,  usually,  the 
South-western  part  of  Asia  Minor,  of 
which  Ephesus  was  the  capital.  See 
Notes,  Acts  ii.  9.  The  word  Asia  is  not 
found  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  but  it 
occurs  often  in  the  books  of  Maccabees, 
and  in  the  New  Testament.  In  the  New 


56 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


Testament  it  is  not  used  in  the  large 
sense  in  which  it  is  now  as  applied  to  the 
whole  continent,  hut  in  its  largest  signi¬ 
fication  it  would  include  only  Asia  Minor. 
It  is  also  used,  especially  by  Luke,  as 
denoting  the  country  that  was  called 
Ionia,  or  that  which  embraced  the  pro¬ 
vinces  of  Caria  and  Lydia.  Of  this  re¬ 
gion  Ephesus  was  the  principal  city,  and 
it  was  in  this  region  that  the  “seven 
churches”  were  situated.  Whether  there 
were  more  than  seven  churches  in  this 
region  is  not  intimated  by  the  writer  of 
this  book,  and  on  that  point  we  have  no 
certain  knowledge.  It  is  evident  that 
these  seven  were  the  principal  churches, 
even  if  there  were  more,  and  that  there 
was  some  reason  why  they  should  be 
particularly  addressed.  There  is  men¬ 
tion  of  some  other  churches  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  these.  Colosse  was  near  to 
Laodicea,  and  from  Col.  iv.  13,  it  would 
seem  not  improbable  that  there  was  a 
church  also  at  Hierapolis.  But  there 
may  Tiave  been  nothing  in  their  circum¬ 
stances  that  demanded  particular  in¬ 
struction  or  admonition,  and  they  may 
have  been  on  that  account  omitted. 
There  is,  also,  some  reason  to  suppose, 
that,  though  there  had  been  other 
churches  in  that  vicinity  besides  the 
seven  mentioned  by  John,  they  had 
become  extinct  at  the  time  when  he 
wrote  the  Book  of  Revelation.  It  ap¬ 
pears  from  Tacitus  (Annal.  xiv.  27,  comp, 
also  Pliny  N.  H.  v.  29),  that  in  the  time 
of  Nero,  A.  D.  61,  the  city  of  Laodicea 
was  destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  in  which 
earthquake,  according  to  Eusebius,  the 
adjacent  cities  of  Colosie  and  Hierapolis 
were  involved.  Laodicea  was,  indeed, 
immediately  rebuilt,  but  there  is  no  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  re-establishment  of  the 
church  there,  before  the  time  when  John 
wrote  this  book.  The  earliest  mention 
we  have  of  a  church  there,  after  the  one 
referred  to  in  the  New  Testament  by 
Paul  (Col.  ii.  1;  iv.  13,  15,  16),  is  in  the 
time  of  Trajan,  when  Papias  was  bishop 
there,  sometime  between  A.  D.  98,  and 
Il7.  It  would  appear,  then,  to  be  not 
improbable  that  at  the  time  when  the 
Apocalypse  was  written,  there  were  in  fact 
but  seven  churches  in  the  vicinity.  Prof. 
Stuart  (i.  219)  supposes  that  “seven,  and 
only  so  many,  may  have  been  named, 
because  the  seven-fold  divisions  and 
groups  of  various  objects,  constitute  a 
conspicuous  feature  in  the  Apocalypse 


throughout.”  But  this  reason  seems  too 
artificial,  and  it  can  hardly  be  supposed 
that  it  would  influence  the  mind  of 
John,  in  the  specification  by  name  of  the 
churches  to  which  the  book  was  sent. 
If  no  names  had  been  mentioned,  and  if 
the  statement  had  occurred  in  glowing 
poetic  description,  it  is  not  inconceivable 
that  the  number  seveti  might  have  been 
selected  for  some  such  purpose.  ^  Grace 
be  unto  you  and  peace.  The  usual  form 
of  salutation  in  addressing  a  church.  See 
Notes  on  Rom.  i.  7.  If  From  him  which 
is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to  come. 
From  him  who  is  everlasting — embracing 
all  duration,  past,  present,  and  to  come. 
No  expression  could  more  strikingly  de¬ 
note  eternity  than  this.  He  now  exists; 
he  has  existed  in  the  past;  he  will  ex¬ 
ist  in  the  future.  There  is  an  evident 
allusion  here  to  the  name  Jehovah,  the 
name  by  which  the  true  God  is  appro¬ 
priately  designated  in  the  Scriptures. 

That  name  —  nVr  — from  rrn  to  be,  to 

T  :  T  T 

exist,  seems  to  have  been  adopted  be¬ 
cause  it  denotes  existence,  or  being, 
and  as  denoting  simply  one  who  ex¬ 
ists  ;  and  has  reference  merely  to  the 
fact  of  existence.  The  word  has  no 
variation  of  form,  and  has  no  reference 
to  time,  and  would  embrace  all  time  :  — 
that  is,  it  is  as  true  at  one  time  as 
another  that  he  exists.  Sueh  a  word 
would  not  be  inappropriately  paraphrased 
by  the  phrase  “who  is,  and  who  was, 
and  who  is  to  come,”  or  who  is  to 
be ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  John 
referred  to  him  here  as  being  himself  the 
eternal  and  uncreated  existence,  and  as 
the  great  and  original  fountain  of  all 
being.  They  who  desire  to  find  a  full 
discussion  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  the 
name  Jehovah,  may  consult  an  article 
by  Prof.  Tholuck,  in  the  Biblical  Reposi¬ 
tory,  vol.  iv.  pp.  89-108.  It  is  remark¬ 
able  that  there  are  some  passages  in 
heathen  inscriptions  and  writings  which 
bear  a  very  strong  resemblance  to  the 
language  here  used  by  John  respecting 
God.  Thus  Plutarch  (De  Is.  et  Osir.  p. 
354),  speaking  of  a  temple  of  Isis,  at 
Sais,  in  Egypt,  says,  “It  bore  this  in¬ 
scription — 'I  am  all  that  was,  and  is, 
and  shall  be,  and  my  vail  no  mortal  can 
remove’” — ’Eyto  etyi  irav  to  yeyovis,  Kal 
Sv ,  Kal  eadfuvov  ’  Kal  rev  iftov  riir'Xov  evSeis 

mo  Ji'jjtcIj  aveKaXvxpev.  So  Orpheus  (in 
Auctor.  Lib.de  Mundo),  “Jupiter  is  the 


CHAPTER  I. 


57 


A.  D.  96.] 

head,  Jupiter  is  the  middle,  and  all 
things  are  made  by  Jupiter.”  So  in 
Pausanias  (Phocic.  12),  “  Jupiter  was ; 
Jupiter  is;  Jupiter  shall  be.”  The  re¬ 
ference  in  the  phrase  before  us  is  to 
God  as  such,  or  to  God  considered  as  the 
Father.  ^  And  from  the  seven  spirits 
which  are  before  his  throne.  After  all 
that  has  been  written  on  this  very  diffi¬ 
cult  expression,  it  is  still  impossible  to 
determine  with  certainty  its  meaning. 
The  principal  opinions  which  have  been 
held  in  regard  to  it  are  the  following : 
I.  That  it  refers  to  God,  as  such.  This 
opinion  is  held  by  Eichhorn,  and  is 
favored  by  Ewald.  No  arguments  de¬ 
rived  from  any  parallel  passages  are 
urged  for  this  opinion,  nor  can  any  such 
be  found,  where  God  is  himself  spoken 
of  under  the  representation  of  a  seven¬ 
fold  Spirit.  But  the  objections  to  this 
view  are  so  obvious  as  to  be  insuper¬ 
able.  (1)  If  it  refers  to  God  as  such, 
then  it  would  be  mere  tautology,  for  the 
writer  had  just  referred  to  him  in  the 
phrase  “from  him  who  was,”  Ac.  (2) 
It  is  difficult  to  perceive  in  what  sense 
“  seven  spirits”  could  be  ascribed  to 
God,  or  how  he  could  be  described  as  a 
being  of  “  Seven  Spirits.”  At  least,  if 
he  could  be  spoken  of  as  such,  there 
would  be  no  objection  to  applying  the 
phrase  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  (3)  How 
could  it  be  said  of  God  himself  that  he 
was  “  before  the  throne  ?”  He  is  every¬ 
where  represented  as  sitting  on  the 
throne,  not  as  before  it.  It  is  easy  to 
conceive  of  angels  as  standing  before  the 
throne ;  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  it  is 
more  easy  to  conceive  as  being  repre¬ 
sented  thus  as  ready  to  go  forth  and 
convey  a  heavenly  influence  from  that 
throne,  but  it  is  impossible  to  conceive 
in  what  sense  this  could  be  applied  to 
God  as  such.  II.  The  opinion  held  by 
Grotius  and  by  John  Henry  Heinrichs 
that  it  refers  to  “  the  multiform  Provi¬ 
dence  of  God,”  or  to  God  considered  as 
operating  in  seven  or  many  different 
ways.  In  support  of  this,  Grotius  ap¬ 
peals  to  chs.  v.  12,  vii.  12.  But  this 
opinion  is  so  far-fetched,  and  it-is  so 
destitute  of  support,  as  to  have  found,  it 
is  believed,  no  other  advocates,  and  to 
need  no  further  notice.  It  cannot  be 
supposed  that  John  meant  to  personify 
the  attributes  of  the  Deity,  and  then  to 
unite  them  with  God  himself,  and  with 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  represent 


them  as  real  subsistences  from  which 
important  blessings  descend  to  men.  It 
is  clear  that  as  by  the  phrase  “  who  is, 
and  who  was,  and  who  is  to  come,” 
and  by  “Jesus  Christ,  the  faithful  and 
true  witness,”  he  refers  to  real  sub¬ 
sistences,  so  he  must  here.  Besides, 
if  the  attributes  of  God,  or  the  modes 
of  divine  operation,  are  denoted,  why  is 
the  number  seven  chosen?  And  why 
are  they  represented  as  standing  before 
the  throne  ?  III.  A  third  opinion  is, 
that  the  reference  is  to  seven  attending 
and  ministering  presence-angels  ;  angels 
represented  as  standing  before  the  throne 
of  God,  or  in  his  presence.  This  opinion 
was  adopted  among  the  ancients  by 
Clemens/  of  Alexandria;  Andreas?  of 
Cesarea-;  and  others;  among  the' mo¬ 
derns  by  Beza,  Drusius,  Hammond, 
AVetstein,  Rosenmiiller,  Clarke, 

Stuart,  and  others.  This  opinion,  how¬ 
ever,  has  been  held  in  somewhat  dif¬ 
ferent  forms;  some  maintaining  that 
the  seven  angels  are  referred  to  because 
it  was  a  received  opinion  among  the 
Hebrews  that  there  were  seven  angels 
standing  in  the  presence  of  God,  as 
seven  princes  stood  in  the  Persian 
court  before  the  king ;  others,  that 
the  angels  of  the  seven  churches  are 
particularly  referred  to,  represented  now 
as  standing  in  the  presence  of  God ; 
others,  that  seven  angels,  represented 
as  the  principal  angels  employed  in 
the  government  of  the  world,  are  re¬ 
ferred  to ;  and  others,  that  seven 
archangels  are  particularly  designated. 
Compare  Poole,  Synop.  in  loc.  The 
arguments  which  are  relied  on  by 
those  who  suppose  that  seven  angels 
are  here  referred  to,  are  briefly  these  :  — 
(1)  The  nature  of  the  expression  here 
used.  The  expression,  it  is  said,  is  such 
as  would  naturally  denote  beings  who 
were  before  his  throne — beings  who  were 
different  from  him  who  was  on  the 
throne — and  beings  more  than  one  in 
number.  That  it  could  not  refer  to  one 
on  the  throne,  but  must  mean  those  dis¬ 
tinct  and  separate  from  one  on  the 
throne,  is  argued  from  the  use  of  the 
phrases  “  before  the  throne,”  and  “  be¬ 
fore  God,”  in  Rev.  iv.  5,  vii.  9,  15,  viii. 
2,  xi.  4,  16,  xii.  10,  xiv.  3j  xx.  12;  in  all 
which  places  the  representation  denote* 
those  who  were  in  the  presence  of  God, 
and  standing  before  him.  .  (2)  It  ia 
argued  from  other  passages  in  the  Book 


58  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


of  Revelation  which,  it  is  said  (Prof. 
Stuart),  go  directly  to  confirm  this 
opinion.  Thus  in  Rev.  viii.  2  :  “  And  I 
saw  the  seven  angels  which  stood  before 
God.”  So  Rev.  iv.  5  :  the  seven  lamps 
of  fire  burning  before  the  throne,  are 
said  to  be  “  the  seven  Spirits  of  God.” 
In  these  passages,  it  is  alleged  that  the 
article  “the”  designates  the  well-Jsnown 
angels ;  or  those  which  had  been  before 
specified,  and  that  this  is  the  first 
mention  of  any  such  angels  after  the 
designation  in  the  passage  before  us. 
(3)  It  is  said  that  this  is  in  accordance 
with  what  was  usual  among  the  He¬ 
brews,  who  were  accustomed  to  speak  of 
seven  presence-angels,  or  angels  stand¬ 
ing  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah.  Thus 
in  the  Book  of  Tobit  (xii.  15),  Raphael 
is  introduced  as  using  this  language, 
“  I  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven  holy 
angels,  which  present  the  prayers  of  the 
saints,  and  which  go  in  and  out  before 
the  glory  of  the  Holy  One.”  The 
apocryphal  Book  of  Enoch  (ch.  xx.) 
gives  the  names  of  the  seven  angels  who 
watch ;  that  is,  of  the  watchers  (comp. 
Notes  on  Daniel  iv.  13,  17)  who  stand 
in  the  presence  of  God  waiting  for  the 
divine  commands,  or  who  watch  over 
the  affairs  of  men.  So  in  the  Zendavesta 
of  Zoroaster,  seven  amshaspends,  or 
archangels,  are  mentioned.  See  Prof. 
Stuart,  in  loc. 

To  these  views,  however,  there  are 
objections  of  great  weight,  if  they  are 
not  in  fact  quite  insuperable.  They  are 
such  as  the  following :  (1)  That  the 

same  rank  should  be  given  to  them  as 
to  God,  as  the  source  of  blessings.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  the  view  which  represents 
this  expression  as  referring  to  angels, 
they  are  placed  on  the  same  level,  so  far 
as  the  matter  before  us  is  concerned, 
with  “him  who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to 
come,”  and  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — 
a  doctrine  which  does  not  elsewhere 
occur  in  the  Scriptures,  and  which  we 
cannot  suppose  the  writer  designed  to 
f  teach.  (2)  That  blessings  should  be 
invoked  from  angels — as  if  they  could 
impart  “grace  and  peace.”  It  is  evi¬ 
dent  that  whoever  is  referred  to  here 
by  the  phrase  “the  seven  spirits,”  he 
is  placed  on  J,he  same  level  with  the 
others  mentioned  as  the  source  of 
“grace  and  peace.”  But  it  cannot  be 
supposed  that  an  inspired  writer  would 
invoke  that  grace  and  peace  from  any 


but  a  divine  being.  (3)  That  as  two 
persons  of  the  Trinity  are  here  men¬ 
tioned,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the 
third  would  not  be  omitted;  or  to  put 
this  argument  in  a  stronger  form,  it 
cannot  be  supposed  that  an  inspired 
writer  would  mention  two  of  the  persons 
of  the  Trinity  in  this  connexion,  and 
then  not  only  not  mention  the  third, 
but  refer  to  angels — to  creatures — as 
bestowing  that  which  would  be  appro¬ 
priately  sought  from  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  incongruity  would  be  not  merely  in 
omitting  all  reference  to  the  Spirit  — 
which  might  indeed  occur,  as  it  often 
does  in  the  Scriptures — but  in  putting 
in  the  place  which  that  Spirit  would 
naturally  occupy  an  allusion  to  angels 
as  conferring  blessings.  (4)  If  this  refer 
to  angels,  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  the 
inference  that  angel-worship,  or  invoca¬ 
tion  of  angels,  is  proper.  To  all  intents 
and  purposes,  this  is  an  act  of  worship; 
for  it  is  an  act  of  solemn  invocation.  It 
is  an  acknowledgment  of  the  “seven 
spirits”  as  the  source  of  “grace  and 
peace.”  It  would  be  impossible  to  re¬ 
sist  this  impression  on  the  popular  mind ; 
it  would  not  be  possible  to  meet  it  if 
urged  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  the 
propriety  of  angel-invocation,  or  angel- 
worship.  And  yet,  if  there  is  anything 
clear  in  the  Scriptures,  it  is  that  God 
alone  is  to  be  worshipped.  For  these 
reasons,  it  seems  to  me  that  this  in¬ 
terpretation  cannot  be  well  founded. 
IY.  There  remains  a  fourth  opinion, 
that  it  refers  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in 
favor  of  that  opinion  it  may  bo  urged, 
(1)  that  it  is  most  natural  to  suppose  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  would  be  invoked  on 
such  an  occasion,  in  connexion  with 
him  “  who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come,” 
and  with  “Jesus  Christ.”  If  two  of  the 
persons  of  the  Trinity  were  addressed  on 
such  an  occasion,  it  would  be  properly 
supposed  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  not 
be  omitted,  as  one  of  the  persons  from 
whom  the  blessing  was  to  descend. 
Comp.  2  Cor.  xiii.  14.  “  The  grace  of 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of 
God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  be  with  you  all.”  (2)  It  would  be 
unnatural  and  improper,  in  such  an  in¬ 
vocation,  to  unite  angels  with  God  as 
imparting  blessings,  or  as  participating 
with  God  and  with  Christ,  in  commu¬ 
nicating  blessings  to  man.  An  invoca¬ 
tion  to  God  to  send  his  angels,  or  to 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  I. 


69 


impart  grace  and  favor  through  angelic 
help,  would  he  in  entire  accordance  with 
the  usage  in  Scripture,  but  it  is  not  in 
accordance  with  such  usage  to  invoke 
such  blessings  from  angels.  (3)  It  can¬ 
not  be  denied  that  an  invocation  of 
grace  from  “him  who  is,  and  was,  and 
is  to  come,”  is  of  the  nature  of  worship. 
The  address  to  him  is  as  God,  and  the 
attitude  of  the  mind  in  such  an  address 
is  that  of  one  who  is  engaged  in  an  act 
'of  devotion.  The  effect  of  uniting  any 
other  being  with  him  in  such  a  case, 
would  be  to  lead  to  the  worship  of  one 
thus  associated  with  him.  In  regard  to 
the  Lord  Jesus,  “the  faithful  and  true 
witness,”  it  is  from  such  expressions  as 
these  that  we  are  led  to  the  belief  that  he 
is  divine,  and  that  it  is  proper  to  worship 
him  as  such.  The  same  effect  must  be 
produced  in  reference  to  what  is  here 
called  “  the  seven  spirits  before  the 
throne.”  We  cannot  well  resist  the  im¬ 
pression  that  some  one  with  divine 
attributes  is  intended;  or,  if  it  refer  to 
angels,  we  cannot  easily  show  that  it  is 
not  proper  to  render  divine  worship  to 
them.  If  they  were  thus  invoked  by  an 
apostle,  can  it  be  improper  to  worship 
them  now?  (4)  The  word  used  here  is 
not  angels  but  spirits  ;  and  though  it  is 
true  that  angels  are  spirits,  and  that  the 
word  spirit  is  applied  to  them  (Heb.  i.  7), 
yet  it  is  also  true  that-that  is  not  a  word 
which  would  be  understood  to  refer  to 
them  without  designating  that  angels 
were  meant.  If  angels  had  been  intended 
here,  that  word  would  naturally  have 
been  used,  as  is  the  case  elsewhere  in 
this  book.  (5)  In  Rev.  iv.  5,  where 
there  is  a  reference  to  “the  seven  lamps 
before  the  throne,”  it  is  said  of  them 
that  they  “are,”  that  is,  “they  repre¬ 
sent,  “  the  seven  spirits  of  God.”  This 
passage  may  be  understood  as  referring 
to  the  same  thing  as  that  before  us,  but 
it  cannot  be  well  understood  of  angels, 
for  (a)  if  it  did,  it  would  have  been 
natural  to  use  that  language  for  the 
reason  above  mentioned;  (b)  the  angels 
are  nowhere  called  “the  spirits  of  God,” 
nor  would  such  language  be  proper. 
The  phrase  “Spirit  of  God”  naturally 
implies  divinity,  and  could  not  be  applied 
to  a  creature.  For  these  reasons,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  interpretation  which 
applies  the  phrase  to  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
to  be  preferred;  and  though  that  inter¬ 
pretation  is  not  freo  from  difficulties,  yet 


there  are  fewer  difficulties  in  that  than 
in  either  of  the  others  proposed.  Though 
it  may  not  be  possible  wholly  to  re¬ 
move  the  difficulties  involved  in  that 
interpretation,  yet  perhaps  something 
may  be'  done  to  diminish  their  force. 
(1)  First,  as  to  the  reason  why  the 
number  seven  should  be  applied  to  the 
Holy  Spirit,  (a.)  There  would  be  as 
much  propriety  certainly  in  applying  it 
to  the  Holy  Spirit  as  to  God  as  such. 
And  yet  Grotius,  Eichhorn,  Ewald,  and 
others  saw  no  difficulty  in  such  an  ap¬ 
plication  considered  as  representing  a 
seven-fold  mode  of  operation  of  God,  or 
a  manifold  divine  agency.  (A)  The 
word  seven  often  denotes  a  full  or  com¬ 
plete  number,  and  may  be  used  to  denote 
that  which  is  full,  complete,  or  manifold  ; 
and  might  thus  be  used  in  reference  to 
an  All-perfect  Spirit,  or  to  a  spirit  which 
was  manifold  in  its  operations,  (c)  The 
number  seven  is  evidently  a  favorite 
number  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  and 
it  might  be  used  by  the  author  in  places, 
and  in  a  sense,  such  as  it  would  not  be 
likely  to  be  used  by  another  writer. 
Thus  there  are  seven  epistles  to  the 
seven  churches ;  there  are  seven  seals, 
seven  trumpets,  seven  vials  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  seven  last  plagues;  there  are 
seven  lamps,  and  seven  Spirits  of  God ; 
the  Lamb  has  seven  horns  and  seven 
eyes.  In  ch.  i.  16,  seven  stars  are  men¬ 
tioned  ;  in  ch.  v.  12,  seven  attributes  of 
God;  ch.  xii.  3,  the  dragon  has  seven 
heads;  ch.  xiii.  1,  the  beast  has  seven 
heads,  (d)  The  number  seven,  there¬ 
fore,  map  have  been  given  to  the  Holy 
Spirit  with  reference  to  the  diversity  or 
the  fulness  of  his  operations  on  the 
souls  of  men,  and  to  his  manifold  agency 
oil  the  affairs  of  the  world,  as  further 
developed  in  this  book.  (2)  As  to 
his  being  represented  as  “ before  the 
throne,”  this  may  be  intended  to  desig¬ 
nate  the  fact  that  the  Divine  Spirit  was, 
as  it  were,  prepared  to  go  forth,  or  to  bo 
sent  forth,  in  accordance  with  a  com¬ 
mon  representation  in  the  Scriptures, 
to  accomplish  important  purposes  on 
human  affairs.  The  posture  does  not 
necessarily  imply  inferiority  of  nature, 
any  more  than  the  language  does  re¬ 
specting  the  Son  of  God,  when  he  is 
represented  as  being  sent  into  the  world 
to  execute  an  important  commission 
from  the  Father. 


60 


REVEL. 

5  And  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
the  faithful  witness,  0  and  the  b 
first-begotten  of  the  dead,  and  the 
Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
a  Jno.  8. 14.  b  Col.  1. 18. 


5.  And  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 
faithful  witness.  See  Notes  on  ver.  2. 
He  is  faithful  in  the  sense  that  he  is  one 
on  whose  testimony  there  may  be  entire 
reliance,  or  who  is  entirely  worthy  to 
he  believed.  From  him  “grace  and 
peace”  are  appropriately  sought,  as  one 
who  hears  such  a  testimony,  and  as  the 
first-begotten  from  the  dead,  and  as 
reigning  over  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
Thus  grace  and  peace  are  invoked  from 
the  infinite  God  in  all  his  relations  and 
operations:  —  as  the  Father,  the  Source 
of  all  existence  ,•  as  the  Sacred  Spirit, 
going  forth  in  manifold  operations  upon 
the  hearts  of  men ;  and  as  the  Son  of 
God,  the  one  appointed  to  bear  faithful 
testimony  to  the  truth  respecting  God 
and  future  events.  And  the  first- 
begotten  of  the  dead.  The  same  Greek 
expression — rpoordroKos — occurs  in  Col.  i. 
18.  See  it  explained  in  the  Notes  on 
that  passage.  Comp.  Notes  1  Cor.  xv. 
20.  And  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of 
the  earth.  Who  has  over  all  the  kings 
of  the  earth  the  preeminence  which 
kings  have  over  their  subjects.  He  is 
the  Ruler  of  rulers ;  King  of  kings.  In 
ch.  xvii.  14,  xix.  16,  the  same  thought  is 
expressed  by  saying  that  he  is  the 
“King  of  kings.”  No  language  could 
more  sublimely  denote  his  exalted  cha¬ 
racter,  or  his  supremacy.  Kings  and 
princes  sway  a_sceptre  over  the  millions 
of  the  earth,  "and  the  exaltation  of  the 
Saviour  is  here  expressed  by  supposing 
that  all  those  kings  and  princes  consti¬ 
tute  a  community  over  which  he  is  the 
head.  The  exaltation  of  the  Redeemer 
is  elsewhere  expressed  in  different  lan¬ 
guage,  but  the  idea  is  one  that  every¬ 
where  prevails  in  regard  to  him  in  the 
Scriptures.  Comp.  Matt,  xxviii.  18,  xi. 
27 ;  John  xvii.  2;  Eph.  i.  20-22;  Phil.  ii. 
9-11;  Col.  i.  15-18.  The  word  Prince 
— b  ap%uv- — means  properly  ruler,  leader, 
the  first  in  rank.  We  often  apply  the 
word  prince  to  an  heir  to  a  throne  who  is 
not  invested  with  absolute  sovereignty. 
The  word  here,  however,  denotes  that  he 
actually  exercises  dominion  over  the 
rulers  of  the  earth.  As  this  is  an  autho- 


TION ,  [A-D-96- 

Unto  him  that  loved  c  us,  and 
washed  d  us  from  our  sins  in  his 
own  blood, 

c  Jno.  13. 1.  d  He.  9. 14. 


rity  which  is  claimed  by  God  (comp.  Isa. 
x.  5,  seq. ;  xlv.  1,  seq. ;  Ps.  xlvii.  2,  xeix. 

1,  ciii.  19,  Dan.  iv.  34),  and  which  can 
only  appertain  to  God,  it  is  clear  that  iq 
ascribing  this  to  the  Lord  Jesu3  it  is 
implied  that  he  is  possessed  of  divine 
attributes.  As  much  of  the  revelations 
of  this  book  pertained  to  the  assertion 
of  power  over  the  princes  and  rulers  of 
this  world,  there  was  a  propriety  that, 
in  the  commencement,  it  should  be 
asserted  that  he  who  was  to  exert  that 
power  was  invested  with  the  prerogative 
of  a  ruler  of  the  nations,  and  that  he 
had  this  right  of  control.  *[  Unto  him 
that  loved  us.  This  refers  undoubtedly 
to  the  Lord  Jesus,  whose  love  for  men 
was  so  strong  that  nothing  more  was 
necessary  to  characterize  him  than  to 
speak  of  him  as  the  one  “  who  loved  us.” 
It  is  manifest  that  the  division  in  the 
verses  should  have  been  made  here,  for 
this  commences  a  new  subject,  not 
having  any  special  connexion  with  that 
which  precedes.  In  ver.  4,  and  the  first 
part  of  this  verse,  the  writer  had  invoked 
grace  from  the  Father,  the  Spirit,  and 
the  Saviour.  In  the  latter  clause  of  the 
verse  there  commences  an  ascription  of 
praise  to  the  Redeemer ;  an  ascription  to 
him  particularly,  because  the  whole  book 
is  regarded  as  a  revelation  from  him 
(ver.  1.);  because  he  was  the  one  who 
especially  appeared  to  John  in  the 
visions  of  Patmos ;  and  because  he  was 
to  be  the  great  agent  in  carrying  into 
execution  the  purposes  revealed  in  this 
book.  And  washed  us  from  our  sins 
in  his  own  blood.  He  has  removed  the 
pollution  of  sin  from  our  souls  by  his 
blood ;  that  is,  his  blood  has  been  applied 
to  cleanse  us  from  sin.  Blood  can  be 
represented  as  having  a  cleansing  power 
only  as  it  makes  an  expiation  for  sin,  for 
considered  literally  its  effect  would  be 
the  reverse.  The  language  is  such  as 
would  be  used  only  on  the  supposition 
that  he  had  made  an  atonement,  and 
that  it  was  by  the  atonement  that  we  are 
cleansed;  for  in  what  sense  could  it  bo 
said  of  a  martyr  that  he  ‘  had  washed 
us  from  our  sins  in  his  blood  ?’  How 


CHAPTER  I. 


61 


A.  D.  96.] 

6  And  hath  made  us  kings  °  and 
riests  unto  God  and  his  father ;  to 
im  b  be  glory  and  dominion  for 

ever  and  ever.  Amen. 

7  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds ; c 

a  Ex.  19.  6. 1  Pe.  2.  5.  9.  b  He.  13.  21. 
c  Da.  7. 13.  Mat.  26.  64. 

could  this  language  be  used  of  Paul  or 
Polycarp ;  of  Ridley  or  Cranmer  ?  The 
doctrine  that  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanses 
us  from  sin,  or  ■purifies  us,  is  one  that  is 
common  in  the  Scriptures.  Comp.  1  J ohn 
i.  7 ;  Heb.  ix.  14.  The  specific  idea  of 
washing,  however, — representing  that 
blood  as  washing  sin  away — is  one  which 
does  not  elsewhere  occur.  It  is  evidently 
used  in  the  sense  of  cleansing  or  purify¬ 
ing,  as  we  do  this  by  washing,  and  as 
the  blood  of  Christ  accomplishes  in 
respect  to  our  souls,  what  washing  with 
water  does  in  respect  to  the  body. 

6.  And  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests 
unto  God.  In  1  Pet.  ii.  9,  the  same 
idea  is  expressed  by  saying  of  Christians 
that  they  are  “&  royal  priesthood.”  See 
Notes  on  that  verse.  The  quotation  in 
both  places  is  from  Ex.  xix.  6  :  “And  ye 
shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of  priests.” 
This  idea  is  expressed  here  by  saying 
that  Christ  had  made  us  in  fact  kings 
and  priests ;  that  is,  Christians  are  exalt¬ 
ed  to  the  dignity,  and  are  invested  with 
the  office,  implied  in  these  words.  The 
word  kings,  as  applied  to  them,  refers  to 
the  exalted  rank  and  dignity  which  they 
will  have;  to  the  fact  that  they,  in  com¬ 
mon  with  their  Saviour,  will  reign 
triumphant  over  all  enemies ;  and  that, 
having  gained  a  victory  over  sin  and 
death  and  hell,  they  may  be  represented 
as  reigning  together.  The  word  priests 
refers  to  the  fact  that  they  are  engaged 
in  the  holy  service  of  God,  or  that  they 
ryffer  to  him  acceptable  worship.  See 
Notes  on  1  Pet.  i.  5.  •[  And  his  Father. 
Even  his  Father ;  that  is,  the  Saviour  has 
redeemed  them,  and  elevated  them  to  this 
exalted  rank,  in  order  that  they  may  thus 
be  engaged  in  the  service  of  his  Father. 

To  him  he  glory.  To  the  Redeemer  ; 
for  so  the  construction  (ver.  5)  demands. 
The  word  “  glory”  here  means  praise,  or 
honor,  implying  a  wish  that  all  honor 
should  be  shown  him.  And  dominion. 
This  word  means  literally,  strength  — 
Kpuros ; — but  it  here  means  the  strength, 
power,  or  authority  which  is  exercised 
6 


and  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and 
they  d  also  which  pierced  him :  and 
all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall 
wail  ‘  because  of  him.  Even  so,  f 
Amen. 

d  Zee.  12. 10.  e  Mat.  24.  30.  /  c.  22. 20. 


over  others,  and  the  expression  is  equiv¬ 
alent  to  a  wish  that  he  may  reign. 

7.  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds. 
That  is,  the  Lord  Jesus  when  he  re¬ 
turns  will  come  accompanied  with  clouds. 
This  is  in  accordance  with  the  uniform 
representation  respecting  the  return  of 
the  Saviour.  See  Notes  on  Matt.  xxiv. 
30.  Comp.  Matt.  xxvi.  64;  Mark  xiii. 
26,  xiv.  62;  Acts  i.  9,  11.  Clouds  are 
appropriate  symbols  of  Majesty,  and 
God  is  often  represented  as  appearing 
in  that  manner.  See  Ex.  xix.  18;  Ps. 
xviii.  11,  seq. ;  Isa.  xix.  1.  So,  among 
the  heathen,  it  was  common  to  repre¬ 
sent  their  divinities  as  appearing  clothed 
with  a  cloud : 

“tandem  venias,  precamur, 

Nube  candentes  humeros  am  ictus 

Augur  Apollo. w 

The  design  of  introducing  this  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  Saviour,  and  of  the  man¬ 
ner  in  which  he  would  appear,  seems  to 
be  to  impress  the  mind  with  a  sense  of 
the  majesty  and  glory  of  that  being  from 
whom  John  received  his  revelations. 
His  rank,  his  character,  his  glory  were 
such  as  to  demand  respect;  all  should 
reverence  him,  and  all  should  feel  that 
his  communications  about  the  future  were 
important  to  them,  for  they  must  soon 
appear  before  him.  And  every  eye 
shall  see  him.  He  will  be  made  visible 
in  his  glory  to  all  that  dwell  upon  the 
earth ;  to  all  the  children  of  men.  Every 
one,  therefore,  has  an  interest  in  what  he 
says ;  every  one  has  this  in  certain  pros¬ 
pect  that  he  shall  see  the  Son  of  God 
coming  as  a  Judge,  f  And  they  also 
which  pierced  him.  When  he  died;  that 
is,  they  who  pierced  his  hands,  his  feet, 
and  his  side.  There  is  probably  an  allu¬ 
sion  here  to  Zech.  xii.  10  :  “  They  shall 
look  upon  me  whom  they  have  pierced, 
and  they  shall  mourn.”  The  language 
here  is  so  general  that  it  may  refer  to  any 
act  of  looking  upon  the  pierced  Saviour, 
and  might  be  applied  to  those  who 
would  see  him  on  the  cross  and  to  their 
compunctious  visitings  then ;  or  to  their 


62 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


subsequent  reflections,  as  they  might 
look  by  faith  on  him  whom  they  had 
crucified;  or  to  the  feeling  of  any  sin¬ 
ners  who  should  reflect  that  their  sins 
had  been  the  cause  of  the  death  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  ;  or  it  might  be  applied,  as  it 
is  here,  more  specifically  to  the  feelings 
which  his  murderers  will  have  when 
they  shall  see  him  coming  in  his  glory. 
All  sinners  who  have  pierced  his  heart 
by  their  crimes  will  then  behold  him, 
and  will  mourn  over  their  treatment  of 
him ;  they,  in  a  special  manner,  who 
imbrued  their  hands  in  his  blood  will 
then  remember  their  crime,  and  be 
overwhelmed  with  alarm.  The  design 
of  what  is  here  said  seems  to  be,  to  show 
that  the  coming  of  the  Saviour  will  be 
an  event  of  great  interest  to  all  mankind. 
None  can  be  indifferent  to  it,  for  all  will 
see  him.  His  friends  will  hail  his  ad¬ 
vent  (comp.  ch.  xxii.  20),  but  all  who 
were  engaged  in  putting  him  to  death, 
and  all  who  in  any  manner  have  pierced 
his  heart  by  sin  and  ingratitude,  unless 
they  sha’l  have  repented,  will  have  oc¬ 
casion  of  bitter  lamentation  when  he 
shall  ccme.  There  are  none  who  have 
a  more  fearful  doom  to  anticipate  than 
the  murderers  of  the  Son  of  God,  in¬ 
cluding  those  who  actually  put  him  to 
death,  and  those  who  would  have  en¬ 
gaged  in  such  an  act  had  they  been 
present,  and  those  who,  by  their  con¬ 
duct,  have  done  all  they  could  to  pierce 
and  wound  him  by  their  ingratitude. 

And  all  kindreds  of  the  earth.  Gr., 
'All  the  tribes — tfcvXai — of  the  earth.’ 
This  language  is  ihe  same  which  the 
Saviour  uses  in  Matt.  xxiv.  30.  See 
Notes  on  that  passage.  The  word  tribes 
is  that  which  is  commonly  applied  to 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  and  thus 
used,  it  would  describe  the  inhabitants 
of  the  holy  land ;  but  it  may  be 
used  to  denote  nations  and  people  in 
general,  as  descended  from  a  common 
ancestor,  and  the  connexion  requires 
that  it  should  be  understood  in  this 
sense  here,  since  it  is  said  that  “every 
eye  shall  see  him;”  that  is,  all  that 
dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  *[  Shall 
wail  because  of  him.  On  account  of 
him ;  on  account  of  their  treatment  of 
him.  The  word  rendered  wail — k6ittu> — 
means  properly  to  beat,  to  cut;  then  to 
beat  or  cut  one’s  self  in  the  breast  as  an 
expression  of  sorrow ;  and  then  to 
lament,  to  cry  aloud  in  intense  grief. 


The  coming  of  the  Saviour  will  be  an 
occasion  of  this,  (a)  because  it  will  bean 
event  which  will  call  the  sins  of  men  to 
remembrance ;  and  ( b )  because  they 
will  be  overwhelmed  with  the  appre¬ 
hension  of  the  wrath  to  come.  Nothing 
would  fill  the  earth  with  greater  con¬ 
sternation  than  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  God  in  the  clouds  of  heaven ;  nothing 
would  produce  so  deep  and  universal 
alarm.  This  fact,  which  no  one  can 
doubt,  is  proof  that  men  feel  that  they 
are  guilty,  since,  if  they  were  innocent, 
they  would  have  nothing  to  dread  by  his 
appearing.  It  is  also  a  proof  that  they 
believe  in  the  doctrine  of  future  punish¬ 
ment,  since,  if  they  do  not,  there  is  no 
reason  why  they  should  be  alarmed  at 
his  coming.  Surely  men  would  not 
dread  his  appearing  if  they  really 
believed  that  all  will  be  saved.  Who 
dreads  the  coming  of  a  benefactor  to 
bestow  favors  on  him  ?  Who  dreads  the 
appearing  of  a  jailor  to  deliver  him  from 
prison ;  of  a  physician  to  raise  him  up 
from  a  bed  of  pain;  of  a  deliverer  to 
knock  off  the  fetters  of  slavery  ?  And 
how  can  it  be  that  men  should  be 
alarmed  at  the  coming  of  the  Saviour 
unless  their  consciences  tell  them  that 
they  have  much  to  fear  in  the  future?  The 
presence  of  the  Redeemer  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven  would  destroy  all  the  hopes  of 
those  who  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  uni¬ 
versal  salvation  —  as  the  approach  of 
death  now  often  does.  Men  believe  that 
there  is  much  to  be  dreaded  in  the  future 
world,  or  they  would  not  fear  the 
coming  of  him  who  shall  wind  up  the 
affairs  of  the  human  race.  Even  so, 
A  men — vat,  &n*jv.  “  A  double  expression 
of  so  be  it,  assuredly,  certainly,  one  in 
Greek  and  the  other  in  Hebrew.”  Prof. 
Stuart.  Comp.  Rom.  viii.  16,  “Abba, 
Father”  —  ’a/?/3a,  b  irar/jp.  The  idea 
which  John  seems  to  intend  to  convey 
is,  that  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  the  consequences  which  he  says 
will  follow,  are  events  which  are  alto¬ 
gether  certain.  This  is  not  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  a  wish  that  it  may  be  so,  as 
our  common  translation  would  seem  to 
imply,  but  a  strong  affirmation  that  it 
will  be  so.  In  some  passages,  however, 
the  word  (vat)  expresses  assent  to  what 
is  said,  implying  approbation  of  it  as 
true,  or  as  desirable.  Matt.  xi.  26, 
“  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seems  good 
in  thy  sight.”  Luko  x.  21.  So  in  Rev. 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAP 

8  1°  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 
beginning  and  the  ending,  saith 
the  Lord,  which  is,  and  which 
a  Is.  41.  4. 


xvi.  7,  “Even  so  ( val ),  Lord  God  Al¬ 
mighty.”  So  in  Rev.  xxii.  20,  “Even 
so  ( val ),  Come  Lord  Jesus.”  The  word 
Amen  here  seems  to  determine  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  phrase,  and  to  make  it  the 
affirmation  of  a  certainty,  rather  than 
the  expression  of  a  wish. 

8.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega.  These 
are  the  first  and  the  last  letters  of  the 
Greek  alphabet,  and  denote  properly 
the  first  and  the  last.  So  in  Rev.  xxii. 
13,  when  the  two  expressions  are  united, 
“  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning 
and  the  end,  the  first  and  the  last.”  So 
in  ch.  i.  17,  the  speaker  says  of  himself, 
“  I  am  the  first  and  the  last.”  Among 
the  Jewish  Rabbins  it  was  common  to 
use  the  first  and  the  last  letters  of  the 
Hebrew  alphabet  to  denote  the  whole  of 
any  thing,  from  beginning  to  end.  Thus 
it  is  said,  “  Adam  transgressed  the  whole 
law  from  X  to  J)  ”  —  from  Aleph  to  Tav. 
“Abraham  kept  the  whole  law  from  X 
to  fy”  The  language  here  is  that  which 
would  properly  denote  eternity  in  the 
being  to  whom  it  is  applied,  and  could  be 
used  in  reference  to  no  one  but  the  true 
God.  It  means  that  he  is  the  beginning 
and  the  end  of  all  things ;  that  he  was 
at  the  commencement  and  will  be  at  the 
close ;  and  it  is  thus  equivalent  to  saying 
that  he  has  always  existed,  and  that  he 
will  always  exist.  Comp.  Isa.  xli.  4, 
“  I  the  Lord,  the  first,  and  with  the 
last;” — xliv.  6,  “I  am  the  first,  and  I 
am  the  last;  and  beside  me  there  is  no 
God ;” — xlviii.  12,  “I  am  he;  I  am  the 
first,  I  also  am  the  last.”  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  language  here 
would  be  naturally  understood  as  im¬ 
plying  divinity,  and  it  could  be  properly 
applied  to  no  one  but  the  true  God. 
The  obvious  interpretation  here  would 
be  to  apply  this  to  the  Lord  Jesus, 
for  (a)  it  is  he  who  is  spoken  of  in 
the  verses  preceding;  and  ( b )  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  same  lan¬ 
guage  is  applied  to  him  in  ver.  11. 
As  there  is,  however,  a  difference  of 
reading  in  this  place  in  the  Greek 
text,  and  as  it  cannot  be  absolutely 
certain  that  the  writer  meant  to  refer 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  specifically  here, 


[ER  I.  63 

was,  and  which  is  to  come,  the  Al¬ 
mighty.  1 

9  I  John,  who  also  am  your  bro- 

b  Is.  9.  6. 


this  cannot  be  adduced  with  propriety  as 
a  proof-text  to  demonstrate  his  divinity. 
Many  MSS.,  instead  of  “Lord,” — Kvpios 
— read  “  God” — Jcdf,  and  this  reading 
is  adopted  by  Griesbach,  Tittman,  and 
Hahn,  and  is  now  regarded  as  the  correct 
reading.  There  is  no  real  incongruity 
in  supposing,  also,  that  the  writer  here 
meant  to  refer  to  God  as  such,  since  the 
introduction  of  a  reference  to  him  would 
not  be  inappropriate  to  his  manifest 
design.  Besides,  a  portion  of  the  lan¬ 
guage  here  used,  “which  is,  and  was,  and 
is  to  come,”  is  that  which  would  more 
naturally  suggest  a  reference  to  God  as 
such  than  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  See 
ver.  4.  The  object  for  which  this  passage 
referring  to  the  “first  and  the  last;  to 
him  who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come,” 
is  introduced  here,  evidently  is,  to  show 
that  as  he  was  clothed  with  omnipotence, 
and  would  continue  to  exist  through  all 
ages  to  come  as  he  had  existed  in  all 
ages  past,  there  could  be  no  doubt  about 
his  ability  to  execute  all  which  it  is  said 
he  would  execute.  Saith  the  Lord. 
Or,  saith  God,  according  to  what  is  now 
regarded  as  the  correct  reading.  Which 
is,  and  which  was,  &e.  See  Notes  on 
ver.  4.  The  Almighty.  An  appella¬ 
tion  often  applied  to  God,  meaning  that 
he  has  all  power,  and  used  here  to 
denote  that  he  is  able  to  accomplish 
what  is  disclosed  in  this  book.  ' 

9.  F,  John,  who  am  your  brother. 
Your  Christian  brother ;  who  am  a  fellow- 
Christian  with  you.  The  reference  here 
is  doubtless  to  the  members  of  the  seven 
churches  in  Asia,  to  whom  the  epistles 
in  the  following  chapters  were  addressed, 
and  to  whom  the  whole  book  seems  to 
have  been  sent.  In  the  previous  verse, 
the  writer  had  closed  the  salutation,  and 
he  here  commences  a  description  of  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  vision 
appeared  to  him.  He  was  in  a  lonely 
island,  to  which  ho  had  been  banished 
on  account  of  his  attachment  to  religion  ; 
he  was  in  a  state  of  high  spiritual  enjoy¬ 
ment  on  the  day  devoted  to  the  sacred 
remembrance  of  tho  Redeemer ;  he  sud¬ 
denly  heard  a  voice  behind  him,  and 
turning  saw  the  Son  of  Man  himself  in 


64 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


ther,  and  companion  in  tribulation, 
and  in  the  kingdom  and  patience 
of  Jesus  Christ,  was  in  the  isle  that 


glorious  form  in  the  midst  of  seven 
golden  lamps,  and  fell  at  his  feet  as 
dead.  *[  And  companion  in  tribulation. 
Your  partner  in  affliction.  That  is,  he 
and  they  were  suffering  substantially 
the  same  kind  of  trials  on  account  of 
their  religion.  It  is  evident  from  this, 
that  some  form  of  persecution  was  then 
raging  in  which  they  were  also  sufferers, 
though  in  their  case  it  did  not  lead  to 
banishment.  The  leader,  the  apostle, 
the  aged  and  influential  preacher,  was 
banished;  but  there  were  many  other 
forms  of  trial  which  they  might  be  called 
to  endure  who  remained  at  home.  What 
they  were  we  have  not  the  means  of 
knowing  with  certainty,  f  And  in  the 
kingdom,  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  meaning  of  this  passage  is,  that  he, 
and  those  whom  he  addressed,  were  not 
only  companions  in  affliction,  but  were 
fellow-partners  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
Redeemer  :  that  is,  that  they  shared  the 
honor  and  the  privileges  pertaining  to 
that  kingdom  ;  and  also  that  they  were 
fellow-partners  in  the  patience  of  Jesus 
Christ :  that  is,  in  enduring  with  patience 
whatever  might  follow  from  'their  being 
his  friends  and  followers.  The  general 
idea  is,  that  alike  in  privileges  and  suf¬ 
ferings  they  were  united.  They  shared 
alike  in  the  results  of  their  attachment 
to  the  Saviour.  Was  in  the  isle  that 
is  called  Patmos.  Patmos  is  one  of  the 
cluster  of  islands  in  the  iEgean  Sea, 
anciently  called  the  Sporades.  It  lies 
between  the  island  of  Icaria  and  the 
promontory  of  Miletus.  It  is  merely 
mentioned  by  the  ancient  geographers, 
Plin.  His.  Nat.  4,  23 ;  Strabo  10,  488. 
It  is  now  called  Patino,  or  Patmosa.  It 
is  some  six  or  eight  miles  in  length,  and 
not  more  than  a  mile  in  breadth,  being 
about  fifteen  miles  in  circumference.  It 
has  neither  trees  nor  rivers ;  nor  has  it 
any  land  for  cultivation,  except  some 
little  nooks  among  the  ledges  of  rocks. 
On  approaching  the  island,  the  coast  is 
high,  and  consists  of  a  succession  of 
capes,  which  form  so  many  ports,  some 
of  which  are  excellent.  The  only  one 
in  use,  however,  is  a  deep  bay,  sheltered 
by  high  mountains  on  every  side  but 
one,  where  it  is  protected  by  a  project- 


is  called  Patmos,  for  the  word  of 
God,  and  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
Christ. 


ing  cape.  The  town  attached  to  this 
port  is  situated  upon  a  high  rocky 
mountain,  rising  immediately  from  the 
sea7  and  this  with  the  Scala  below  upon 
the  shore,  consisting  of  some  ships  and 
houses,  forms  the  only  inhabited  site  of 
the  island.  Though  Patmos  is  deficient 
in  trees,  it  abounds  in  flowery  plants 
and  shrubs.  Walnuts  and  other  fruit 
trees  are  raised  in  the  orchards,  and  the 
wine  of  Patmos  is  the  strongest  and  the 
best  flavored  in  the  Greek  islands. 
Maize  and  barley  are  cultivated,  but  not 
in  a  quantity  sufficient  for  the  use  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  for  a  supply  of  their 
own  vessels,  and  others  which  often  put 
into  their  good  harbor  for  provisions. 
The  inhabitants  now  do  not  exceed  four 
or  five  thousand,  many  of  whom  are 
emigrants  from  the  neighboring  conti¬ 
nent.  About  half-way  up  the  mountain, 
there  is  shown  a' natural  grotto  in  a 
rock,  where  John  is  said  to  have  seen 
his  visions,  and  to  have  written  this  book. 
Near  this  is  a  small  church,  connected 
with  which  is  a  school  or  college,  where 
the  Greek  language  is  taught,  and  on 
the  top  of  the  hill,  and  in  the  centre  of 
the  island,  is  a  monastery,  which'  from  its 
situation  has  a  very  majestic  appear¬ 
ance.  Kitto’s  Cyclopedia  of  Bib.  Lit.. 
The  cut  placed  on  the  next  page  is 
supposed  to  give  a  good  representa¬ 
tion  of  the  appearance  of  the  island. 
It  is  commonly  supposed  that  John  was 
banished  to  this  island  by  Domitian, 
about  A.  D.  94.  No  place  could  have 
been  selected  for  banishment  which  would 
accord  better  with  such  a  design  than 
this.  Lonely,  desolate,  Jmrren,  unin¬ 
habited,  seldom'  visited,  itTiad  all  the 
requisites  which  could  be  desired  for  a 
place  of  punishment,  and  banishment  to 
that  place  would  accomplish  all  that  a 
persecutor  could  wish  in  silencing  an 
apostle,  without  putting  him  to  death. 
It  was  no  uncommon  thing  in  ancient 
times  to  banish  men  from  their  country ; 
either  sending  them  forth  at  large,  or 
specifying  some  particular  place  to  which 
they  were  to  go.  The  whole  narrative 
leads  us  to  suppose  that  this  place  was 
designated  as  that  to  which  John  was  to 
be  sent.  Banishment  to  an  island  was 


ISLE  or 


A.  D.  96.1 


CHAPTER  I. 


65 


66 


RE  DELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


10  I  was  in  the  Spirit  °  on  the  b 

a  2  Co.  12.  2.  b  Jno.  20.  26.  Ac.  20.  7. 
1  Co.  16.  2. 

a  common  mode  of  punishment;  and 
there  was  a  distinction  made  by  this  act 
in  favor  of  those  who  were  thus  banished. 
The  more  base,  low  and  vile  of  criminals 
were  commonly  condemned  to  work  in 
the  mines ;  the  more  decent  and  respect¬ 
able  were  banished  to  some  lonely 
island.  See  the  authorities  quoted  in 
W etstein,  in  loc.  *[  For  the  word  of  God, 
On  account  of  the  word  of  God;  that  is, 
for  holding  and  preaching  the  gospel. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  2.  It  cannot  mean 
that  he  was  sent  there  with  a  view  to 
his  preaching  the  word  of  God;  for  it 
is  inconceivable  that  he  should  have 
been  sent  from  Ephesus  to  preach  in 
such  a  little,  lonely,  desolate  place, 
where  indeed  there  is  no  evidence  that 
there  were  any  inhabitants ;  nor  can  it 
mean  that  he  was  sent  there  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  to  receive  and  record  this 
revelation,  for  it  is  clear  that  the  reve¬ 
lation  could  have  been  made  elsewhere, 
and  such  a  place  afforded  no  peculiar 
advantages  for  this.  The  fair  interpre¬ 
tation  is,  in  accordance  with  all  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  antiquity,  that  he  was  sent 
there  in  a  time  of  persecution  as  a 
punishment  for  preaching  the  gospel. 
If  And  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Notes,  ver.  2.  He  did  not  go  there  to 
bear  testimony  to  Jesus  Christ  on  that 
island,  either  by  preaching  or  recording 
the  visions  in  this  book,  but  he  went 
because  he  had  preached  the  doctrines 
which  testified  of  Christ. 

10.  I  was  in  the  Spirit.  This  cannot 
refer  to  his  own  spirit — for  such  an  ex¬ 
pression  would  be  unintelligible.  The 
language  then  must  refer  to  some  un¬ 
usual  state,  or  to  some  influence  that 
had  been  brought  to  bear  upon  him 
from  without,  that  was  appropriate  to 
such  a  day.  The  word  Spirit  may  refer 
either  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  to  some 
state  of  mind  such  as  the  Holy  Spirit 
produces — a  spirit  of  elevated  devotion ; 
a  state  of  high  and  uncommon  religious 
enjoyment.  It  is  clear  that  John  does 
not  mean  here  to  say  that  he  was  under 
the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  such 
a  sense  as  that  he  was  inspired,  for  the 
command  to  mako  a  record,  as  well  as 
the  visions,  came  subsequently  to  the 
time  referred  to.  The  fair  meaning  of 


Lord’s  day,  and  heard  behind  me 
a  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet. 


the  passage  is,  that  he  was  at  at  that 
time  favored  in  a  large  measure  with 
the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit — the 
spirit  of  true  devotion ;  that  he  had  a 
high  state  of  religious  enjoyment,  and 
was  in  a  condition  not  inappropriate  to 
the  remarkable  communications  which 
were  made  to  him  on  that  day.  The  state 
of  mind  in  which  he  was  at  the  time  here 
referred  to,  is  not  such  as  the  prophets 
are  often  represented  to  have  been  in 
when  under  the  prophetic  inspiration 
(comp.  Ezek.  i.  1,  viii.  3,  xl.  2;  Jer. 
xxiv.  1),  and  which  was  often  accom¬ 
panied  with  an  entire  prostration  of 
bodily  strength  (comp.  Num.  xxiv.  4; 
Ezek.  i.  28;  Dan.  x.  8-10;  1  Sam.  xix. 
24;  Jer.  xx.  7;  Rev.  i.  17),  but  such 
as  any  Christian  may  experience  when 
in  a  high  state  of  religious  enjoyment. 
He  was  not  yet  under  the  prophetic 
ecstacy  (comp.  Acts  x.  10,  xi.  5,  xxii. 
17),  but  was,  though  in  a  lonely  and 
barren  island,  and  far  away  from  the 
privileges  of  the  sanctuary,  permitted  to 
enjoy  in  a  high  degree  the  consolations 
of  religion :  an  illustration  of  the  great 
truth  that  God  can  meet  his  people  any 
where;  that,  when  in  solitude  and  in 
circumstances  of  outward  affliction,  when 
persecuted  and  cast  out,  when  deprived 
of  the  public  means  of  grace,  and  the 
society  of  religious  friends,  he  can  meet 
them  with  the  abundant  consolations 
of  his  grace,  and  pour  joy  and  peace 
into  their  souls.  This  state  was  not 
inappropriate  to  the  revelations  which 
were  about  to  be  made  to  John,  but  this 
itself  was  not  that  state.  It  was  a  state 
which  seems  to  have  resulted  from  the 
fact,  that  on  that  desert  island  he  devoted 
the  day  to  the  worship  of  God,  and  by 
honoring  the  day  dedicated  to  the 
memory  of  the  risen  Saviour,  found, 
what  all  will  find,  that  it  was  attended 
with'"  rich  spiritual  influences  on  his 
soul.  f  On  the  Lord’s  day ■  The  word 
here  rendered  Lord’s — icvpiaicis — occurs 
only  in  this  place  and  in  1  Cor.  xi.  20, 
where  it  is  applied  to  the  Lord’s  Supper. 
It  properly  means  pertaining  to  the 
Lord  ;  and,  so  far  as  this  word  is  con¬ 
cerned,  it  might  mean  a  day  pertaining 
to  the  Lord  in  any  sense,  or  for  any 
reason — either  because  he  claim  ?d  it 


CHAPTER  I. 


67 


A.  D.  96.] 


his  own  and  had  set  it  apart  for  his  own 
service;  or  because  it  was  designed  to 
commemorate  somo  important  event 
pertaining  to  him ;  or  because  it  was 
observed  in  honor  of  him.  It  is  clear 
(1)  that  this  refers  to  some  day  which 
was  distinguished  from  all  other  days  of 
the  week,  and  which  would  be  suffi¬ 
ciently  designated  by  the  use  of  this 
term.  (2)  That  it  was  a  day  which  was 
for  some  reason  regarded  as  peculiarly 
a  day  of  the  Lord,  or  peculiarly 
devoted  to  him.  (3)  It  would  further 
appear  that  this  was  a  day  particularly 
devoted  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  (a)  that 
is  the  natural  meaning  of  the  word  Lord 
as  used  in  the  New  Testament  (comp. 
Notes  on  Acts  i.  24),  and  ( b )  if  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  were  intended  to  be 
designated,  the  word  Sabbath  would 
have  been  used.  The  term  was  used 
generally  by  the  early  Christians  to 
denote  the  first  day  of  the  week.  It 
occurs  twice  in  the  Epistle  of  Ignatius 
to  the  Magnesians  (about  A.  D.  101), 
who  calls  the  Lord’s  day,  “  the  queen 
and  prince  of  all  days.”  Chrysostom 
(on  Ps.  cxix.)  says,  “It  was  called  the 
Lord’s  day  because  the  Lord  rose  from 
the  dead  on  that  day.”  Later  Fathers 
make  a  marked  distinction  between  the 
Sabbath  and  the  Lord’s  day ;  meaning 
by  the  former,  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  or 
the  seventh  day  of  the  week,  and  by  the 
latter,  the  first  day  of  the  week  kept 
holy  by  Christians.  So  Theodoret  (Fab. 
Haeret.  ii.  1),  speaking  of  the  Ebionites, 
says,  “  They  keep  the  Sabbath  according 
to  the  Jewish  law,  and  sanctify  the 
Lord’s  day  in  like  manner  as  we  do.” 
Prof.  Stuart.  The  strong  probability 
is,  that  the  name  was  given  to  this  day 
in  honor  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  because 
he  rose  on  that  day  from  the  dead.  No 
one  can  doubt  that  it  was  an  appellation 
given  to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and 
the  passage  therefore  proves  (1)  That 
that  day  was  thus  early  distinguished 
in  some  peculiar  manner,  so  that  the 
mere  mention  of  it  would  be  sufficient  to 
identify  it  in  the  minds  of  those  to  whom 
the  apostle  wrote;  (2)  that  it  was  in 
some  sense  regarded  as  devoted  to  the 
Lord  Jesus,  or  was  designed,  in  some 
way,  to  commemorate  what  he  had  done ; 
and  (3)  that  if  this  book  were  written 
by  the  Apostle  John,  the  observance 
of  that  day  has  the  apostolic  sanction. 
He  had  manifestly,  in  accordance  with 


a  prevailing  custom,  set  apart  this  day 
in  honor  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Though 
alone,  he  was  engaged  on  that  day  in 
acts  of  devotion.  Though  far  away  from 
the  sanctuary,  he  enjoyed  what  all 
Christians  hope  to  enjoy  on  such  a  day 
of  rest,  and  what  not  a  few  do  in  fact 
enjoy  in  its  observance.  We  may  re¬ 
mark  in  view  of  this  statement,  (a)  that 
when  away  from  the  sanctuary,  and 
deprived  of  its  privileges,  we  should 
nevertheless  not  fail  to  observe  the 
Christian  Sabbath.  If  on  a  bod  of 
sickness;  if  in  a  land  of  strangers  ;  if  on 
the  deep;  if  in  a  foreign  clime ;  if  on  a 
lonely  island,  as  John  was,  where  we 
have  none  of  the  advantages  of  public 
worship,  we  should  yet  honor  the  Sab¬ 
bath.  We  should  worship  God  alone  if 
we  have  none  to  unite  with  us;  we 
should  show  to  those  around  us,  if  we 
are  with  strangers,  by  our  dress  and  our 
conversation;  by  a  serious  and  devout 
manner;  by  abstinence  from  labor,  and 
by  a  resting  from  travel,  that  we 
devoutly  regard  this  day  as  set  apart 
for  God.  (6)  We  may  expect,  in  such 
circumstances,  and  with  such  a  devout 
observance  of  the  day,  that  God  will 
meet  with  us  and  bless  us.  It  was  on  a 
lonely  island,  far  away  from  the  sanc¬ 
tuary  and  from  the  society  of  Christian 
friends,  that  the  Saviour  met  “  the  be¬ 
loved  disciple,”  and  we  may  trust  it  will 
be  so  with  us.  For  on  such  a  desert 
island ;  in  a  lonely  forest ;  on  the  deep, 
or  amid  strangers  in  a  foreign  land,  he 
can  as  easily  meet  us  as  in  the  sanctuary 
where  we  have  been  accustorfied  to  wor¬ 
ship,  and  when  surrounded  by  all  the 
privileges  of  a  Christian  land.  No  man, 
at  home  or  abroad;  among  friends  or 
strangers;  enjoying  the  privileges  of  the 
sanctuary,  or  deprived  of  those  privi¬ 
leges,  ever  kept  the  Christian  Sabbath 
in  a  devout  manner  without  profit  to  his 
own  soul;  and  when  deprived  of  the 
privileges  of  public  worship,  the  visita¬ 
tions  of  the  Saviour  to  the  soul  may  be 
more  than  a  compensation  for  all  our 
privations.  Who  would  not  be  willing 
to  be  banished  to  a  lonely  island  liko 
Patmos,  if  he  might  enjoy  such  a  glorious 
vision  of  the  Redeemer  as  John  was 
favored  with  there  ?  And  heard  be¬ 
hind  me  a  great  voice.  A  loud  voice. 
This  was  of  course  sudden,  and  took 
him  by  surpriseT  *|[  As  of  a  trumpet. 
Loud  as  a  trumpet.  This  is  evidently 


68 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


11  Saying,  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  first  and  the  last :  and, 
What  thou  seest,  write  in  a  hook, 
and  send  it  unto  the  seven  churches 
which  are  in  Asia ;  unto  Ephesus,  ° 

a  c.  2. 1. 


the  only  point  in  the  comparison.  It 
does  not  mean  that  the  tones  of  the 
voice  resembled  a  trumpet,  but  only  that 
it  was  clear,  loud,  and  distinct  like  a 
trumpet.  A  trumpet  is  a  well-known 
wind  instrument  distinguished  for  the 
clearness  of  its  sounds,  and  was  used  for 
calling  assemblies  together,  for  marshal¬ 
ling  hosts  for  battle,  <fcc.  The  Hebrew 
word  employed  commonly  to  denote  a 

trumpet— shopher — means  bright 

and  clear,  and'  is  supposed  to  have  been 
given  to  the  instrument  on  account  of 
its  clear  and  shrill  sound,  as  we  now  give 
the  name  “  clarion”  to  a  certain  wind  in¬ 
strument.  The  Hebrew  trumpet  is  often 
referred  to  as  employed,  on  account  of 
its  clearness,  to  summon  people  toge¬ 
ther.  Ex.  xix.  13 ;  Num,  x.  10 ;  Judges 
vii.  18 ;  2  Sam.  xv.  10. 

11.  Saying.  That  is,  literally,  “  the 
trumpet  saying.”  It  was,  however, 
manifestly  the  voice  that  addressed  these 
words  to  J ohn,  though  they  seemed  to 
come  through  a  trumpet,  and  hence  the 
trumpet  is  represented  as  uttering  them. 
^  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega.  Yer.  8. 

The  first  and  the  last.  An  explana¬ 
tion  of  the  terms  Alpha  and  Omega. 
Notes  on*ver.  8.  ^  And  what  thou 

seest.  The  voice,  in  addition  to  the 
declaration  “  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,” 
gave  this  direction  that  he  should  record 
what  he  saw.  The  phrase  “  what  thou 
seest,”  refers  to  what  would  pass  before 
him  in  vision  : — what  he  there  saw,  and 
what  he  would  see  in  the  extraordinary 
manifestations  which  were  to  be  made 
to  him.  Write  in  a  booh.  Make  a 
fair  record  of  it  all — evidently  meaning 
that  he  should  describe  things  as  they 
occurred,  and  implying  that  the- vision 
would  be  held  so  long  before  the  eye  of 
his  mind  that  he  would  be  able  to 
transfer  it  to  the  “  book.”  The  fair  and 
obvious  interpretation  of  this  is,  that  he 
-was  to  make  the  record  in  the  island  of 
Patmos,  and  then  send  it  to  the  churches. 
Though  Patmos  was  a  lonely  and  barren 
place ;  and  though  probably  there  were 


and  unto  Smyrna, 1  and  unto  Per- 
gamos, c  and  unto  Thyatira,  d  and 
unto  Sardis,  *  and  unto  Philadel¬ 
phia,  f  and  unto  Laodicea. e 

b  c.  2.  8.  c  c.  2. 12.  d  c.  2.  IS.  e  c.  3. 1. 
/  c.  3.  7.  g  c.  3. 14. 


few  or  no  inhabitants  there,  yet  there  is 
no  improbability  in  supposing  that  John 
could  have  found  writing  materials  there, 
nor  even  that  he  may  have  been  per¬ 
mitted  to  take  such  materials  with  him. 
He  seems  to  have  been  banished  for 
preaching,  not  for  writing  ;  and  there  is 
no  evidence  that  the  materials  for  ■ 
writing  would  be  withheld  from  him. 
John  Bunyan  in  Bedford  jail  found 
materials  for  writing  the  Pilgrim’s  Pro¬ 
gress  ,•  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  I 
Apostle  John  was  denied  the  means  of 
recording  his  thoughts  when  in  the 
island  of  Patmos.  The  word  booh  here 
— ;8i jSXi'ov — would  more  properly  mean 
a  roll  or  scroll,  that  being  the  form  in 
which  books  were  anciently  made.  See 
Notes  on  Luke  iv.  17.  And  send  it 
unto  the  seven  churches  which  are  in 
Asia.  The  churches  which  are  imme¬ 
diately  designated,  not  implying  that 
there  were  no  other  churches  in  Asia, 
but  that  there  were  particular  reasons 
for  sending  it  to  these.  He  was  to  send 
all  that  he  should  “  see,”  to  wit,  all  'that 
is  recorded  in  this  volume  or  book  of 
“Revelation.”  Part  of  this  (chs.  ii.  iii.) 
would  appertain  particularly  to  them ; 
the  remainder  (chs.  iv.-xxii.)  would  ap¬ 
pertain  to  them  no  more  than  to  others, 
but  still  they  would  have  the  common 
interest  in  it  which  all  the  church  would 
have,  and,  in  their  circumstances  of  trial, 
there  might  be  important  reasons  why 
they  should  see  the  assurance  that  the 
church  would  ultimately  triumph  over 
all  its  enemies.  They  were  to  derive 
from  it  themselves  the  consolation  which 
it  was  fitted  to  impart  in  time  of  trial, 
and  to  transmit  it  to  future  times  for  the 
welfare  of  the  church  at  large.  Unto 
Ephesus.  Perhaps  mentioned  first  as 
being  the  capital  of  that  portion  of 
Asia  Minor;  the  most  important  city 
of  the  seven;  the  place  where  John 
had  preached,  and  whence  he  had  been 
banished.  Eor  a  particular  description 
of  these  seven  churches,  see  the  Notes 
on  the  epistles  addressed  to  them  in 
chs.  ii.  iii. 


CHAPTER  I. 


69 


A.  D.  96.1 


12  And  I  turned  to  see  the  voice 
that  spake  with  me.  And  being 
turned,  I  saw  seven  “  golden  can¬ 
dlesticks. 

13  And  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 

a  Ex.  25.  37.  Zek.  4.  2. 

12.  And  1  turned  to  see  the  voice  that 
spake  with  me.  He  naturally  turned 
round  to  see  who  it  was  that  spake  to 
him  in  this  solitary  and  desolate  place, 
where  he  thought  himself  to  be  alone. 
To  see  the  voice  here  means  to  see  the 
person  who  spake.  And  being  turned, 
1  saw  seven  golden  candlesticks.  These 
were  the  first  things  that  met  his  eye. 
This  must  have  been  in  vision,  of 
course ;  and  the  meaning  is,  that  there 
seemed  to  be  there  seven  such  lamps  or 
candelabras.  The  word  rendered  can¬ 
dlesticks —  Au %via  —  means  properly  a 
light-stand ;  lamp-stand ; — something  to 
bear  up  a  light.  It  would  be  applied  to 
any  thing  that  was  used  for  this  purpose ; 
and  nothing  is  intimated,  in  the  use  of 
the  word,  in  regard  to  the  form  or 
dimensions  of  the  light-bearers.  Lamps 
were  more  commonly  used  at  that  time 
than  candles,  and  it  is  rather  to  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  these  were  designed  to  be 
lamp-bearers,  or  lamp-sustainers,  than 
candle-sticks.  They  were  seven  in  num¬ 
ber,  not  one  branching  into  seven  ;  but 
seven  standing  apart,  and  so  far  from 
each  other  that  he  who  appeared  to 
John  could  stand  among  them.  The 
lamp-bearers  evidently  sustained  each  a 
light,  and  these  gave  a  peculiar  bril¬ 
liancy  to  the  scene.  It  is  not  improbable 
that,  as  they  were  designed  to  represent 
the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  they  were 
arranged  in  an  order  resembling  these 
churches.  The  scene  is  not  laid  in  the 
temple,  as  many  suppose,  for  there  is 
nothing  that  resembles  the  arrange¬ 
ments  in  the  temple  except  the  mere 
fact  of  the  lights.  The  scene  as  yet  is 
in  Patmos,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that 
John  did  not  regard  himself  as  there,  or 
that  he  fancied  for  a  moment  that  he 
was  translated  to  the  temple  in  Jerusa¬ 
lem.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the 
design  of  this  representation,  for  it  is 
expressly  declared  (ver.  20)  that  the 
seven  lamp-bearers  were  intended  to 
represent  the  seven  churches.  Light  is 
often  used  in  the  Scriptures  as  an 
emblem  of  true  religion ;  Christians  are 


candlesticks  one b  like  unto  the  Son 
of  man,  clothed  with  a  garment 
down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about 
the  paps  with  a  golden  girdle. 

b  Eze.  1.  26-28. 


represented  as  “the  light  of  the  world” 
(Math.  v.  14;  comp.  Phil.  ii.  15;  John 
viii.  12) ;  and  a  Christian  church  may 
be  represented  as  a  light  standing  in  the 
midst  of  surrounding  darkness. 

13.  And  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 
golden  candlesticks.  Standing  among 
them,  so  as  to  be  encircled  with  them. 
This  shows  that  the  representation  could 
not  have  been  like  that  of  the  vision  of 
Zechariah  (Zech.  iv.  2),  where  the 
probhet  sees  “  a  candlestick  all  of  gold 
with  a  bowl  upon  the  top  of  it,  and  his 
seven  lamps  thereon.”  In  the  vision  as 
it  appeared  to  John,  there  was  not 
one  lamp-bearer  with  seven  lamps  or 
branches,  but  there  were  seven  lamp- 
bearers  so  arranged  that  one  in  the 
likeness  of  the  Son  of  man  could  stand 
in  the  midst  of  them.  One  like  unto 
the  Son  of  man.  This  was  evidently  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself,  elsewhere  so 
often  called  “  the  Son  of  man.”  That  it 
was  the  Saviour  himself,  is  apparent 
from  ver.  18.  The  expression  rendered 
“like  unto  the  Son  of  man,”  should 
have  been  “  like  unto  a  son  of  man ;” 
that  is,  like  a  man — a  human  being,  or 
in  a  human  form.  The  reasons  for  so 
interpreting  it  are  (a)  that  the  Greek  is 
without  the  article  ;  and  ( b )  that,  as  it  is 
rendered  in  our  version,  it  seems  to 
make  the  writer  say  that  he  was  like 
himself — since  the  expression  “  the  Son 
of  man”  is  in  the  New  Testament  but 
another  name  for  the  Lord  Jesus.  The 
phrase  is  often  applied  to  him  in  the 
New  Testament,  and  always,  except  in 
three  instances  (Acts  vii.  56 ;  Rev.  i.  13, 
xiv.  14),  by  the  Saviour  himself,  evi¬ 
dently  to  denote  his  warm  interest  in 
man,  or  his  relationship  to  man ;  to  sig¬ 
nify  that  he  was  a  man,  and  wished  to 
designate  himself  eminently  as  such. 
See  Notes  on  Matt.  viii.  20.  In  the  use 
of  this  phrase  in  the  New  Testament, 
there  is,  probably,  an  allusion  to  Dan. 
vii.  13.  The  idea  would  seem  to  be  that 
he  whom  he  saw  resembled  “  the  Son  of 
man”  —  the  Lord  Jesus  as  he  had  seen 
him  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  though  it 


70 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


14  His  head  and  Ms  hairs  were 
white  like  wool,  as  white  as  snow; 


would  appear  that  he  did  not  know  that 
it  was  he  until  he  was  informed  of  it. 
Yer.  18.  Indeed,  the  costume  in  which 
he  appeared  was  so  unlike  that  in  which 
John  had  heen  accustomed  to  see  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  that 
it  cannot  he  well  supposed  that  he 
would  at  once  recognise  him  as  the  same. 

Clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the 
feet.  A  robe  reaching  down  to  the  feet, 
or  to  the  ankles,  yet  so  as  to  leave  the 
feet  themselves  visible.  The  allusion 
here,  doubtless,  is  to  a  long,  loose, 
flowing  robe,  such  as  was  worn  by  kings. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  vi.  1.  ^  And  girt 

about  the  paps.  About  the  breast.  It 
was  common,  and  is  still,  in  the  East, 
to  wear  a  girdle  to  confine  the  robe,  as 
well  as  to  form  a  beautiful  ornament. 
This  was  commonly  worn  about  the 
middle  of  the  person,  or  “  the  loins 
hut  it  would  seem  also  that  it  was 
sometimes  worn  around  the  breast.  See 
Notes  on  Matt.  v.  38-41.  With  a 
golden  girdle.  Either  wholly  made  of 
gold,  or  more  probably  richly  orna¬ 
mented  with  gold.  This  would  natu¬ 
rally  suggest  the  idea  of  one  of  rank — 
probably  one  of  princely  rank.  The 
raiment  here  assumed  was  not  that 
of  a  priest,  but  that  of  a  king.  It  was 
very  far  from  being  that  in  which  the 
Redeemer  appeared  when  he  dwelt  upon 
the  earth,  and  was  rather  designed  to 
denote  his  royal  state  as  he  is  exalted 
in  heaven.  He  is  not  indeed  represented 
with  a  crown  and  sceptre  here,  and 
perhaps  the  leading  idea  is  that  of  one 
of  exalted  rank  ;  of  unusual  dignity  ;  of 
one  fitted  to  inspire  awe  and  respect. 
In  other  circumstances,  in  this  hook, 
this  same  Redeemer  is  represented  as 
wearing  a  crown,  and  going  forth  to 
conquest.  See  ch.  xix.  12-16.  Here  the 
representation  seems  to  have  heen 
designed  to  impress  the  mind  with  a 
sense  of  the  greatness  and  glory  of  the 
personage  who  thus  suddenly  made  his 
appearance. 

14.  j His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white 
like  wool,  as  white  as  snow.  Exceed¬ 
ingly,  or  perfectly  white — the  first  sug¬ 
gestion  to  the  mind  of  the  apostle  being 
that  of  wool,  and  then  the  thought  oc¬ 
curring  of  its  extreme  whiteness  resem- 


and  his  eyes  0  were  as  a  flame  of 
fire ; 

a  c.  2. 18. 19. 12. 

hling  snow — the  purest  white  of  which 
the  mind  conceives.  The  comparison 
with  wool  and  snow  to  denote  any  thing 
peculiarly  white,  is  not  uncommon.  See 
Isa.  i.  18.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes  that 
this  means,  not  that  his  hairs  were 
literally  white,  as  if  with  age,  which  he 
says  would  he  incongruous  to  one  just 
risen  from  the  dead,  clothed  with  im¬ 
mortal  youth  and  vigor,  but  that  it 
means  radiant,  bright,  resplendent — 
similar  to  what  occurred  on  the  trans¬ 
figuration  of  the  Saviour.  Matth.  xvii.  2. 
But  to  this  it  may  be  replied  (a)  that 
this  would  not  accord  well  with  that 
with  which  his  hair  is  compared — snow 
and  wool,  particularly  the  latter,  (b)  The 
usual  meaning  of  the  word  is  more 
obvious  here,  and  not  at  all  inappro¬ 
priate.  The  representation  was  fitted  to 
signify  majesty  and  authority;  and 
this  would  be  best  accomplished  by  the 
image  of  one  who  was  venerable  in 
years.  Thus  in  the  vision  that  appeared 
to  Daniel  (ch.  vii.  9),  it  is  said  of  him 
who  is  there  called  the  “Ancient  of 
Days,”  that  his  “  garment  was  white  as 
snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like 
the  pure  wool.”  It  is  not  improbable 
that  John  had  that  representation  in 
his  eye,  and  that  therefore  he  would 
be  impressed  with  the  conviction  that 
this  was  a  manifestation  of  a  divine 
person.  We  are  not  necessarily  to 
suppose  that  this  is  the  form  in  which 
the  Saviour  always  appears  now  in 
heaven,  any  more  than  we  are  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  God  appears  always  in  the 
form  in  which  he  was  manifested  to 
Isaiah  (ch.  vi.  1),  to  Daniel  (ch.  vii.  9), 
or  to  Moses  and  Aaron,  Nadab  and 
Abihu  in  the  mount.  Ex.  xxiv.  10,  11. 
The  representation  is,  that  this  form  was 
assumed  for  the  purpose  of  impressing 
the  mind  of  the  apostle  with  a  sense  of 
his  majesty  and  glory.  And  h’s  eyes 
were  as  aflame  of  fire.  Bright,  sharp, 
penetrating;  as  if  every  thing  was  light 
before  them,  or  they  would  penetrate 
into  the  thoughts  of  men.  Such  a  repre¬ 
sentation  is  not  uncommon.  We  speak 
of  a  lightning-glance ;  a  fiery  look,  Ac. 
In  Daniel  x.  6,  it  is  said  of  the  man  who 
appeared  to  the  prophet  on  the  hanks  of 
the  river  Hiddekel,  that  his  eyes  were 


CHAPTER  I. 


71 


A.  D.  96.] 

15  And  his  feet  “  like  unto  fine 
brass,  as  if  they  burned  in  a  fur¬ 
nace  ;  and  his  voice  b  as  the  sound 
of  many  waters. 

16  And  he  had  in  his  right  hand 

a  Eze.  1.  7.  b  Eze.  43.  2. 


“  as  lamps  of  fire.”  Numerous  instances 
of  this  comparison  from  the  Greek  and 
Latin  classics  may  he  seen  in  Wetstein, 
in  loc. 

15.  And  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass. 
Comp.  Dan.  x.  6,  “And  his  arms  and 
his  feet  like  in  color  to  polished  brass.” 
See  also  Ezek.  i.  7,  “And  they”  [the 
feet  of  the  living  creatures]  “  sparkled 
like  the  color  of  burnished  brass.”  The 
word  here  used — ^ a\Ko\t0avov  —  occurs 
in  the  New  Testament  only  here  and  in 
ch.  ii.  18.  It  is  not  found  in  the  Septu- 
agint.  The  word  properly  means  white 
brass  (probably  compounded  of  ^aA/crff, 
brass,  and  A ij3av6s,  whiteness,  from  the 

Hebrew  pS,  to  be  white).  Others  re¬ 
gard  it  as  from  ^ahicd;,  brass,  and 
Xinapdv,  clear.  The*  metal  referred  to 
was  undoubtedly  a  species  of  brass  dis¬ 
tinguished  for  its  clearness  or  white¬ 
ness.  Brass  is  a  compound  metal,  com¬ 
posed  of  copper  and  zinc.  The  color 
varies  much  according  to  the  different 
proportions  of  the  various  ingredients. 
The  vulgate  here  renders  the  word 
aurichalcum,  a  mixture  of  gold  and  of 
brass — perhaps  the  same  as  the  lj\ esrpov 
— the  eleclrum  of  the  ancients,  composed 
of  gold  and  of  silver,  usually  in  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  four  parts  gold  and  one  part 
silver,  and  distinguished  for  its  brilliancy. 
See  Robinson,  Lex.  and  Wetstein,  in  loc. 
The  kind  of  metal  here  referred  to, 
however,  would  seem  to  be  some  com¬ 
pound  of  brass — of  a  whitish  and  bril¬ 
liant  color.  The  exact  proportion  of 
the  ingredients  in  the  metal  here  re¬ 
ferred  to,  cannot  now  be  determined. 

As  if  they  burned  in  a  furnace.  That 
is,  his  feet  were  so  bright  that  they 
seemed  to  be  like  a  beautiful  metal 
glowing  intensely  in  the  midst  of  a 
furnace.  Any  one  who  has  looked  upon 
the  dazzling  and  almost  insupportable 
brilliancy  of  metal  in  a  furnace,  can 
form  an  idea  of  the  image  here  pre¬ 
sented.  f  And  his  voice  as  the  sound 
of  many  waters.  As  the  roar  of  the 
ocean,  or  of  a  cataract.  Nothing  could 


seven  stars  ;  and  out  of  his  mouth 
went  a  c  sharp  two-edged  sword : 
and  his  countenance  was  as  the 
sun  d  shineth  in  his  strength. 

c  Is.  49.  2.  lie.  4.  12.  d  Ac.26. 13.  c.  26. 
13. 


be  a  more  sublime  description  of  majesty 
and  authority  than  to  compare  the  voice 
of  a  speaker  with  the  roar  of  the  ocean. 
This  comparison  often  occurs  in  the 
Scriptures.  See  Ezek.  xliii.  2,  “And 
behold  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel 
came  from  the  east,  and  his  voice  was 
like  the  sound  of  many  waters,  and  the 
earth  shined  with  his  glory.”  So  Rev. 
xiv.  2,  xix.  6 ;  comp.  Ezek.  i.  24;  Dan. 
x.  6. 

16.  And  he  had  in  his  right  hand 
seven  stars.  Emblematic  of  the  angels 
of  the  seven  churches.  How  he  held 
them  is  not  said.  It  may  be  that  they 
seemed  to  rest  on  his  open  palm ;  or  it 
may  be  that  he  seemed  to  hold  them  as 
if  they  were  arranged  in  a  certain  order, 
and  with  some  sort  of  attachment,  so 
that  they  could  be  grasped.  It  is  not 
improbable  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
seven  lamp-bearers  (Notes  ver.  13),  they 
were  so  arranged  as  to  represent  the 
relative  position  of  the  seven  churches. 

And  out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp 
two-edged  sword.  On  the  form  of  the 
ancient  two-edged  sword,  see  Notes 
on  Ephesians,  vi.  17.  The  two  edges 
were  designed  to  cut  both  ways ;  and 
such  a  sword  is  a  striking  emblem  of  the 
penetrating  power  of  truth,  or  of  words 
that  proceed  from  the  mouth,  and  this  is 
designed  undoubtedly  to  be  the  repre¬ 
sentation  here  —  that  there  was  some 
symbol  which  showed  that  his  words, 
or  his  truth,  had  the  power  of  cutting 
deep,  or  penetrating  the  soul.  So  in 
Isa.  xlix.  2,  it  is  said  of  the  same 
personage,  “  And  he  hath  made  my 
mouth  like  a  sharp  sword.”  See  Notes 
on  that  verse.  So  in  Heb.  iv.  12, 
“  The  word  of  God  is  quick  and 
powerful,  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword,”  &c.  So  it  is  said  of  Pericles  by 
Aristophanes, 

“  His  powerful  speech 
Pierced  the  hearer’s  soul,  and  left  behind 
Deep  in  his  bosom  its  keen  point  infixt.” 

A  similar  figure  often  occurs  in  Arabic 
poetry.  “  As  arrows  his  words  enter 
into  the  heart.”  See  Gosenius,  comm. 


* 


72 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


17  And  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell 
at  his  feet  as  dead.  And  he  laid 
his  right  hand  upon  me,  saying 

zu  Isa.  xlix.  2.  The  only  difficulty 
here  is  in  regard  to  the  apparently 
incongruous  representation  of  a  sword 
seeming  to  proceed  from  the  mouth;  but 
it  is  not,  perhaps,  necessary  to  suppose 
that  John  means  to  say  that  he  saw 
such  an  image.  He  heard  him  speak  ; 
he  felt  the  penetrating  power  of  his 
words;  and  they  were  as  if  a  sharp 
sword  proceeded  from  his  mouth.  They 
penetrated  deep  into  the  soul,  and  as 
He  looked  on  him  it  seemed  as  if  a  sword 
came  from  his  mouth.  Perhaps  it 
is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  there 
was  even  any  visible  representation  of 
this — either  of  a  sword  or  of  the  breath 
proceeding  from  his  mouth  appearing  to 
take  this  form,  as  Prof.  Stuart  supposes. 
It  may  be  wholly  a  figurative  repre¬ 
sentation,  as  Henriehs  and  Ewald  sup¬ 
pose.  Though  there  were  visible  and 
impressive  symbols  of  his  majesty  and 
glory  presented  to  the  eyes,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  suppose  that  there  were 
visible  symbols  of  his  words.  And 

his  countenance.  His  face.  There  had 
been  before  particular  descriptions  of 
some  parts  of  his  face — as  of  his  eyes — 
but  this  is  a  representation  of  his  whole 
aspect ;  of  the  general  splendor  and 
brightness  of  his  countenance,  Was 

as  the  sun  sliineth  in  his  strength.  In 
his  full  splendor  when  unobscured  by 
clouds ;  where  his  rays  are  in  no  way 
intercepted.  Comp.  Judges  v.  31 ;  “But 
let  them  that  love  him  [the  Lord]  be 
as  the  sun  when  he  goeth  forth  in  his 
might.”  2  Sam.  xxiii.  4,  “  And  he  shall 
be  as  the  light  of  the  morning,  when  the 
sun  ariseth,  even  a  morning  without 
clouds.”  Ps.  xix.  5,  “  Which  [the  sun] 
is  as  a  bridegroom  coming  out  of  his 
chamber,  and  rejoiceth  as  a  strong  man 
to  run  a  race.”  There  could  be  no  more 
striking  description  of  the  majesty  and 
glory  of  the  countenance  than  to  com¬ 
pare  it  with  the  overpowering  splendor 
of  the  sun. — This  closes  the  description 
of  the  personage  that  appeared  to  John. 
The  design  was  evidently  to  impress 
him  with  a  sense  of  his  majesty  and 
glory,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
authoritative  nature  of  the  communi¬ 
cations  which  he  was  to  make.  It  is 
obvious  to  remark  that  this  appearance 


unto  me,  Fear  not;  I  am  the  first 
and  the  last : 


must  have  been  assumed.  The  repre¬ 
sentation  is  not  that  of  the  Redeemer  as 
he  rose  from  the  dead — a  middle-aged 
man ;  nor  is  it  clear  that  it  was  the  same  as 
on  the  mount  of  transfiguration — where, 
for  any  thing  that  appears,  he  retained 
his  usual  aspect  and  form  though  tem¬ 
porarily  invested  with  extraordinary 
brilliancy ;  nor  is  it  the  form  in  which  we 
may  suppose  he  ascended  to  heaven — 
for  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  thus 
transformed  when  he  ascended;  nor  is  it 
that  of  a  priest  —  for  all  the  peculiar 
habiliments  of  a  Jewish  priest  are  want¬ 
ing  in  this  description.  The  appearance 
assumed  is,  evidently,  in  accordance 
with  various  representations  of  God  as 
he  appeared  to  Ezekiel,  to  Isaiah,  and 
to  Daniel — that  which  was  a  suitable 
manifestation  of  a  divine  being — of  one 
clothed  in  the  majesty  and  power  of 
God.  We  are  not  to  infer  from  this, 
that  this  is  in  fact  the  appearance  of  the 
Redeemer  now  in*  heaven,  or  that  this 
is  the  form  in  which  he  will  appear  when 
he  comes  to  judge  the  world.  Of  his 
appearance  in  heaven  we  have  no  know¬ 
ledge  ;  of  the  aspect  which  he  will 
assume  when  he  comes  to  judge  men  we 
have  no  certain  information.  We  are 
necessarily  quite  as  ignorant  of  this  as 
we  are  of  what  will  be  our  own  form 
and  appearance  after  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead. 

17.  And  when  I  saw  him,  1  fell  at 
his  feet  as  dead.  As  if  I  were  dead; 
deprived  of  sense  and  consciousness. 
He  was  overwhelmed  with  the  sudden¬ 
ness  of  the  vision ;  he  saw  that  this  was 
a  divine  being;  but  he  did  not  as  yet 
know  that  it  was  the  Saviour.  It  is  not 
probable  that  in  this  vision  he  would 
immediately  recognize  any  of  the  familiar 
features  of  the  Lord  Jesus  as  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  see  him  some  sixty 
years  before;  and  if  he  did,  the  effect 
would  have  been  quite  as  overpowering 
as  is  here  described.  But  the  subse¬ 
quent  revelations  of  this  divine  person¬ 
age  would  rather  seem  to  imply  that 
John  did  not  at  once  recognize  him  as 
the  Lord  Jesus.  The  effect  here  de¬ 
scribed  is  one  that  often  occurred  to 
those  who  had  a  vision  of  God.  See 
Daniel  viii.  18,  “  Now  as  he  was  speaks 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  I.  73 


18  I  am  he  that  liveth, 4  and  was 
dead ;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive  for 

b  Ro.  6.  9. 

ing  with  me,  I  was  in  a  deep  sleep  on 
my  face  toward  the  ground;  but  ho 
touched  me,  and  set  me  upright.”  Ver. 
27,  “  And  I  Daniel  fainted,  and  was 
sick  certain  days;  afterwards  I  rose  up, 
and  did  the  king’s  business.”  Comp. 
Ex.  xxxiii.  20;  Isa.  vi.  5;  Ezek.  i.  28, 
xliii.  3;  Dan.  x.  7-9,  17.  *[f  And  lie  laid 
his  right  hand  upon  me.  For  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  raising  him  up.  Comp.  Dan. 

viii.  17,  “  He  touched  me,  and  set  me 
upright.”  We  usually  stretch  out  the 
right  hand  to  raise  up  one  who  is  fallen. 
*|f  Saying  unto  me,  Fear  not.  Comp. 
Matt.  xiv.  27,  “It  is  I,  be  not  afraid.” 
The  fact  that  it  was  the  Saviour,  though 
he  appeared  in  this  form  of  overpower¬ 
ing  majesty,  was  a  reason  why  John 
should  not  be  afraid.  Why  that  was  a 
reason,  he  immediately  adds ; — that  he 
‘was  the  first  and  the  last;  that  though 
he  had  been  dead  he  was  now  alive,  and 
would  continue  ever  to  live,  and  that  he 
had  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death.’  It 
is  evident  that  John  was  overpowered 
with  that  awful  emotion  which  the 
human  mind  must  feel  at  the  evidence 
of  the  presence  of  God.  Thus  men  feel 
when  God  seems  to  come  near  them  by 
the  impressive  symbols  of  his  majesty — 
as  in  the  thunder,  the  earthquake,  and 
the  tempest.  Comp.  Hab.  iii.  16,  Luke 

ix.  34.  Yet  amidst  the  most  awful 
manifestations  of  divine  power,  the 
simple  assurance  that  our  Redeemer  is 
near  us,  is  enough  to  allay  our  fears 
and  diffuse  calmness  through  tho  soul. 

lam  the  first  and  the  last.  Notes  ver.  8. 
This  is  stated  to  be  one  of  the  reasons 
why  he  should  not  fear — that  he  was 
eternal: — ‘I  always  live;  have  lived 
through  all  the  past,  and  will  live 
through  all  which  is  to  come,  and  there¬ 
fore  I  can  accomplish  all  my  promises, 
and  execute  all  my  purposes.’ 

18.  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead. 

‘  I  was  indeed  once  dead,  but  now  I 
live,  and  shall  continue  to  live  for 
ever.  This  would  at  once  identify  him 
who  thus  appeared  as  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  for  to  no  one  else  could  this 
apply.  He  had  been  put  to  death ;  but 
he  had  risen  from  the  grave.  This  also 
is  given  as  a  reason  why  John  should 
not  fear ;  and  nothing  would  allay  his 
7 


evermore,  Amen;  and  have  the 
keys e  of  hell  and  of  death. 

c  Ps.  68.  20.  c.  20. 1.  2. 

fears  more  than  this.  He  now  saw  that 
he  was  in  the  presence  of  that  Saviour 
whom  more  than  half  a  century  before 
he  had  so  tenderly  loved  when  in  the 
flesh,  and  whom,  though  now  long 
absent,  he  had  faithfully  served,  and 
for  whose  cause  he  was  now  in  this 
lonely  island.  His  faith  in  his  resur¬ 
rection  had  not  been  a  delusion ;  he  saw 
the  very  Redeemer  before  him  who  had 
once  been  laid  in  the  tomb.  Behold, 
1  am  alive  for  evermore.  I  am  to  live 
forever.  Death  is  no  more  to  cut  me 
down,  and  I  am  never  again  to  slumber 
in  the  grave.  As  he  was  always  to  live, 
he  could  accomplish  all  his  promises, 
and  fulfil  all  his  purposes.  The  Saviour 
is  never  to  die  again.  He  can,  there¬ 
fore,  always  sustain  us  in  our  troubles; 
he  can  be  with  us  in  our  death.  Who¬ 
ever  of  our  friends  die,  he  will  not  die ; 
when  we  die,  he  will  still  be  on  the 
throne.  Amen.  A  word  here  of 
strong  affirmation  :  as  if  he  had  said,  it 
is  truly,  or  certainly  so.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  7.  This  expression  is  one  that 
the  Saviour  often  used  when  he  wished 
to  give  emphasis,  or  to  express  any 
thing  strongly.  Comp.  John  iii.  3,  v.  25. 

And  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death. 
The  word  rendered  hell — IjiSris —  hades, 
refers  properly  to  the  under-world;  the 
abode  of  departed  spirits ;  the  region  of 
the  dead.  This  was  represented  as  dull 
and  gloomy;  as  enclosed  with  walls;'  as 
entered  through  gates  which  were  fast¬ 
ened  with  bolts  and  bars.  For  a  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  views  which  prevailed  among 
the  ancients  on  this  subject,  see  Notes  on 
Luke  xvi.  23,  and  Job  x.  21,  22.  To 
hold  the  key  of  this,  was  to  hold  the  power 
over  the  invisible  world.  It  was  the 
more  appropriate  that  the  Saviour  should 
represent  himself  as  having  this  autho¬ 
rity,  as  he  had  himself  been  raised  from 
the  dead  by  his  own  power  (comp.  John  x. 
18),  thus  showing  that  the  dominion  over 
this  dark  world  was  entrusted  to  him. 
f  And  of  death.  A  personification. 
Death  reigns  in  that  world.  But  to  his 
wide-extended  realms  the  Saviour  holds 
the  key,  and  can  have  access  to  his  em¬ 
pire  when  he  pleases,  releasing  all  whom 
he  chooses,  and  confining  there  still  such 
as  ho  shall  please.  It  is  probably  in 


74 


REVELATION, 


fA.  D.  96, 


19  Write  the  things  which  thou 
hast  seen,  and  the  things  which 
are,  and  the  the  things  which  shall 
be  hereafter ; 


part  from  such  hints  as  these  that  Milton 
drew  his  sublime  description  of  the 
gates  of  hell  in  the  Paradise  Lost.  A  s 
Christ  always  lives ;  as  he  always  retains 
this  power  over  the  regions  of  the  dead, 
and  the  whole  world  of  spirits,  it  may 
be  further  remarked  that  we  have 
nothing  to  dread  if  we  put  our  trust  in 
him.  We  need  not  fear  to  enter  a  world 
which  he  has  entered  and  from  which 
he  has  emerged,  achieving  a  glorious 
triumph;  we  need  not  fear  what  the 
dread  king  that  reigns  there  can  do  to 
us,  for  his  power  extends  not  beyond 
the  permission  of  the  Saviour,  and  in 
his  own  time  that  Saviour  will  call  us 
forth  to  life  to  die  no  more. 

19.  Write  the  things  which  thou  hast 
seen.  An  account  of  the  vision  which 
thou  hast  had.  Ver.  10-18.  And  the 
things  that  are.  Give  an  account  of 
those  things  which  thou  hast  seen  as 
designed  to  represent  the  condition  of 
the  seven  churches.  He  had  seen  not 
only  the  Saviour,  but  he  had  seen  seven 
lamp-stands,  and  seven  stars  in  the 
hand  of  the  Saviour,  and  he  is  now  com¬ 
manded  to  record  the  meaning  of  these 
symbols  as  referring  to  things  then 
actually  existing  in  the  seven  churches. 
This  interpretation  is  demanded  by  ver. 
20.  And  the  things  which  shall  be 
hereafter.  The  Greek  phrase  rendered 
hereafter — yera  T&pra — means  “after 
these  things  that  is,  he  was  to  make  a 
correct  representation  of  the  things  which 
then  were,  and  then  to  record  what  would 
occur  “  after  these  things  :” — to  wit,  of 
the  images,  symbols,  and  truths,  which" 
would  be  disclosed  to  him  after  what  he 
had  already  seen.  The  expression  re¬ 
fers  to  future  times.  He  does  not  say 
for  how  long  a  time ;  but  the  revelations 
which  were  to  be  made  referred  to 
events  which  were  to  occur  beyond  those 
which  were  then  taking  place.  Nothing 
can  be  argued  from  the  use  of  this 
language  in  regard  to  the  length  of 
time  embraced  in  the  revelation  —  whe¬ 
ther  it  extended  only.for  a  few  years,  or 
whether  it  embraced  all  coming  time. 
The  more  natural  interpretation,  how¬ 
ever,  woulcl  seem  to  be,  that  it  would 


20  The  mystery  of  the  seven  ° 
stars  which  thou  sawest  in  my 
right  hand,  and  the  seven  golden 

a  ver.  16. 


stretch  far  into  future  years,  and  that  it 
was  designed  to  give  at  least  an  outline 
of  what  would  bo  the  character  of  the 
future  in  general. 

20.  The  mystery  of  the  seven  stars. 
On  the  word  mystery,  see  Notes  on 
Eph.  i.  9.  The  word  means  properly, 
that  which  is  hidden,  obscure,  un¬ 
known — until  it  is  disclosed  by  one 
having  the  ability  to  do  it,  or  by  the 
course  of  events.  When  disclosed  it 
may  be  as  clear,  and  as  capable  of  com¬ 
prehension,  as  any  other  truth.  The 
meaning  here  as  applied  to  the  seven 
stars,  is,  that  they  were  symbols,  and 
that  their  meaning  as  symbols,  without 
a  suitable  explanation,  would  remain 
hidden  or  unknown.  They  were  de¬ 
signed  to  represent  important  truths, 
and  John  was  directed  to  write  down 
what  they  were  intended,  in  the  circum¬ 
stances,  to  signify,  and  to  send  the  ex¬ 
planation  to  the  churches.  It  is  evi¬ 
dently  implied  that  the  meaning  of 
these  symbols  would  be  beyond  the 
ordinary  powers  of  the  human  mind  to 
arrive  at  with  certainty,  and  hence  John 
was  directed  to  explain  the  symbol.  The 
general  and  obvious  truths  which  they 
would  serve  to  convey  would  be  that 
the  ministers  of  the  churches,  and  the 
churches  themselves,  were  designed  to 
be  lights  in  the  world,  and  should  burn 
clearly  and  steadily.  Much  important 
truth  would  be  couched  under  these 
symbols,  indeed,  if  nothing  had  been 
added  in  regard  to  their  signification  as 
employed  here  by  the  Saviour ;  but  there 
were  particular  truths  of  great  import¬ 
ance  in  reference  to  each  of  these  “  stars” 
and  “  lamp-bearers,”  which  John  was 
more  fully  to  explain.  Which  thou 
sawest  in  my  right  hand.  Gr.  “  upon 
my  right  hand”  —  ini  t%  yov  : — ■ 

giving  some  support  to  the  opinion  that 
the  stars,  as  they  were  seen,  appeared  to 
be  placed  on  his  hand — that  is,  on  the 
palm  of  his  hand  as  he  stretched  it  out. 
The  expression  in  ver.  16,  is,  that  they 
were  “in  ( ev )  his  right  hand;”  but  the 
language  here  used  is  not  decisive  as  to 
the  position  of  the  stars.  They  may 
have  been  held  in  some  way  by  the 


CHAPTER  I. 


75 


A.  D.  96.] 


candlesticks.  The  seven  stars  are 
the  angels  of  the  seven  churches : 


hand,  or  represented  as  scattered  on  the 
open  hand.  The  seven  golden  candle¬ 
sticks.  The  truth  which  these  emble¬ 
matic  representations  are  designed  to 
convey.  The  seven  stars  are.  That 
is,  they  represent,  or  they  denote — in 
accordance  with  a  common  usage  in  the 
Scriptures.  See  Notes  on  Matt.  xxvi. 
26.  The  angels  of  the  seven  churches. 
Gr.  “Angels  of  the  seven  churches:” — 
the  article  being  wanting.  This  does 
not  refer  to  them  as  a  collective  or 
associated  body,  for  the  addresses  are 
made  to  them  as  individuals — an  epistle 
being  directed  to  “the  angel”  of  each 
particular  church.  Ch.  ii.  1,  12,  &c. 
The  evident  meaning,  however,  is,  that 
what  was  recorded  should  be  directed 
to  them  not  as  pertaining  to  them  ex¬ 
clusively  as  individuals,  but  as  presiding 
over,  or  representing  the  churches,  for 
what  is  recorded  pertains  to  the  churches, 
and  was  evidently  designed  to  be  laid 
before  them.  It  was  for  the  churches, 
but  was  committed  to  the  “angel”  as 
representing  the  church,  and  to  be  com¬ 
municated  to  the  church  under  his  care. 
There  has  been  much  diversity  of 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the 
word  angels  here.  By  the  advocates  of 
Episcopacy,  it  has  been  argued  that  the 
use  of  this  term  proves  that  there  was  a 
presiding  bishop  over  a  circle  or  group 
of  churches  in  Ephesus,  in  Smyrna,  &e., 
since  it  is  said  that  it  cannot  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  there  was  but  a  single 
church  in  a  city  so  large  as  Ephesus,  or 
in  the  other  cities  mentioned.  A  full 
examination  of  this  argument  may  be 
seen  in  my  work  on  the  “Apostolic 
Church,”  pp.  IIS-127.  The  word  angel) 
properly  means  a  messenger,  and  is 
thus  applied  to  celestial  beings  as  mes¬ 
sengers  sent  forth  from  God  to  convey 
or  to  do  his  will.  This  being  the  com¬ 
mon  meaning  of  the  word,  it  may  be 
employed  to  denote  any  one  who  is  a 
messsenger,  and  hence,  with  propriety, 
any  one  who  is  employed  to  communi¬ 
cate  the  will  of  another ;  to  transact  his 
business,  or,  more  remotely,  to  act  in 
his  place — to  be  a  representative.  In 
order  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the 
word  as  used  in  this  place,  and  in 
reference  to  these  churches,  it  may  be 


and  the  seven  candlesticks  °  which 
thou  sawest,  are  the  seven  churches. 

a  Mat.  5. 15, 16. 

remarked  (1)  that  it  cannot  mean  lite¬ 
rally  an  angel,  as  referring  to  a  heavenly 
being,  for  no  one  can  suppose  that  such 
a  being  presided  over  these  churches ; 
(2)  it  cannot  be  shown  to  mean,  as 
Lord  (in  loc.)  supposes,  messengers  that 
the  churches  had  sent  to  John,  and 
that  these  letters  were  given  to  them  to 
be  returned  by  them  to  the  churches,  for 
(a)  there  is  no  evidence  that  any  such  mes¬ 
sengers  had  been  sent  to  John  ;  (b)  there 
is  no  probability  that  while  he  was  a 
banished  exile  in  Patmos  such  a  thing 
would  be  permitted;  (c)  the  message 
was  not  sent  by  them,  it  was  sent  to 
them — “  Unto  the  angel  of  the  church 
in  Ephesus,  write,”  <fce.  (3)  It  cannot 
be  proved  that  the  reference  is  to  a 
prelatical  bishop  presiding  over  a  group 
or  circle  of  churches,  called  a  diocese, 
for  (a)  there  is  nothing  in  the  word 
angel,  as  used  in  this  connection,  which 
would  be  peculiarly  applicable  to  such 
a  personage — it  being  as  applicable  to 
a  pastor  of  a  single  church  as  to  a 
bishop  of  many  churches ;  ( b )  there  is 
no  evidence  that  there  were  any  such 
groups  of  churches  then  as  constitute 
an  episcopal  diocese ;  (c)  the  use  of  the 
word  “  church”  in  the  singular,  as  ap¬ 
plied  to  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  &c.,  rather 
implies  that  there  was  but  a  single 
church  in  each  of  those  cities.  Comp, 
ch.  ii.  1,  8,  12,  18 ;  see  also  similar 
language  in  regard  to  the  church  in 
Corinth,  1  Cor.  i.  1,  2 ;  in  Antioch, 
Acts  xiii.  1;  at  Laodicea,  Col.  iv.  16, 
and  at  Ephesus,  Acts  xx.  28 ;  (d)  there 
is  no  evidence,  as  Episcopalians  must 
suppose,  that  a  successor  to  John  had 
been  appointed  at  Ephesus,  if,  as  they 
suppose,  he  was  “  bishop”  of  Ephesus, 
and  there  is  no  probability  that  they 
would  so  soon  after  his  banishment 
show  him  such  a  want  of  respect  as 
to  regard  the  see  as  vacant,  and  ap¬ 
point  a  successor;  (e)  there  is  no  im¬ 
probability  in  supposing  that  there  was 
a  single  church  in  each  of  these  cities— 
as  at  Antioch,  Corinth,  Rome;  (f)  if 
John  was  a  prelatical  “bishop,”  it  is 
probable  that  he  was  “  bishop”_  of  the 
whole  group  of  churches  embracing  the 
seven — yet  here,  if  the  word  “angel 
means  “  bishop,”  we  have  no  loss  than 


76 


REVELATION, 


seven  such  bishops  immediately  ap¬ 
pointed  to  succeed  him ;  and  ( g )  the 
supposition  that  this  refers  to  prelatical 
bishops  is  so  forced  and  unnatural  that 
many  Episcopalians  aro  compelled  to 
abandon  it.  Thus  Stillingfleet,  than 
whom  an  abler  man,  or  one  whose  praise 
is  higher  in  Episcopal  churches,  as  an 
advocate  of  Prelacy,  is  not  to  be  found, 
says  of  these  angels  :  “  If  many  things 
in  the  epistles  be  directed  to  the  angels, 
but  yet  so  as  to  concern  the  whole  body, 
then,  of  necesssity,  the  angel  must  be 
taken  as  a  representative  of  the  whole 
body ;  and  then  why  may  not  the  angel 
be  taken  by  way  of  representation  of  the 
body  itself,  either  of  the  whole  church, 
or,  which  is  far  more  probable,  of  the 
confessors,  or  order  of  presbyters  in  this 
church  ?”  (4)  If  the  word  does  not 

mean  literally  an  angel;  if  it  does  not 
refer  to  messengers  sent  to  John  in 
Patmos  by  the  churches ;  and  if  it  does 
not  refer  to  a  prelatical  bishop,  then  it 
follows  that  it  must  refer  to  some  one 
who  presided  over  the  church  as  its 
pastor,  and  through  whom  a  message 
might  be  properly  sent  to  the  church. 
Thus  understood,  the  pastor  or  “  angel" 
would  be  regarded  as  the  representative 
of  the  church ;  that  is,  as  delegated  by 
the  church  to  manage  its  affairs,  and  as 
the  authorized  person  to  whom  com¬ 
munications  should  be  made  in  matters 
pertaining  to  it — as  pastors  are  now. 
A  few  considerations  will  further  con¬ 
firm  this  interpretation,  and  throw  ad¬ 
ditional  light  on  the  meaning  of  the 
word,  (a)  The  word  angel  is  employed 
in  the  Old  Testament  to  denote  a  pro¬ 
phet  ;  that  is,  a  minister  of  religion 
as  sent  by  God  to  communicate  his 
will.  Thus  in  Haggai  (i.  13),  it  is  said, 
“  Then  spake  Haggai,  the  Lord’s  mes¬ 
senger  [Heb.  angel — HIIT  Sept. 

ayyeXo;  Kvptov,']  in  the  Lord’s  message 
unto  the  people,”  &c.  ( b )  It  is  applied 

to  a  priest,  as  one  sent  by  God  to  exe¬ 
cute  the  functions  of  that  office,  or  to 
act  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Mai.  ii.  7, 
“  For  the  priest’s  lips  should  keep  know¬ 
ledge,  for  he  is  the  messenger  of  the  Lord 

of  hosts’  ’—  niim  nirr  ijxSd  —  that 

is,  “angel  of  the  Lord  of  hosts.”  (c)  The 
name  prophet  is  often  given  in  the  New 
Testament  to  the  ministers  of  religion, 
as  being  appointed  by  God  to  proclaim 


[A.  D.  96. 

or  communicate  his  will  to  his  people, 
and  as  occupying  a  place  resembling,  in 
some  respects,  that  of  the  prophets  in 
the  Old  Testament.  ( d )  There  was  no 
reason  why  the  word  might  not  be  thus 
employed  to  designate  a  pastor  of  a 
Christian  church,  as  well  as  to  designate 
a  prophet  or  a  priest  under  the  Old 
Testament  dispensation,  (e)  The  sup¬ 
position  that  a  pastor  of  a  church  is 
intended,  will  meet  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  case : — for,  (1)  it  is  an  appro¬ 
priate  appellation  ;  (2)  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  there  was  more  than  one 
church  in  each  of  the  cities  referred  to ; 

(3)  it  is  a  term  which  would  designate 
the  respect  in  which  the  office  was  held; 

(4)  it  would  impress  upon  those  to  whom 
it  was  applied  a  solemn  sense  of  their  re¬ 
sponsibility.  Further,  it  would  be  more 
appropriately  applied  to  a  pastor  of  a 
single  church  than  to  a  prelatical  bishop : 
— to  the  tender,  intimate,  and  endearing 
relation  sustained  by  a  pastor  to  his 
people, — to  the  blending  of  sympathy, 
interest,  and  affection,  where  he  is  with 
them  continually,  meets  them  frequently 
in  the  sanctuary,  administers  to  them 
the  bread  of  life,  goes  into  their  abodes 
when  they  are  afflicted,  and  attends 
their  kindred  to  the  grave,  than  to  the 
union  subsisting  between  the  people  of 
an  extended  diocese  and  a  prelate — the 
formal,  unfrequent,  and,  in  many  in¬ 
stances,  stately  and  pompous  visitations 
of  a  diocesan  bishop ;  to  the  unsympa¬ 
thising  relation  between  him  and  a 
people  scattered  in  many  churches,  who 
are  visited  at  distant  intervals  by  one 
claiming  a  “  superiority  in  ministerial 
rights  and  powers,”  and  who  must  be  a 
stranger  to  the  ten  thousand  ties  of 
endearment  which  bind  the  hearts  of  a 
pastor  and  people  together.  The  con¬ 
clusion,  then,  to  which  we  have  come  is 
that  the  “  angel  of  the  church”  was  the 
pastor  or  the  presiding  presbyter  in  the 
church ;  the  minister  who  had  the  pas¬ 
toral  charge  of  it,  and  who  was  there¬ 
fore  a  proper  representative  of  it.  He 
was  a  man  who,  in  some  respects,  per¬ 
formed  the  functions  which  the  angels 
of  God  do ;  that  is,  who  was  appointed 
to  execute  his  will,  to  communicate  his 
message,  and  to  convey  important  inti¬ 
mations  of  his  purposes  to  his  people. 
To  no  one  could  the  communications 
in  this  book,  intended  for  the  churches, 
be  more  properly  entrusted  than  to  such 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


77 


CHAPTER  II. 

NTO  the  angel  of  the  church 
of  Ephesus  write ;  These  things 

an  one ;  for  to  no  one  now  would  a  com¬ 
munication  be  more  properly  entrusted 
than  to  a  pastor. 

Such  is  the  sublime  vision  under 
which  this  book  opens ;  such  the  solemn 
commission  which  the  penman  of  the 
book  received.  No  more  appropriate 
introduction  to  what  is  contained  in  the 
book  could  be  imagined ;  no  more  appro¬ 
priate  circumstances  for  making  such  a 
sublime  revelation  could  have  existed. 
To  the  most  beloved  of  the  apostles — 
now  the  only  surviving  one  of  the  num¬ 
ber  ;  to  him  who  had  been  a  faithful 
laborer  for  a  period  not  far  from  sixty 
years  after  the  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
who  had  been  the  bosom  friend  of  the 
Saviour  when  in  the  flesh,  who  had  seen 
him  in  the  mount  of  transfiguration, 
who  had  seen  him  die,  and  who  had 
seen  him  ascend  into  heaven ;  to  him 
who  had  lived  while  the  church  was 
founded,  and  while  it  had  spread  into 
all  lands ;  and  to  him  who  was  now 
suffering  persecution  on  account  of 
the  Saviour  and  his  cause,  it  was 
appropriate  that  such  communications 
should  be  made.  In  a  lonely  island; 
far  away  from  the  abodes  of  men ;  sur¬ 
rounded  by  the  ocean,  and  amid  barren 
rocks;  on  the  day  consecrated  to  the 
purposes  of  sacred  repose  and  the  holy 
duties  of  religion  —  the  day  observed 
in  commemoration  of  the  resurrection 
of  his  Lord,  it  was  most  fit  that  the 
Redeemer  should  appear  to  the  “beloved 
disciple”  in  the  last  Revelation  which  he 
was  ever  to  make  to  mankind.  No  more 
appropriate  time  or  circumstance  could 
be  conceived  for  disclosing,  by  a  series 
of  sublime  visions,  what  would  occur  in 
future  times  : — for  sketching  out  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  church  "to  The  consummation 
of  all  things. 

CHAPTER  II. 

ANALYSIS  OP  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  comprises  four  of  the 
seven  epistles  addressed  to  the  seven 
churches  : — those  addressed  to  Ephesus, 
Smyrna,  Pergamos,  and  Thyatira.  A 
particular  view  of  the  contents  of  the 
epistles  will  be  more  appropriate  as  they 
come  separately  to  be  considered,  than  in 

j  * 


saith  he  that  °  holdeth  the  seven 
stars  in  his  right  hand,  who  walk- 
eth  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden 
candlesticks ; 

a  c.  1. 16.  20. 

this  place.  There  are  some  general 
remarks  in  regard  to  their  structure, 
however,  which  may  be  properly  made 
here. 

(1.)  They  all  begin  with  a  reference  to 
some  of  the  attributes  of  the  Saviour,  in 
general  some  attribute  that  had  been 
noted  in  the  first  chapter;  and  while 
they  are  all  adapted  to  make  a  deep  im¬ 
pression  on  the  mind,  perhaps  each  one 
was  selected  in  such  a  way  as  to  have  a 
special  propriety  in  reference  to  each 
particular  church.  Thus  in  the  address 
to  the  church  at  Ephesus  (ch.  ii.  1)  the 
allusion  is  to  the  fact  that  he  who  speaks 
to  them  “holds  the  seven  stars  in  his 
right  hand,  and  walks  in  the  midst  of 
the  seven  golden  candlesticks ;”  in  the 
epistle  to  the  church  at  Smyrna  (ch.  ii. 
8),  it  is  he  who  “is  the  first  and  the 
last,  who  was  dead  and  is  alive;”  in  the 
epistle  to  the  church  at  Pergamos  (ch.  ii. 
12),  it  is  he  “which  hath  the  sharp 
sword  with  the  two  edges ;”  in  the 
epistle  to  the  church  at  Thyatira  (ch.  ii. 
18),  it  is  “  the  Son  of  God,  who  hath 
his  eyes  like  unto  a  flame  of  fire,  and  his 
feet  like,  fine  brass ;”  in  the  epistle  to 
the  church  at  Sardis  (ch.  iii.  1),  it  is  he 
who  “hath  the  seven  Spirits  of  God, 
and  the  seven  stars ;”  in  the  epistle  to 
the  church  at  Philadelphia  (ch.  iii.  7),  it 
is  “he  that  is  holy,  he  that  is  true, 
he  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  he  that 
openeth  and  no  man  shutteth,  and  shut- 
teth  and  no  man  openeth ;”  in  the 
epistle  to  the  church  at  Laodicea  (ch.  iii. 
14),  it  is  he  who  is  the  “Amen,  the 
faithful  and  true  witness,  the  beginning 
of  the  creation  of  God.” 

(2.)  These  introductions  are  followed 
with  the  formula,  “I  know  thy  works.” 
The  peculiar  characteristics  then  of  each 
church  are  referred  to,  with  a  sentiment 
of  approbation  or  disapprobation  ex¬ 
pressed  in  regard  to  their  conduct.  Of 
two  of  the  churches,  that  at  Smyrna 
(ii.  9)  and  that  at  Philadelphia  (iii.  10), 
he  expresses  his  entire  approbation ;  to 
the  churches  of  Sardis  (iii.  3)  and  Lao- 
dieea  (iii.  15-18),  he  administers  a 
decided  rebuko ;  to  the  churches  of 
Ephesus  (ii.  3-6),  Pergamos  (ii.  13-16), 


78 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  9G. 


and  Thyatira  (iii.  19,  20,  24,  25),  he 
intermingles  praise  and  rebuke,  for  he 
saw  much  to  commend,  but  at  the  same 
time  not  a  little  that  was  reprehensible. 
In  all  cases,  however,  the  approbation 
precedes  the  blame : — showing  that  he 
was  more  disposed  to  find  that  which 
was  good  than  that  which  was  evil. 

(3.)  After  the  statement  of  their  cha¬ 
racteristics,  there  follows  in  each  case, 
counsel,  advice,  admonition,  or  promises, 
such  as  their  circumstances  demanded — 
encouragement  in  trial,  and  injunctions 
to  put  away  their  sins.  The  admonitions 
are  addressed  to  the  churches  as  if 
Christ  were  at  hand,  and  would  ere 
long  come  and  sit  in  judgment  on  them 
and  their  deeds. 

(4.)  There  is  a  solemn  admonition  to 
hear  what  the  Spirit  has  to  say  to  the 
churches.  This  is  in  each  case  expressed 
in  the  same  manner,  “  He  that  hath  an 
ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith 
unto  the  churches,”  ch.  ii.  7,  11,  17,  29, 
iii.  6,  13,  22.  These  admonitions  were 
designed  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
churches  to  these  things,  and  at  the 
same  time  they  seem  designed  to  show 
that  they  were  not  intended  for  them 
alone.  They  are  addressed  to  any  one 
who  “has  an  ear,”  and  therefore  had 
some  principles  of  general  application  to 
others,  and  to  which  all  should  attend 
who  were  disposed  to  learn  the  will  of 
the  Redeemer.  What  was  addressed  to 
one  church,  at  any  time,  would  be  equally 
applicable,  to  all  churches  in  the  same 
circumstances ;  what  was  adapted  to 
rebuke,  elevate,  or  comfort  Christians  in 
any  one  age  or  land,  would  be  adapted 
to  be  useful  to  Christians  of  all  ages  and 
lands. 

(5.)  There  then  is,  either  following  or 
preceding  that  call  on  all  the  churches  to 
hear,  some  promise  or  assurance  de¬ 
signed  to  encourage  the  church,  and 
urge  it  forward  in  the  discharge  of  duty 
or  in  enduring  trial.  This  is  found  in 
each  one  of  the  epistles,  though  not 
always  in  the  same  relative  position. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CHURCH  AT 
EPHESUS. 

The  contents  of  the  epistle  to  the 
church  at  Ephesus — the  first  addressed 
—  are  these : — (1)  The  attribute  of  the 
Saviour  referred  to  is,  that  he  “  holds 
the  stars  in  his  right  hand,  and  walks 
in  the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks,” 
ch.  ii.  1.  (2)  He  commends  them  for 


their  patience,  and  for  their  opposition 
to  those  who  are  evil,  and  for  their  zeal 
and  fidelity  in  carefully  examining  into 
the  character  of  some  who  claimed  to  be 
apostles,  but  who  were  in  fact  impostors ; 
for  their  perseverance  in  bearing  up 
under  trial,  and  not  fainting  in  his 
cause,  and  for  their  opposition  to  the 
Nicolaitanes,  whom  he  says  he  hates, 
vs.  2,  3,  6.  (3)  He  reproves  them  for 

having  left  their  first  love  to  him,  ver.  4  ; 
(4)  he  admonishes  them  to  remember 
whence  they  had  fallen,  to  repent,  and 
to  do  their  first  works,  ver.  5  ;  (5)  he 
threatens  them  that  if  they  do  not  re¬ 
pent  he  will  come  and  remove  the  can¬ 
dlestick  out  of  its  place,  ver.  5 ;  and 
(6)  he  assures  them  and  all  others  that 
whosoever  overcomes,  he  will  “  give  him 
to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  paradise  of  God,”  ver.  7. 

1.  Unto  the  angel.  The  minister; 
the  presiding  presbyter;  the  bishop — in 
the  primitive  sense  of  the  word  bishop — 
denoting  one  who  had  the  spiritual 
charge  of  a  congregation.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  i.  20.  Of  the  church.  Not  of 
the  churches  of  Ephesus,  but  of  the  one 
church  of  that  city.  There  is  no  evi¬ 
dence  that  the  word  is  used  in  a  collec¬ 
tive  sense  to  denote  a  group  of  churches, 
like  a  diocese;  nor  is  there  any  evidence 
that  there  was  such  a  group  of  churches 
in  Ephesus,  or  that  there  was  more  than 
one  church  in  that  city.  It  is  probable 
that  all  who  were  Christians  there  were 
regarded  as  members  of  one  church — 
though  for  convenience  they  may  have 
met  for  worship  in  different  places.  Thus 
there  was  one  Church  in  Corinth  (1  Cor. 
i.  1);  one  church  in  Thessalonica  (1 
Thess.  i.  1),  &e.  Of  Ephesus.  On 
the  situation  of  Ephesus,  see  Notes  on 
Acts  xviii.  19,  and  the  Intro,  to  the 
Notes  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
$  I.,  and  the  engravings  there.  It  was 
the  capital  of  Ionia;  was  one  of  the  twelve 
Ionian  cities  of  Asia  Minor  in  the  Mythic 
times,  and  was  said  to  have  been  founded 
by  the  Amazons.  It  was  situated  on  the 
river  Cayster,  not  far  from  the  Icarian 
Sea,  between  Smyrna  and  Miletus.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  considerable  cities  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  while,  about  the  epoch 
when  Christianity  was  introduced,  other 
cities  declined,  Ephesus  rose  more  and 
more.  It  owed  its  prosperity,  in  part,  to 
the  favor  of  its  governors,  for  Lysimachus 


CHAPTER  II. 


79 


A.  D.  96.] 


2  I  know  “  thy  works,  and  thy 

a  Ps.  1.  6.  ver.  9. 13,  19.  c.  3. 1.  8, 15. 

named  the  city  Arsinoe,  in  honor  of  his 
second  wife,  and  Attalus  Philadelphus 
furnished  it  with  splendid  wharves  and 
docks.  Under  the  Romans  it  was  the 
capital  not  only  of  Ionia,  but  of  the 
entire  province  of  Asia,  and  bore  the 
honorable  title  of  the  first  and  greatest 
metropolis  of  Asia.  John  is  supposed 
to  have  resided  in  this  city,  and  to  have 
preached  the  gospel  there  for  many 
years ;  and  on  this  account  perhaps  it 
was,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the 
relative  importance  of  tho  city,  that  the 
first  epistle  of  the  seven  was  addressed 
to  that  chureh.  On  tho  present  con¬ 
dition  of  the  ruins  of  Ephesus,  see  Notes 
on  ver.  5.  We  have  no  means  whatever 
of  ascertaining  the  size  of  the  church 
when  John  wrote  the  book  of  Revela¬ 
tion.  From  the  fact,  however,  that  Paul, 
as  is  supposed  (see  Intro,  to  the  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesians,  §  2),  labored  therefor 
about  three  years ;  that  there  was  a  body 
of  “  elders”  who  presided  over  the  church 
there  (Acts  xx.  17) ;  and  that  the  Apostle 
John  seems  to  have  spent  a  considerable 
part  of  his  life  there  in  preaching  the 
gospel,  it  may  be  presumed  that  there 
was  a  large  and  flourishing  church  in 
that  city.  The  epistle  before  us  shows 
also  that  it  was  characterized  by  dis¬ 
tinguished  piety.  f  These  things  saith 
he  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  his 
right  hand.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  16.  The 
object  here  seems  to  be  to  turn  the 
attention  of  the  church  in  Ephesus 
to  some  attribute  of  the  Saviour  which 
deserved  their  special  regard,  or  which 
constituted  a  special  reason  for  attending 
to  what  he  said.  To  do  this,  the  atten¬ 
tion  is  directed  in  this  case  to  the  fact 
that  he  held  the  seven  stars — emblematic 
of  the  ministers  of  the  churches — in  his 
hand,  and  that  he  walked  in  the  midst 
of  tho  lamp-bearers — representing  the 
churches  themselves,  intimating  that 
they  are  dependent  on  him  ;  that  he  had 
power  to  continue  or  remove  the  minis¬ 
try,  and  that  it  was  by  his  presence  only 
that  those  lamp-bearers  would  continue 
to  give  light.  The  absolute  control  over 
the  ministry,  and  the  fact  that  he  walked 
amidst  the  churches,  and  that  his  pre¬ 
sence  was  necessary  to  their  perpetuity 
and  their  welfare,  seem  to  be  the  prin¬ 
cipal  ideas  implied  in  this  representation. 


labor,  and  thy  patience,  and  how 
thou  canst  not  bear  them  which  are 

These  truths  he  would  impress  on  their 
minds  in  order  that  they  might  feel  how 
easy  it  would  be  for  him  to  punish  any 
disobedience,  and  in  order  that  they 
might  do  what  was  necessary  to  secure 
his  continual  presence  among  them. 
These  views  seem  to  be  sanctioned  by 
the  character  of  the  punishment  threat¬ 
ened  (ver.  5),  ‘  that  he  would  remove  the 
candlestick  representing  their  church 
out  of  its  place.’  See  Notes  on  ver.  5. 

Who  walketh  in  the  midst,  <tc.  In 
ch.  i.  13,  he  is  represented  simply  as 
being  seen  amidst  the  golden  candle¬ 
sticks.  See  Notes  on  that  place.  Here 
there  is  the  additional  idea  of  his 
“walking”  in  the  midst  of  them,  im¬ 
plying  perhaps  constant  and  vigilant 
supervision.  He  went  from  one  to 
another,  as  one  who  inspects  and  sur¬ 
veys  what  is  under  his  care;  perhaps 
also  with  the  idea  that  he  went  among 
them  as  a  friend  to  bless  them. 

2.  I  know  thy  works.  The  common 
formula  with  which  all  the  epistles  to 
the  seven  churches  are  introduced.  It 
is  designed  to  impress  upon  them  deeply 
the  conviction  that  ho  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  all  that  they  did,  good 
and  bad,  and  that,  therefore,  he  was 
abundantly  qualified  to  dispense  re¬ 
wards  or  administer  punishments  ac¬ 
cording  to  truth  and  justice.  It  may  be 
observed  that,  as  many  of  tho  things 
referred  to  in  these  epistles  were  things 
pertaining  to  the  heart — the  feelings, 
the  state  of  the  mind — it  is  implied  that 
he  who  speaks  here  has  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  heart  of  man — a 
prerogative  which  is  always  attributed 
to  the  Saviour.  See  John  ii.  25.  But 
no  one  can  do  this  who  is  not  divine ; 
and  this  declaration,  therefore,  furnishes 
a  strong  proof  of  the  divinity  of  Christ. 
See  Ps.  vii.  9;  Jer.  xi.  20,  xvii.  10; 
1  Sam.  xvi.  7 ;  1  Kings  viii.  39.  f  And 
thy  labor.  The  word  here  used — kokos — 
means  properly  a  beating,  hence  wailing, 
grief,  with  beating  the  breast ;  and  then 
it  means  excessive  labor  or  toil  adapted 
to  produce  grief  or  sadness,  and  is  com¬ 
monly  employed  in  the  New  Testament 
in  the  latter  sense.  It  is  used  in  the 
sense  of  trouble  in  Matt.  xxvi.  10 : 
“  Why  trouble  ye  [literally,  why  give  ye 
trouble  to]  the  woman,”  Comp,  also 


do  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


evil:  and  thou  hast  tried  °  them 
which  say  they  are  apostles,  and 
a  1  Jno.  4. 1. 

Mark  xiv.  6 ;  Luke  xi.  7,  xviii.  5  ;  Gal. 
vi.  17 ;  and  in  the  sense  of  labor,  or 
wearisome  toil,  in  J ohn  iv.  38 ;  1  Cor. 
iii.  8,  xv.  58;  2  Cor.  vi.  5,  x.  15,  xi.  23, 
27,  el  al.  The  connexion  here  would 
admit  of  either  sense.  It  is  commonly 
understood,  as  in  our  translation,  in  the 
sense  of  labor,  though  it  would  seem 
that  the  other  signification  —  that  of 
trouble — would  not  be  inappropriate.  If 
it  means  labor,  it  refers  to  their  faithful 
service  in  his  cause,  and  especially  in 
opposing  error.  It  seems  to  me,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  word  trouble  would  better 
suit  the  connexion.  And  thy  patience. 
Under  these  trials ;  to  wit,  in  relation  to 
the  efforts  which  had  been  made  by  the 
advocates  of  error  to  corrupt  them,  and 
to  turn  them  away  from  the  truth. 
They  had  patiently  borne  the  opposition 
made  to  the  truth ;  they  had  manifested 
a  spirit  of  firm  endurance  amidst  many 
arts  of  those  opposed  to  them  to  draw 
them  off  from  simple  faith  in  Christ. 
If  And  how  thou  canst  not  bear  them  that 
are  evil.  Canst  not  endure,  or  tolerate 
them.  Comp.  Notes  on  2  John  10,  11. 
That  is,  they  had  no  sympathy  with 
their  doctrines  or  their  practices ;  they 
were  utterly  opposed  to  them.  They 
had  lent  them  no  countenance,  but  had 
in  every  way  shown  that  they  had  no 
fellowship  with  them.  The  evil  per¬ 
sons  here  referred  to  were  doubtless 
those  mentioned  in  this  verse  as  claim¬ 
ing  that  “  they  were  apostles,”  and  those 
mentioned  in  ver.  6,  as  the  Nicolaitanes. 

And  thou  hast  tried  them  which  say 
they  are  apostles.  Thou  hast  thoroughly 
examined  their  claims.  It  is  not  said 
in  what  way  they  had  done  this,  but  it 
was  probably  by  considering  attentively 
and  candidly  the  evidence  on  which 
they  relied,  whatever  that  may  have 
been.  Nor  is  it  certainly  known  who 
these  persons  were,  or  on  what  grounds 
they  advanced  their  pretensions  to  the 
apostolic  office.  It  cannot  be  supposed 
that  they  claimed  to  have  been  of  the 
number  of  apostles  selected  by  the 
Saviour,  for  that  would  have  been  too 
absurd;  and  the  only  solution  would 
seem  to  be  that  they  claimed  either 
(1)  that  they  had  been  called  to  that 
office  after  the  Saviour  ascended,  as 


are  not,  b  and  hast  found  them 
liars : 

b  2  Co.  11. 13. 

Paul  was;  or  (2)  that  they  claimed  the 
honor  due  to  this  name  or  office  in  virtue 
of  some  election  to  it;  or  (3)  that  they 
claimed  to  be  the  successors  of  the 
apostles,  and  to  possess  anu  transmit 
their  authority.  If  the  first  of  these,  it 
would  seem  that  the  only  ground  of 
claim  would  be  that  they  had  been  called 
in  some  miraculous  way  to  the  rank  of 
apostles,  and,  of  course,  an  examination 
of  their  claims  would  be  an  examination 
of  the  alleged  miraculous  call,  and  of  the 
evidence  on  which  they  would  rely  that 
they  had  such  a  call.  If  the  second, 
then  the  claim  must  have  been  founded 
on  some  such  plea  as  that  the  apostolic 
office  was  designed  to  be  elective,  as  in 
the  case  of  Matthias  (Acts  i.  23-26),  and 
that  they  maintained  that  this  arrange¬ 
ment  was  to  be  continued  in  the  church ; 
and  then  an  examination  of  their  claims 
would  involve  an  investigation  of  the 
question  whether  it  was  contemplated 
that  the  apostolic  office  was  designed  to 
be  perpetuated  in  that  manner,  or  whe¬ 
ther  the  election  of  Matthias  was  only  a 
temporary  arrangement,  designed  to 
answer  a  particular  purpose.  If  the 
third,  then  the  claim  must  have  been 
founded  on  the  plea  that  the  apostolic 
office  was  designed  to  be  perpetuated 
by  a  regular  succession,  and  that  they, 
by  ordination,  were  in  the  line  of  that 
succession;  and  then  the  examination 
and  refutation  of  the  claim  must  have 
consisted  in  showing,  from  the  nature  of 
the  office,  and  the  necessary  qualifica¬ 
tions  for  the  office  of  apostle,  that  it  was 
designed  to  be  temporary,  and  that  there 
could  be  properly  no  successors  of  the 
apostles  as  such.  On  either  of  these 
suppositions  such  a  line  of  argument 
would  be  fatal  to  all  claims  to  any  suc¬ 
cession  in  the  apostolic  office  now.  If 
each  of  these  points  should  fail,  of 
course  their  claims  to  the  rank  of 
apostles  would  cease — -just  as  all  claims 
to  the  dignity  and  rank  of  apostles  must 
fail  now.  The  passage  becomes  thus  a 
strong  argument  against  the  claims  of 
any  persons  to  be  “apostles,”  or  to  be 
the  “  successors”  of  the  apostles  in  the 
peculiarity  of  their  office,  f  And  are 
not.  There  were  never  any  apostles  of 
Jesus  Christ  but  the  original  twelve 


CHAPTER  II. 


81 


A.  D.  96.] 


3  And  hast  borne,  and  hast  pa¬ 
tience,  and  for  my  name's  sake  hast 
labored,  and  hast  not  fainted.® 

a  Ga.  6.  9. 

whom  he  chose ;  Matthias,  who  was 
chosen  in  the  place  of  Judas  (Acts  i.  26); 
and  Paul,  who  was  specially  called  to 
the  office  by  the  Saviour  after  his  resur¬ 
rection.  On  this  point,  see  my  work  on 
the  “Apostolic  Church,”  pp.  47-58. 

And  hast  found  them  liars.  Hast 
discovered  their  pretensions  to  bo  un¬ 
founded  and  false.  In  2  Cor.  xi.  13, 
“false  apostles”  are  mentioned;  and  in 
an  office  of  so  much  honor  as  this,  it  is 
probable  that  there  would  be  not  a  few 
claimants  to  it  in  the  world.  To  set  up 
a  claim  to  what  they  knew  they  were 
not  entitled  to,  would  be  a  falsehood ; 
and  as  this  seems  to  have  been  the  cha¬ 
racter  of  these  men,  the  Saviour  in  the 
passage  before  us  does  not  hesitate  to 
designate  them  by  an  appropriate  term, 
and  to  call  them  liars.  The  point  here 
commended  in  the  Ephesian  church  is, 
that  they  had  sought  to  have  a  pure 
ministry — a  ministry  whose  claims  were 
well  founded.  They  had  felt  the  im¬ 
portance  of  this ;  had  carefully  examined 
the  claims  of  pretenders ;  and  had  refused 
to  recognize  those  who  could  not  show 
in  a  proper  manner  that  they  had  been 
designated  to  their  work  by  the  Lord 
Jesus.  The  same  zeal  in  the  same 
cause  would  be  commended  by  the 
Saviour  now. 

3.  And  hast  borne.  Hast  borne  up 
under  trials ;  or  hast  borne  with  the 
evils  with  which  you  have  been  assailed. 
That  is,  you  have  not  given  way  to  mur¬ 
muring  or  complaints  in  trial ;  you  have 
not  abandoned  the  principles  of  truth 
and  yielded  to  the  prevalence  of  error. 

And  hast  patience.  That  is,  in  this 
connexion,  hast  shown  that  thou  canst 
hear  up  under  these  things  with  patience, 
is  a  repetition  of  what  is  said  in  ver.  2, 
but  in  a  somewhat  different  connexion. 
There,  it  rather  refers  to  the  trouble 
which  they  had  experienced  on  account 
of  the  pretensions  of  false  apostles — and 
the  patient,  persevering,  and  enduring 
spirit  which  they  had  shown  in  that 
form  of  trial;  here,  the  expression  is 
more  general,  denoting  a  patient  spirit 
in  regard  to  all  forms  of  trial.  And 
for  my  name’s  sake  hast  labored.  On 
aoeount  of  me,  and  in  my  cause.  That 


4  Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat 
against  thee,  because  thou  hast  left 
thy  first  love. 


is,  the  labor  here  referred  to,  whatever 
it  was,  was  to  advance  the  cause  of  the 
Redeemer.  In  the  word  rendered  “hast 
labored ”  —  KtKoiriaicas — there  is  a  refe¬ 
rence  to  the  word  used  in  the  previous 
verse — “thy  labor” — k6itov  aov  ;  and  the 
design  is  to  show  that  the  “  labor”  or 
trouble  there  referred  to  was  on  account 
of  him.  And  hast  not  faulted.  Hast 
not  become  exhausted,  or  wearied  out, 
so  as  to  give  over.  The  word  hero 
used — Kayvo) — occurs  in  only  three  places 
in  the  New  Testament:  —  Heb.  xii.  3, 
“  Lest  ye  be  wearied,  and  faint ;”  James 
v.  15,  “the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save 
the  sick;”  and  in  the  passage  before  us. 
It  means  properly  to  become  weary 
and  faint  from  toil,  &c.,  and  the  idea 
here  is,  that  they  had  not  become 
so  wearied  out  as  to  give  over  from  ex¬ 
haustion.  The  sense  of  the  whole  pas¬ 
sage  is  thus  rendered  by  Prof.  Stuart : 
“  Thou  canst  not  bear  with  false  teach¬ 
ers,  but  thou  canst  bear  with  troubles 
and  perplexities  on  account  of  me ;  thou 
hast  undergone  wearisome  toil,  but  thou 
art  not  wearied  out  thereby.”  The 
state  of  mind,  considered  as  the  state  of 
mind  appropriate  to  a  Christian,  here 
represented,  is,  that  we  should  not 
tolerate  error  and  sin,  but  that  we 
should  bear  up  under  the  trials  which 
they  may  incidentally  occasion  us ;  that 
we  should  have  such  a  repugnance  to 
evil  that  we  cannot  endure  it,  as  evil, 
but  that  we  should  have  such  love  to 
the  Saviour  and  his  cause  as  to  be  willing 
to  bear  any  thing,  even  in  relation  to 
that,  or  springing  from  that,  that  we 
may  be  called  to  suffer  in  that  cause; 
that  while  we  may  be  weary  in  his 
work — for  our  bodily  strength  may 
become  exhausted  (Comp.  Matt.  xxvi. 
41) — we  should  not  be  weary  of  it ;  and 
that  though  we  may  have  many  per¬ 
plexities,  and  may  meet  with  much  op¬ 
position,  yet  we  should  not  relax  our 
zeal,  but  should  persevere  with  an  ardor 
that  never  faints,  until  our  Saviour  calls 
us  to  our  reward. 

4.  Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat 
against  thee.  Notwithstanding  this 
general  commendation,  there  are  things 
which  I  cannot  approve.  Because 


82 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


5  Remember  therefore  from 
whence  thou  art  fallen ;  and  repent 

thou  hast  left  thy  first  love.  Thou  hast 
remitted — aipfjKas — or  let  down  thy  early 
lore;  that  is,  it  is  less  glowing  and 
ardent  than  it  was  at  first.  The  love 
here  referred  to  is  evidently  love  to  the 
Saviour;  and  the  idea  is,  that,  as  a 
church,  they  had  less  of  this  than 
formerly  characterized  them.  In  this 
respect  they  were  in  a  state  of  declen¬ 
sion  ;  and  though  they  still  maintained 
the  doctrines  of  his  religion,  and  opposed 
the  advocates  of  error,  they  showed  less 
ardor  of  affection  towards  him  directly 
than  they  had  formerly  done.  In  regard 
to  this,  we  may  remark,  (1)  that  what  is 
here  stated  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus  is 
not  uncommon,  (a)  Individual  Chris¬ 
tians  often  lose  much  of  their  first  love. 
It  is  true,  indeed,  that  there  is  often  an 
appearance  of  this  which  does  not  exist 
in  reality.  Not  a  little  of  the  ardor  of 
young  converts  is  often  nothing  more 
than  the  excitement  of  animal  feeling, 
which  will  soon  die  away  of  course, 
though  their  real  love  may  not  he 
diminished,  or  may  be  constantly  grow¬ 
ing  stronger.  When  a  son  returns  home 
after  a  long  absence,  and  meets  his 
parents  and  brothers  and  sisters,  there 
is  a  glow,  a  warmth  of  feeling,  a  joyous¬ 
ness  of  emotion,  which  cannot  be  ex¬ 
pected  to  continue  always,  and  which 
he  may  never  be  able  to  recall  again, 
though  he  may  be  ever  growing  in  real 
attachment  to  his  friends  and  to  his 
home.  (6)  Churches  remit  the  ardor  of 
their  first  love.  They  are  often  formed 
under  the  reviving  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  when  many  are  converted, 
and  are  warm-hearted  and  zealous  young 
converts.  Or  they  are  formed  from  other 
churches  that  have  become  cold  and 
dead,  from  which  the  new  organization, 
embodying  the  life  of  the  church,  was 
constrained  to  separate.  Or  they  are 
formed  under  the  influence  of  some  strong 
and  mighty  truth  that  has  taken  pos¬ 
session  of  the  mind,  and  that  gives  a 
peculiar  character  to  the  church  at  first. 
Or  they  are  formed  with  a  distinct 
reference  to  promoting  some  one  great 
object  in  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer. 
So  the  early  Christian  churches  were 
formed.  So  the  church  in  Germany, 
France,  Switzerland  and  England  came 
out  from  the  Roman  communion  under 


and  do  the  first  works;  °  or  else 

a  Je.  2.  2j  3. 

the  influence  of  the  doctrine  of  justifi¬ 
cation  by  faith.  So  the  Nestorians  in 
former  ages,  and  the  Moravians  in 
modern  times,  were  characterized  by 
warm  zeal  in  the  cause  of  missions.  So 
the  Puritans  came  out  from  the  esta¬ 
blished  church  of  England  at  one  time, 
and  the  Methodists  at  another,  warmed 
with  a  holier  love  to  the  cause  of  evan¬ 
gelical  religion  than  existed  in  the  body 
from  which  they  separated.  So  many  a 
church  is  formed  now  amidst  the  exciting 
scenes  of  a  revival  of  religion,  and  in  the 
early  days  of  its  history  puts  to  shame 
the  older  and  the  slumbering  churches 
around  them.  But,  it  need  scarcely  be 
said  that  this  early  zeal  may  die  away, 
and  that  the  church,  once  so  full  of  life 
and  love,  may  become  as  cold  as  those 
that  went  before  it,  or  as  those  from 
which  it  separated,  and  that  there  may 
be  a  necessity  for  the  formation  of  new 
organizations  that  shall  be  fired  vyith 
ardor  and  zeal.  One  has  only  to  look  at 
Germany,  at  Switzerland,  at  various 
portions  of  the  Reformed  churches  else¬ 
where  ;  at  the  Nestorians — whose  zeal 
for  missions  long  since  departed,  or  even 
at  the  Moravians,  among  whom  it  has 
so  much  delined ;  at  various  portions  of 
the  Puritan  churches ;  and  at  many  an 
individual  church  formed  under  the 
warm  and  exciting  feelings  of  a  revival 
of  religion,  to  see  that  what  occurred  at 
Ephesus  may  occur  elsewhere.  (2)  The 
same  thing  that  occurred  there,  may  be 
expected  to  follow  in  all  similar  cases. 
The  Saviour  governs  the  church  always 
on  essentially  the  same  principles ;  and 
it  is  no  uncommon  thing  that  when  a 
ehurch  has  lost  the  ardor  of  its  first  love, 
it  is  suffered  more  and  more  to  decline, 
until  “the  candlestick  is  removed” — 
until  either  the  church  becomes  wholly 
extinct,  or  until  vital  piety  is  wholly 
gone,  and  all  that  remains  is  the  reli¬ 
gion  of  forms. 

5.  Remember  therefore  from  whence 
thou  art  fallen.  The  eminence  which 
you  once  occupied.  Call  to  remem¬ 
brance  the  state  in  which  you  once 
were.  The  duty  here  enjoined  is,  when 
religion  has  declined  in  our  hearts,  or  in 
the  church,  to  call  to  distinct  recollec¬ 
tion  the  former  state — the  ardor,  the 
zeal,  the  warmth  of  love  which  once 


CHAPTER  II. 


83 


A.  D.  96.J 


I  tvill  como  unto  theo  quickly, 
and  will  remove  °  thy  candlestick 
a  Mat.  21.  41,  43. 

characterized  us.  Tho  reason  for  this 
is,  that  such  a  recalling  of  the  former 
state  will  bo  likely  to  produco  a  happy 
influence  on  tho  heart.  Nothing  is 
better  adapted  to  affect  a  backsliding 
Christian,  or  a  backsliding  ohurch,  than 
to  call  to  distinct  rooollection  the  former 
condition  —  tho  happier  days  of  pioty. 
Tho  joy  then  experienced;  tho  good 
done  ;  tho  honor  reflected  on  tho  cause 
of  religion ;  tho  peace  of  mind  of  that 
period,  will  contrast  strongly  with  tho 
present,  and  nothing  will  bo  better  fitted 
to  recall  an  erring  church  or  an  erring 
individual  from  their  wanderings  than 
such  a  rominiscenoo  of  tho  past.  Tho 
advantages  of  thus  “  remembering”  their 
former  condition  would  bo  many — for 
some  of  the  most  valuablo  impressions 
which  are  made  on  tho  mind,  and  some 
of  tho  most  important  lessons  learned, 
are  from  tho  rooollootions  of  a  former 
state.  Among  those  advantages,  in  this 
caso,  would  bo  such  as  tho  following: 
(a)  It  would  show  how  much  they  might 
have  enjoyed  if  they  had  continued  as 
they  began — how  much  moro  real  hap¬ 
piness  they  would  have  hud  than  they 
actually  have  enjoyed.  ( b )  How  much 
good  they  might  have  done,  if  they  had 
only  porsovered  in  tho  zeal  with  which 
they  commenced  tho  Christian  life, 
llow  much  more  good  might  most 
Christians  do  than  they  actually  accom¬ 
plish,  if  they  would  barely,  oven  without 
increasing  it,  continue,  with  tho  degree 
of  zeal  with  which  they  begin  their 
course,  (c)  How  much  groater  attain¬ 
ments  they  might  have  made  in  tho 
divine  life,  and  in  tho  knowledge  of 
religion,  than  they  have  made : — that  is, 
how  much  moro  elovatod  and  enlarged 
might  have  been  their  views  of  religion, 
and  thoir  knowledgo  of  tho  word  of 
God.  And  (d)  suoh  a  rooolloct.ion  of 
thoir  paststato,  as  contrasted  with  what 
they  now  aro,  would  oxert  a  powerful 
influonoo  in  producing  true  repentance — 
for  thoro  is  nothing  hotter  adaptod  to 
do  this  than  a  just  viow  of  what  wo 
might  have  boon,  as  oomparod  with  what 
wo  now  aro.  If  a  man  has  become  cold 
towards  his  wife,  nothing  is  hotter  fitted 
to  reclaim  him  than  to  recall  to  his  roool- 
leotion  tho  time  when  ho  lod  hor  ta  tho 


out  of  his  place  except  thou 
repent. 


altar;  tho  solomn  vow  then  mado;  and 
tho  rapturo  of  his  heart  when  ho  pressed 
her  to  his  bosom  and  called  her  his 
own.  And  repent.  The  word  here 
used  means  to  cliango  one’s  mind  and 
purposes,  and,  along  with  that,  tho  con¬ 
duct  or  demeanor.  The  duty  of  repent¬ 
ance  hero  urged  would  oxtend  to  all  tho 
points  in  which  they  had  errod.  And 
do  the  first  works.  Tho  works  which 
wero  dono  when  the  church  was  first 
established.  That  is,  manifest  tho  zeal 
and  love  which  wero  formerly  evinced 
in  opposing  error,  and  in  doing  good. 
This  is  the  true  counsel  to  be  given 
to  those  who  have  backslidden,  and 
have  “left  their  first  love,”  now.  Often 
such  persons,  sensible  that  they  have 
erred,  and  that  they  havo  not  tho 
enjoyment  in  religion  which  they  onco 
had,  profess  to  be  willing  and  desirous  to 
return,  but  they  know  not  how  to  do  it 
— how  to  rovivo  thoir  ardor — how  to  re¬ 
kindle  in  their  bosom  tho  flame  of  ex¬ 
tinguished  love.  They  suppose  it  must 
bo  by  silont  moditation,  or  by  somo 
supernatural  influence,  and  they  wait 
for  somo  visitation  from  above  to  call 
them  back,  and  to  restore  to  them  their 
formor  joy.  Tho  counsel  of  tho  Saviour 
to  all  such,  however,  is,  to  do  their  first 
works.  It  is  to  engage  at  onco  in  doing 
what  they  did  in  tho  first  nnd  best 
days  of  thoir  pioty  —  tho  days  of  their 
“espousals”  (Jor.  ii.  2)  to  God.  Lot 
them  road  tho  Biblo  as  they  did  then ; 
lot  them  pray  as  they  did  then  ;  let  them 
go  forth  in  tho  duties  of  aotivo  bonovo- 
lcnco  as  they  did  thon  ;  let  them  ongago 
in  teaching  a  Sabbath-school  as  they 
did  thon  ;  lot  them  roliovo  tho  distressed, 
instruct  tho  ignorant,  raiso  up  tho  fallen, 
as  they  did  then ;  let  thorn  open  their 
heart,  their  purse,  and  their  hand  to 
bless  a  dying  world.  As  it  was  in  this 
way  that  they  manifested  thoir  lovo 
then,  so  this  would  bo  better  fittod  than 
all  other  things  to  rekindle  tho  flame  of 
lovo  whon  it  is  almost  extinguished. 
Tho  weapon  that  is  used  keeps  bright; 
that  which  has  booomo  rusty  will  be¬ 
come  bright  again  if  it  is  used.  Or 
else  /  will  come  unto  thee  quickly. 
On  tho  word  rouderod  quickly — rd^ci — 
seo  Notes  ou  eh.  i.  1.  Tho  meaning  is, 


84 


[A.  D.  96 


KEVELATION, 


that  he  would  come  as  a  Judge,  at  no  dis¬ 
tant  period,  to  inflict  punishment  in  the 
manner  specified — by  removing  the  can¬ 
dlestick  out  of  its  place.  He  does  not 
say  in  what  way  it  would  be  done  — 
whether  by  some  sudden  judgment,  by 
a  direct  act  of  power,  or  by  a  gradual 
process  that  would  certainly  lead  to  that 
result,  And  will  remove  thy  candle¬ 
stick  out  of  his  place,  except  thou  repent. 
On  the  meaning  of  the  word  candlestick, 
see  Notes  on  ch.  i.  12.  The  meaning  is, 
that  the  church  gave  light  in  Ephesus ; 
and  that  what  he  would  do  in  regard 
to  that  place,  would  be  like  removing 
a  lamp,  and  leaving  a  place  in  dark¬ 
ness.  The  expression  is  equivalent  to 
saying  that  the  church  there  would 
cease  to  exist.  The  proper  idea  of  the 
passage  is,  that  the  church  would  be 
wholly  extinct,  and  it  is  observable  that 
this  is  a  judgment  more  distinctly  dis¬ 
closed  in  reference  to  this  church  than 
to  any  other  of  the  seven  churches. 
There  is  not  the  least  evidence  that  the 
church  at  Ephesus  did  repent,  and  the 
threatening  has  been  most  signally 
fulfilled.  Long  since  the  church  has 
become  utterly  extinct,  and  for  ages 
there  was  not  a  single  professing  Chris¬ 
tian  there.  Every  memorial  of  there 
having  been  a  church  there  has  departed, 
and  there  are  nowhere,  not  even  in 
Nineveh,  Babylon,  or  Tyre,  more  affect¬ 
ing  demonstrations  of  the  fulfillment  of 
ancient  prophecy  than  in  the  present 
state  of  the  ruins  of  Ephesus.  A  re¬ 
mark  of  Mr.  Gibbon  (Dec.  &  Fall,  iv. 
260)  will  show  with  what  exactness  the 
prediction  in  regard  to  this  church  has 
been  accomplished.  He  is  speaking  of 
the  conquests  of  the  Turks.  “  In  the 
loss  of  Ephesus,  the  Christians  deplored 
the  fall  of  the  first  angel,  the  extinction 
of  the  first  candlestick  of  the  Revela¬ 
tions  ;  the  desolation  is  complete ;  and 
the  temple  of  Diana,  or  the  Church  of 
Mercy,  will  equally  elude  the  search  of 
the  curious  traveller.”  Thus  the  city, 
with  the  splendid  Temple  of  Diana,  and 
the  church  that  existed  there  in  the 
time  of  John,  has  disappeared,  and 
nothing  remains  but  unsightly  ruins. 
These  ruins  lie  about  ten  days’ journey 
from  Smyrna,  and  consist  of  shattered 
walls,  and  remains  of  columns  and 
temples.  The  soil  on  which  a  large 
part  of  the  city  is  supposed  to  have 
stood,  naturally  rich,  is  covered  with  a 


rank,  burnt-up  vegetation,  and  is  every¬ 
where  deserted  and  solitary,  though 
bordered  by  picturesque  mountains.  A 
few  corn-fields  are  scattered  along  the 
site  of  the  ancient  city.  Towards  the 
sea  extends  the  ancient  port,  a  pesti¬ 
lential  marsh.  Along  the  slope  of  the 
mountain,  and  over  the  plain,  are  scat¬ 
tered  fragments  of  masonry  and  detached 
ruins,  but  nothing  can  now  be  fixed  on 
as  the  great  Temple  of  Diana.  There 
are  ruins  of  a  theatre  ;  there  is  a  circus, 
or  stadium,  nearly  entire;  there  are  frag¬ 
ments  of  temples  and  palaces  scattered 
around,  but  there  is  nothing  that  marks 
the  site  of  a  ehurch  in  the  time  of  John; 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  even  that 
such  a  church  then  existed  there.  About 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  principal 
ruins  of  Ephesus,  there  is  indeed  now  a 
small  village  called  Asalook — a  Turkish 
word,  which  is  associated  with  the  same 
idea  as  Ephesus,  meaning,  The  City  of 
the  Moon.  A  church,  dedicated  to 
John,  is  supposed  to  have  stood  near, 
if  not  on  the  site  of,  the  present  Mosque. 
Dr.  Chandler  (p.  150,  4to.)  gives  us  a 
striking  description  of  Ephesus  as  he 
found  it  in  1764:  “Its  population  con¬ 
sisted  of  a  few  Greek  peasants,  living  in 
extreme  wretchedness,  dependence,  and 
insensibility,  the  representatives  of  an  il¬ 
lustrious  people,  and  inhabiting  the  wreck 
of  their  greatness.  Some  reside  in  the 
substructure  of  the  glorious  edifices  which 
they  raised ;  some  beneath  the  vaults  of 
the  stadium,  and  the  crowded  scenes  of 
these  diversions ;  and  some  in  the  abrupt 
precipice,  in  the  sepulchres  which  re¬ 
ceived  their  ashes.  Its  streets  are 
obscured  and  overgrown.  A  herd  of 
goats  was  driven  to  it  for  shelter  from 
the  sun  at  noon,  and  a  noisy  flight  of 
crows  from  the  quarries  seemed  to  insult 
its  silence.  We  heard  the  partridge 
call  in  the  area  of  the  theatre  and  of  the 
stadium.”  “  Its  fate  is  that  of  the 
entire  country— a  garden  has  become  a 
desert.  Busy  centres  of  civilization, 
spots  where  the  refinements  and  delights 
of  the  age  were  collected,  are  now  a 
prey  to  silence,  destruction,  and  death. 
Consecrated  first  of  all  to  the  purposes 
of  idolatry,  Ephesus  next  had  Christian 
temples  almost  rivalling  the  Pagan  in 
splendor,  wherein  the  image  of  the  great 
Diana  lay  prostrate  before  the  cress  ; 
after  the  lapse  of  some  centuries,  Jesus 
gives  way  to  Mohammed,  and  the  crea- 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  II. 


85 


6  But  this  thou  hast,  that  thou 

a  ver.  15. 

cent  glittered  on  the  dome  of  the 
recently  Christian  church.  A  few  more 
scores  of  years,  and  Ephesus  has  neither 
temple,  cross,  crescent,  nor  city,  hut  is 
desolation,  a  dry  land,  and  a  wilder¬ 
ness.”  See  the  article  Ephesus  in 
Kitto’s  Cyclop,  and  the  authorities  there 
referred  to.  What  is  affirmed  here  of 
Ephesus  has  often  been  illustrated  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  that  when  a 
church  has  declined  in  piety  and  love, 
and  has  been  called  by  faithful  ministers 
to  repent,  and  has  not  done  it,  it  has 
been  abandoned  more  and  more  until 
the  last  appearance  of  truth  and  piety 
has  departed,  and  it  has  been  given  up 
to  error  and  to  ruin.  And  the  same 
principle  is  as  applicable  to  individuals 
— for  they  have  as  much  reason  to  dread 


hatest  the  deeds  of  the  Nicolaitanes, 
a  which  I  also  hate. 

the  frowns  of  the  Saviour  as  churches' 
have.  If  they  who  have  “  left  their  first 
love”  will  not  repent  at  the  call  of  the 
Saviour,  they  have  every  reason  to  ap¬ 
prehend  some  fearful  judgment  —  some 
awful  visitation  of  his  Providence  that 
shall  overwhelm  them  in  sorrow  as  a 
proof  of  his  displeasure.  Even  though 
they  should  finally  be  saved,  their  days 
may  be  without  comfort,  and  perhaps 
their  last  moments  without  a  ray  of  con¬ 
scious  hope.  The  following  cut,  repre¬ 
senting  the  present  situation  of  Ephesus, 
will  bring  before  the  eye  a  striking  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy 
that  the  candlestick  of  Ephesus  would 
be  removed  from  its  place.  See  also  the 
engravings  prefixed  to  the  Notes  on  tho 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  pp.  6,  7. 


EPHESUS.  • 


6.  But  this  thou  hast.  This  thou  hast 
that  I  approve  of,  or  that  I  can  com¬ 
mend.  That  thou  liatesl  the  deeds  of 
the  Nicolaitanes.  G-r.  works — ra  cpya. 
The  word  Nicolaitanes  occurs  only  in 
this  place,  and  in  the  15th  verse  of  this 
chapter.  From  the  reference  in  the 
latter  place,  it  is  clear  that  the  doctrines 
8 


which  they  held  prevailed  at  Pergamos 
as  well  as  at  Ephesus,  but  from  neither 
place  can  any  thing  now  bo  inferred  in 
regard  to  the  nature  of  their  doctrines  or 
their  practices,  unless  it  bo  supposed 
that  they  held  the  same  doctrine  that 
was  taught  by  Balaam.  See  Notes  on 
ver.  15.  From  the  two  passages  com- 


86 


REVELATION, 


pared  with  each  other,  it  would  seem 
that  they  were  alike  corrupt  in  doctrine 
and  in  practice,  for  in  the  passage 
before  us  their  deeds  are  mentioned, 
and  in  ver.  15,  their  doctrine.  Yarious 
conjectures,  however,  have  been  formed 
respecting  this  class  of  people,  and  the 
reasons  why  the  name  was  given  to 
them.  I.  In  regard  to  the  origin  of  the 
name,  there  have  been  three  opinions : 
(1)  That  mentioned  by  Irenaeus,  and  by 
some  of  the  other  of  the  fathers,  that 
the  name  was  derived  from  Nicolas,  one 
of  the  deacons  ordained  at  Antioch, 
Acts  vi.  5.  Of  those  who  have  held  this 
opinion,  some  have  supposed  that  it  was 
given  to  them  because  he  became  apos¬ 
tate  and  was  the  founder  of  the  sect, 
and  others  because  they  assumed  his 
name,  in  order  to  give  the  greater  credit 
to  their  doctrine.  But  neither  of  these 
suppositions  rests  on  any  certain  evi¬ 
dence,  and  both  are  destitute  of  proba¬ 
bility.  There  is  no  proof  whatever,  that 
Nicolas  the  deacon  ever  apostatized  from 
the  faith  and  became  the  founder  of  a 
sect;  and  if  a  name  had  been  assumed 
in  order  to  give  credit  to  a  sect,  and 
extend  its  influence,  it  is  much  more 
probable  that  the  name  of  an  apostle 
would  have  been  chosen,  or  of  some 
other  prominent  man,  than  the  name  of 
an  obscure  deacon  of  Antioch.  (2)  Vi- 
tringa,  and  most  commentators  since 
his  time,  have  supposed  that  the  name 
Nicolaitanes  was  intended  to  be  symbol¬ 
ical,  and  was  not  designed  to  designate 
any  sect  of  people,  but  to  denote  those 
who  resembled  Balaam,  and  that  this 
word  is  used  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
word  Jezebel,  in  ch.  ii.  20,  which  is  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  symbolical  there.  Vitringa 
supposes  that  the  word  is  derived  from 
vIkos,  victory,  and  Xads,  people,  and  that 
thus  it  corresponds  with  the  name 

Balaam,  as  meaning  either  dj>  bin, 
lord  of  the  people,  or  DJI  Jtbs,  he  de¬ 
stroyed  the  people,  and  that,  as  the  same 
effect  was  produced  by  their  doctrines 
as  by  those  of  Balaam,  that  the  people 
were  led  to  commit  fornication  and  to 
join  in  idolatrous  worship,  they  might 
be  called  Balaamites  or  Nicolaitanes ; 
that  is,  corruption  of  the  people.  But 
to  this  it  may  be  replied,  (a)  that  it  is 
far-fetched,  and  is  adapted  only  to 
remove  a  difficulty;  ( b )  that  there  is 


[A.  D.  96. 

every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  word 
here  used  refers  to  a  class  of  people  who 
bore  that  name,  and  who  were  well- 
known  in  the  two  churches  specified; 
(e)  that  in  ch.  ii.  15,  they  are  expressly 
distinguished  from  those  who  held  the 
doctrine  of  Balaam  (ver.  14),  “  So  hast 
thou  also  (icai)  those  that  hold  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  Nicolaitanes.”  (3)  It  has 
been  supposed  that  some  person  now 
unknown,  probably  of  the  name  Nicolas, 
or  Nicolaus,  was  their  leader,  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  sect.  This  is  by 
far  the  most  probable  opinion,  and  to 
this  there  can  be  no  objection.  It  is 
in  accordance  with  what  usually  occurs 
in  regard  to  sects,  orthodox  or  heretical, 
that  they  derive  their  origin  from  some 
person  whose  name  they  continue  to 
bear,  and  as  there  is  no  evidence  that 
this  sect  prevailed  extensively,  or  was 
indeed  known  beyond  the  limits  of  these 
churches,  and  as  it  soon  disappeared,  it 
is  easily  accounted  for  that  the  character 
and  history  of  the  founder  were  so  soon 
forgotten.  II.  In  regard  to  the  opinions 
which  they  held,  there  is  as  little  cer¬ 
tainty.  Irenasus,  (Adv.  Hares,  i.  26), 
says  that  their  characteristic  tenets  were 
the  lawfulness  of  promiscuous  inter¬ 
course  with  women,  and  of  eating  things 
offered  to  idols.  Eusebius  (Hist.  Eccl. 
iii.  29),  states  substantially  the  same 
thing,  and  refers  to  a  tradition  respect¬ 
ing  Nicolaus,  that  he  had  a  beautiful 
wife,  and  was  jealous  of  her,  and  being 
reproached  with  this,  renounced  all  in¬ 
tercourse  with  her,  and  made  use  of  an 
expression  which  was  misunderstood,  as 
implying  that  illicit  pleasure  was  proper. 
Tertullian  speaks  of  the  Nicolaitanes  as 
a  branch  of  the  Gnostic  family,  and  as, 
in  his  time,  extinct.  Mosheim  (De  Re¬ 
bus  Christian.  Ante  Con.  $  69)  says  that 
“the  questions  about  the  Niolaitanes 
have  difficulties  which  cannot  be  solved.” 
Neander  (History  of  the  Christian  Reli¬ 
gion,  as  translated  by  Torrey,  I.  pp.  452, 
453),  numbers  them  with  Antinomians  ; 
though  he  expresses  some  doubt  whether 
the  actual  existence  of  such  a  sect  can 
be  proved,  and  rather  inclines  to  an 
opinion  noticed  above,  that  the  name  is 
symbolical,  and  that  it  is  used  in  a 
mystical  sense,  according  to  the  usual 
style  of  the  book  of  Revelation,  to  de¬ 
note  corrupters  or  seducers  of  the 
people,  like  Balaam.  He  supposes  that 
the  passage  relates  simply  to  a  class  of 


CHAPTER  II. 


87 


A.  D.  96.] 

7  He  °  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 

a  Matt.  11. 15.  ver.  11. 17,  29. 

persons  who  were  in  the  practice  of 
seducing  Christians  to  participate  in  the 
sacrificial  feasts  of  the  heathens,  and  in 
the  excesses  which  attended  them — -just 
as  the  J ews  were  led  astray  of  old  by 
the  Moabites,  Numb.  xxt.  What  was 
the  origin  of  the  name,  however,  Nean- 
der  does  not  profess  to  be  able  to 
determine,  but  suggests  that  it  was  the 
custom  of  such  sects  to  attach  them¬ 
selves  to  some  celebrated  name  of  an¬ 
tiquity,  in  the  choice  of  which  they  were 
often  determined  by  circumstances  quite 
accidental.  He  supposes  also  that  the 
sect  may  have  possessed  a  life  of  Nico¬ 
las  of  Antioch,  drawn  up  by  themselves 
or  others  from  fabulous  accounts  and 
traditions,  in  which  what  had  been  im¬ 
puted  to  Nicolas  was  embodied.  Every 
thing,  however,  in  regard  to  the  origin 
of  this  sect,  and  the  reason  of  the  name 
given  to  it,  and  the  opinions  which  they 
held,  is  involved  in  great  obscurity,  and 
there  is  now  no  hope  of  throwing  light 
on  the  subject.  It  is  generally  agreed, 
among  the  writers  of  antiquity  who  have 
mentioned  them,  that  they  were  dis¬ 
tinguished  for  holding  opinions  which 
countenanced  gross  social  indulgences. 
This  is  all  that  is  really  necessary  to  be 
known  in  regard  to  the  passage  before 
us,  for  this  will  explain  the  strong 
language  of  aversion  and  condemnation 
used  by  the  Saviour  respecting  the  sect 
in  the  epistles  to  tho  churches  of  Ephesus 
and  Pergamos.  Which  I  also  hate. 
If  the  view  above  taken  of  the  opinions 
and  practices  of  this  people  is  correct, 
the  reasons  why  ho  hated  them  are 
obvious.  Nothing  can  be  more  opposed 
to  the  personal  character  of  the  Saviour, 
or  to  his  religion,  than  such  doctrines 
and  deeds. 

7.  He  that  hath  an  ear  let  him  hear,  &c. 
This  expression  occurs  at  the  close  of 
each  of  the  epistles  addressed  to  the 
seven  churches,  and  is  substantially  a 
mode  of  address  often  employed  by  the 
Saviour  in  his  personal  ministry,  and 
quite  characteristic  of  him.  See  Matt, 
xi.  15  ;  Mark  iv.  23,  vii.  16.  It  is  a  form 
of  expression  designed  to  arrest  the 
attention,  and  to  denote  that  what  was 
said  was  of  special  importance.  What 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches.  Evi¬ 
dently  what  tho  Holy  Spirit  says— for 


hear  what  the  Spirit  eaith  unto  the 
churches ;  To  him  that  overcometh 

he  is  regarded  in  the  Scriptures  as  the 
Source  of  inspiration,  and  as  appointed 
to  disclose  truth  to  man.  The  “  Spirit” 
may  be  regarded  either  as  speaking 
through  the  Saviour  (comp.  John  iii. 
34),  or  as  imparted  to  John  through 
whom  he  addressed  the  churches.  In 
either  case  it  is  the  same  Spirit  of  inspi¬ 
ration,  and  in  either  case  there  would  be 
a  claim  that  his  voice  should  be  heard. 
The  language  here  used  is  of  a  general 
character — “  He  that  hath  an  ear  j”  that 
is,  what  was  spoken  was  worthy  of  the 
attention  not  only  of  the  members  of 
these  churches,  but  of  all  others.  The 
truths  were  of  so  general  a  character  as 
to  deserve  the  attention  of  mankind  at 
large.  To  him  that  overcometh.  Gr., 
“  To  him  that  gains  the  victory,  or  is  a 
conqueror” — rip  vikuvti.  This  may  re¬ 
fer  to  any  victory  of  a  moral  character, 
and  tho  expression  used  would  be 
applicable  to  one  who  should  triumph  in 
any  of  these  respects  : — (a)  over  his  own 
easily-besetting  sins ;  (6)  over  the  world 
and  its  temptations ;  (c)  over  prevalent 
error,-  (d)  over  the  ills  and  trials  of  life, 
so  as,  in  all  these  respects,  to  show  that 
his  Christian  principles  are  firm  and 
unshaken.  Life,  and  the  Christian  life 
especially,  may  be  regarded  as  a  war¬ 
fare.  Thousands  fall  in  the  conflict 
with  evil ;  but  they  who  maintain  a 
steady  warfare,  and  who  achieve  a 
victory,  shall  be  received  as  conquerors 
in  the  end.  Will  I  give  to  eat  of  the 
tree  of  life.  As  the  reward  of  his 
victory.  The  meaning  is,  that  ho  would 
admit  him  to  Heaven,  represented  as 
Paradise,  and  permit  him  to  enjoy  its 
pleasures  —  represented  by  being  per¬ 
mitted  to  partake  of  its  fruits.  The 
phrase  “  tho  tree  of  life”  refers  undoubt¬ 
edly  to  the  language  used  respecting  the 
Garden  of  Eden  (Gen.  ii.  9,  iii.  22), 
where  the  “  tree  of  life”  is  spoken  of  as 
that  which  was  adapted  to  make  the  life 
of  man  perpetual.  Of  the  nature  of  that 
tree  nothing  is  known,  though  it  would 
seem  probable  that,  like  tho  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  it  was 
a  mere  emblem  of  life  —  or  a  tree 
that  was  set  beforo  man  in  connexion 
with  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  and  that  his  destiny  turned  on 
the  question  whether  ho  partook  of  the 


88  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


■will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  •  of 

a  Ge.  2.  9.  c.  22.  2, 14. 

one  or  the  other.  That  God  should 
make  the  question  of  life  or  death 
depend  on  that,  is  no  more  absurd  or 
improbable  than  that  he  should  make  it 
depend  on  what  man  does  now — it  being 
a  matter  of  fact  that  life  and  death, 
happiness  and  misery,  joy  and  sorrow, 
are  often  made  to  depend  on  things 
quite  as  arbitrary  apparently,  and  quite 
as  unimportant,  as  an  act  of  obedience 
or  disobedience  in  partaking  of  the  fruit 
of  a  designated  tree.  Does  it  not  appear 
probable  that  in  Eden  there  were  two 
trees  designated  to  be  of  an  emblematic 
character,  of  life  and  death,  and  that  as 
man  partook  of  the  one  or  the  other  he 
would  live  or  die?  Of  all  the  others 
he  might  freely  partake  without  their 
affecting  his  condition ;  of  one  of  these 
— the  tree  of  life — he  might  have  par¬ 
taken  before  the  fall,  and  lived  forever. 
One  was  forbidden  on  pain  of  death. 
When  the  law  forbidding  that  was 
violated,  it  was  still  possible  that  he 
might  partake  of  the  other — but,  since 
the  sentence  of  death  had  been  passed 
upon  him,  that  would  not  now  be 
proper,  and  he  was  driven  from  the 
garden,  and  the  way  was  guarded  by 
the  flaming  sword  of  the  Cherubim. 
The  reference  in  the  passage  before  us 
is  to  the  celestial  paradise — to  heaven — 
spoken  of  under  the  beautiful  image  of 
a  garden ;  meaning  that  the  condition 
of  man,  in  regard  to  life,  will  still  be 
the  same  as  if  he  had  partaken  of  the 
tree  of  life  in  Eden.  Comp.  Notes  on 
ch.  xxii.  2.  ^  Which  is  in  the  midst  of 

the  paradise  of  God.  Heaven,  repre¬ 
sented  as  paradise.  To  be  permitted  to 
eat  of  that  tree,  that  is,  of  the  fruit  of 
that  tree,  is  but  another  expression  im¬ 
plying  the  promise  of  eternal  life,  and 
of  being  happy  forever.  The  word 
paradise  is  of  Oriental  derivation,  and 
is  found  in  several  of  the  Eastern 
languages.  In  the  Sanscrit  the  word 
paradesha  and  paradisha  is  used  to 
denote  a  land  elevated  and  cultivated; 
in  the  Armenian  the  word pardes  denotes 
a  garden  around  the  house  planted  with 
grass,  herbs,  trees  for  use  and  ornament; 
and  in  the  Hebrew  form  DT13,  and 

Greek  k apaSetaos,  it  is  applied  to  the 
pleasure  gardens  and  parks,  with  wild 


life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
paradise  of  God. 

animals,  around  the  country  residences 
of  the  Persian  monarchs  and  princes, 
Neh.  ii.  8  ;  comp.  Eccl.  ii.  5  ;  Cant.  iv. 
13 ;  Xen.  Cyro.  i.  3, 14,  Rob.  Lex.  Here 
it  is  used  to  denote  heaven — a  world 
compared  in  beauty  with  a  richly  cul¬ 
tivated  park  or  garden.  Comp.  2  Cor. 
xii.  4.  The  meaning  of  the  Saviour  is, 
that  he  would  receive  him  that  over¬ 
came  to  a  world  of  happiness ;  that  he 
would  permit  him  to  taste  of  the  fruit 
that  grows  there  imparting  immortal 
life,  and  to  rest  in  an  abode  fitted  up  in 
a  manner  that  would  contribute  in  every 
way  to  enjoyment.  Man,  when  he  fell, 
was  not  permitted  to  reach  forth  his 
hand  and  pluck  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
life  in  the  first  Eden,  as  he  might  have 
done  if  he  had  not  fallen ;  but  he  is  now 
permitted  to  reach  forth  his  hand  and 
partake  of  the  tree  of  life  in  the  paradise 
above.  He  is  thus  restored  to  what  he 
might  have  been  if  he  had  not  trans¬ 
gressed  by  eating  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil ;  and 
in  the  Paradise  Regained,  the  blessings 
of  the  Paradise  Lost  will  be  more  than 
recovered — for  man  may  now  live  for¬ 
ever  in  a  far  higher  and  more  blessed 
state  than  his  would  have  been  in 
Eden. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CHURCH  AT 
SMYRNA. 

The  contents  of  the  epistle  to  the 
church  at  Smyrna  are  these:]  (1)  A 
statement,  as  in  the  address  to  the 
church  at  Ephesus,  of  some  of  the  attri¬ 
butes  of  the  Saviour,  ver.  8.  The 
attributes  here  referred  to  are,  that  he 
was  “the  first  and  the  last,”  that  “he 
had  been  dead,  but  was  alive” — attri¬ 
butes  fitted  to  impress  the  mind  deeply 
with  reverence  for  him  who  addressed 
them,  and  to  comfort  them  in  the  trials 
which  they  endured.  (2)  A  statement 
(ver.  9),  as  in  the  former  epistle,  that  he 
well  knew  their  works,  and  all  that  per¬ 
tained  to  them — their  tribulation,  their 
poverty,  and  the  opposition  which  they 
met  with  from  wicked  men.  (3)  An  ex¬ 
hortation  not  to  be  afraid  of  any  of  those 
things  that  were  to  come  upon  them, 
for,  although  they  were  to  be  persecuted, 
and  some  of  them  were  to  be  imprisoned, 
yet,  if  they  were  faithful,  they  should 
have  a  crown  of  life,  ver.  10.  (4)  A  com- 


CHAPTER  II 


89 


A.  D.  96.] 


mand  to  hear  what  the  Spirit  said  to  the 
churches,  as  containing  matter  of  in¬ 
terest  to  all  persons,  with  an  assurance 
that  any  who  would  “  overcome”  in  these 
trials  would  not  he  hurt  by  the  second 
death,  ver.  11.  The  language  addressed 
to  the  church  at  Smyrna  is  throughout 
that  of  commiseration  and  comfort. 
There  is  no  intimation  that  the  Saviour 
disapproved  of  what  they  had  done; 
there  is  no  threat  that  he  would 
remove  the  candlestick  out  of  its  place. 
Smyrna  was  a  celebrated  commercial 
town  of  Ionia  (Ptolem.  v.  2),  situated 
near  the  bottom  of  that  gulf  of  the  vEgean 
Sea  which  received  its  name  from  it 
(Mela  i.  17,  3),  at  the  mouth  of  the 
small  river  Meles,  320  stadia,  or  about 
forty  miles  north  of  Ephesus.  Strabo 
xv.  p.  632.  It  was  a  very  ancient  city, 
but  having  been  destroyed  by  the 


Lydians,  it  lay  waste  four  hundred 
years  to  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  or,  according  to  Strabo,  to  that  of 
Antigonus.  It  was  rebuilt  at  the  dis¬ 
tance  of  twenty  stadia  from  the  ancient 
city,  and  in  the  time  of  the  first  Roman 
emperor  it  was  one  of  the  most  flourish¬ 
ing  cities  of  Asia.  It  was  destroyed  by 
an  earthquake,  A.  D.  177,  but  the  em¬ 
peror  Marcus  Aurelius  caused  it  to  be  re¬ 
built  with  more  than  its  former  splendor. 
It  afterwards,  however,  suffered  greatly 
from  earthquakes  and  conflagrations, 
and  has  declined  from  these  causes, 
though,  from  its  commercial  advantages, 
it  has  always  been  a  city  of  importance 
as  the  central  emporium  of  the  Levantine 
trade,  and  its  relative  rank  among  the 
cities  of  Asia  Minor  is  probably  greater 
than  it  formerly  bore.  The  following 
cut  will  give  a  representation  of  Smyrna. 


SMYRNA. 


The  Turks  now  call  it  Izmir.  It  is 
better  built  than  Constantinople,  and 
its  population  is  computed  at  about 
130,000,  of  which  the  Franks  compose  a 
greater  proportion  than  in  any  other  town 
in  Turkey,  and  they  are  generally  in  good 
circumstances.  Next  to  the  Turks,  the 
Greeks  form  the  most  numerous  por¬ 
tion  of  the  inhabitants,  and  thoy  have  a 
bishop  and  two  churches.  The  un- 
8  * 


usually  large  portion  of  Christians  in 
the  city  renders  it  peculiarly  unclean 
in  the  eyes  of  strict  Moslems,  and  they 
call  it  Giaour  Izmir,  or  the  Infidel 
Smyrna.  There  are  in  it  about  20,00(1 
Greeks,  8,000  Armenians,  1,000  Euro¬ 
peans,  and  9,000  Jews.  It  is  now  th4 
seat  of  important  Missionary  operations 
in  the  East,  and  much  has  been  don« 
there  to  spread  the  gospel  in  modern 


90 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


8  And  unto  the  angel  of  the 
church  in  Smyrna  write ;  These 
things  saith  the  first  °  and  the  last, 
which  was  dead,  and  is  alive ; 
a  c.  1.  8, 17. 


times.  Its  history  during  the  long  tract 
of  time  since  John  wrote,  is  not  indeed 
minutely  known,  but  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  light  of  Christianity 
there  has  ever  been  wholly  extinct. 
Polycarp  suffered  martyrdom  there,  and 
the  place  where  he  is  supposed  to  have 
died  is  still  shown.  The  Christians  of 
Sm3rrna  hold  his  memory  in  great  vene¬ 
ration,  and  go  annually  on  a  visit  to  his 
supposed  tomb,  which  is  at  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  place  of  his  martyrdom. 
See  the  article  Smyrna  in  Kitto’s 
Cyclop,  and  the  authorities  referred 
to  there. 

8.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Smyma  write.  On  the  meaning  of  the 
word  angel,  see  Notes  on  ch.  i.  20. 
^f  These  things  saith  the  first  and  the 
last.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  8, 17.  Which 
was  dead,  and  is  alive.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  i.  18.  The  idea  is,  that  he  is  a 
living  Saviour;  and  there  was  a  pro¬ 
priety  in  referring  to  that  fact  here  from 
the  nature  of  the  promise  which  he  was 
about  to  make  to  the  church  at  Smyrna; 
“  He  that  overcometh  shall  not  be  hurt 
of  the  second  death,”  ver  11.  As  he 
had  himself  triumphed  over  death  in  all 
its  forms,  and  was  now  alive  forever,  it 
was  appropriate  that  he  should  promise 
to  his  true  friends  the  same  protection 
from  the  second  death.  He  who  was 
wholly  beyond  the  reach  of  death  could 
give  the  assurance  that  they  who  put 
their  trust  in  him  should  come  off 
victorious. 

9.  I  know  thy  works.  The  uniform 
method  of  introducing  these  epistles, 
implying  a  most  intimate  acquaintance 
with  all  that  pertained  to  the  church. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  2.  ^f  And  tribulation. 
This  word  is  of  a  general  signification, 
and  probably  includes  all  that  they  suf¬ 
fered  in  any  form,  whether  from  perse¬ 
cution,  poverty,  or  the  blasphemy  of 
opposers.  And  poverty.  It  would 
seem  that  this  church  at  that  time, 
was  eminently  poor,  for  this  is  not  spe¬ 
cified  in  regard  to  any  one  of  the  others. 
No  reason  is  suggested  why  they  were 


9  I  know  thy  works  and  tribu¬ 
lation  and  poverty,  (but  thou  art 
rich4)  and  I  know  the  blasphemy 
of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  * 
b  1  Ti.  6, 18.  c  Ro.  2.  28,  29. 


particularly  poor.  It  was  not,  indeed, 
an  uncommon  cnaracteristic  of  early 
Christians  (comp.  1  Cor.  i.  26-28),  but 
there  might  have  been  some  special  rea¬ 
sons  why  that  church  was  eminently  so. 
It  is,  however,  the  only  church  of  the 
seven  which  has  survived,  and  perhaps  in 
the  end  its  poverty  was  no  disadvantage. 

But  thou  art  rich.  Notin  this  world’s 
goods,  but  in  a  more  important  respect 
— in  the  grace  and  favor  of  God.  These 
things  are  not  unfrequently  united.  Po¬ 
verty  is  no  hindrance  to  the  favor  of 
God,  and  there  are  some  things  in 
it  favorable  to  the  promotion  of  a 
right  spirit  towards  God  which  are  not 
found  where  there  is  abundant  wealth. 
The  Saviour  was  eminently  poor,  and 
not  a  few  of  his  most  devoted  and  useful 
followers  have  had  as  little  of  this 
world’s  goods  as  he  had.  The  poor 
should  always  be  cheerful  and  happy,  if 
they  can  hear  their  Saviour  saying  unto 
them,  “I  know  thy  poverty — but  thou 
art  rich.”  However  keen  the  feeling 
arising  from  the  reflection  “  I  am  a  poor 
man,”  the  edge  of  the  sorrow  is  taken 
off  if  the  mind  can  be  turned  to  a 
brighter  image — “but  thou  art  rich.” 
If  And  I  know  the  blasphemy.  The  re¬ 
proaches;  the  harsh  and  bitter  revilings. 
On  the  word  blasphemy,  see  Notes  on 
Matt.  ix.  3,  xxvi.  65.  The  word  here 
does  not  seem  to  refer  to  blasphemy 
against  God,  but  to  bitter  reproaches 
against  themselves.  The  reason  of  these 
reproaches  is  not  stated,  but  it  was 
doubtless  on  account  of  their  religion, 
^f  Of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews. 
Who  profess  to  be  Jews.  The  idea 
seems  to  be,  that  though  they  were 
of  Jewish  extraction,  and  professed  to 
be  Jews,  they  were  not  true  Jews;  they 
indulged  in  a  bitterness  of  reproach,  and 
a  severity  of  language,  which  showed 
that  they  had  not  the  spirit  of  the  Jew¬ 
ish  religion;  they  had  nothing  which 
became  those  who  were  under  the  guid¬ 
ance  of  the  spirit  of  their  own  Scriptures. 
That  would  have  inculcated  and  fostered 
a  milder  temper ;  and  the  meaning  here 
is,  that  although  they  were  of  Jewish 


CHAPTER  II. 


91 


A.  D.  96.] 


and  are  not,  but  are  the  synagogue 
°  of  Satan. 

10  Fear  none  of  those  things 

a  c.  3.  9. 


origin,  they  were  not  worthy  of  the 
name.  That  spirit  of  bitter  opposition 
was  indeed  often  manifested  in  their 
treatment  of  Christians,  as  it  had  been 
of  the  Saviour,  but  still  it  was  foreign 
to  the  true  nature  of  their  religion. 
There  were  Jews  in  all  parts  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  the  apostles  often  encoun¬ 
tered  them  in  their  journeyings,  but  it 
would  seem  that  there  was  something 
which  had  particularly  embittered  those 
of  Smyrna  against  Christianity.  What 
this  was,  is  now  unknown.  It  may 
throw  some  light  on  the  passage,  how¬ 
ever,  to  remark  that  at  a  somewhat  later 
period — in  the  time  of  the  martyrdom 
of  Polycarp — the  Jews  of  Smyrna  were 
among  the  most  bitter  of  the  enemies  of 
Christians,  and  among  the  most  violent 
in  demanding  the  death  of  Polycarp. 
Eusebius  (Eccl.  Hist.  iv.  15),  says,  that 
when  Polyearp  was  apprehended,  and 
brought  before  the  Proconsul  at  Smyrna, 
the  Jews  were  the  most  furious  of  all  in 
demanding  his  condemnation.  When 
the  mob,  after  his  condemnation  to 
death,  set  about  gathering  fuel  to  bum 
him,  “the  Jews,”  says  he,  “being  espe¬ 
cially  zealous,  as  was  their  custom — 
paXiara  irpo^vpioi,  ws  £Sof  ahrols —  ran  to 
procure  fuel.”  And  when,  as  the  burn¬ 
ing  failed,  the  martyr  was  transfixed 
with  weapons,  the  Jews  urged  and  be¬ 
sought  the  magistrate  that  his  body 
might  not  be  given  up  to  Christians. 
Possibly  at  the  time  when  this  epistle 
was  directed  to  be  sent  to  Smyrna,  there 
were  Jews  there  who  manifested  the 
same  spirit  which  those  of  their  country¬ 
men  did  afterwards,  who  urged  on  the 
death  of  Polycarp,  But  are  the  syna¬ 
gogue  of  Satan.  Deserve  rather  to  be 
called  the  synagogue  of  Satan.  The 
synagogue  was  a  Jewish  place  of  wor¬ 
ship  (comp.  Notes  on  Matt.  iv.  23),  but 
the  word  originally  denoted  the  assem¬ 
bly  or  congregation.  The  meaning  here 
is  plain,  that  though  they  worshipped  in 
a  synagoguo,  and  professed  to  be  the 
worshippers  of  God,  yet  they  were  not 
worthy  of  the  name,  and  deserved  rather 
to  be  regarded  as  in  the  scrvioc  of  Satan. 
— Satan  is  the  word  that  is  properly 


which  thou  shalt  suffer:  behold,  the 
devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into 
prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried :  and 
ye  shall  have  tribulation  ten  days : 


applied  to  the  great  evil  spirit,  elsewhere 
called  the  devil.  See  Notes  on  Luke 
xxii.  3,  and  Job  i.  6. 

10.  Fear  none  of  those  things  which 
thou  shalt  suffer.  He  did  not  promise 
them  exemption  from  suffering.  He  saw 
that  they  were  about  to  suffer,  and  he 
specifies  the  manner  in  which  their  af¬ 
fliction  would  occur.  But  he  entreats 
and  commands  them  not  to  be  afraid. 
They  were  to  look  to  the  “crown  of 
life,”  and  to  be  comforted  with  the  as¬ 
surance  that  if  they  were  faithful  unto 
death,  that  would  bo  theirs.  We  need 
not  dread  suffering  if  we  can  hear  the 
voice  of  the  Kedeemer  encouraging  us, 
and  if  he  assures  us  that  in  a  little  while 
we  shall  have  the  erown  of  life.  If  Be¬ 
hold  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into 
prison.  Or,  shall  cause  some  of  you  to 
be  cast  into  prison.  He  had  just  said 
that  their  persecutors  were  of  the  “  syn¬ 
agogue  of  Satan.”  He  here  represents 
Satan,  or  the  devil — another  name  of 
the  same  being,  as  about  to  throw  them 
into  prison.  This  would  be  done  un¬ 
doubtedly  by  the  hands  of  men,  but 
still  Satan  was  the  prime  mover,  or  the 
instigator  in  doing  it.  It  was  common 
to  cast  those  who  wore  persecuted  into 
prison.  See  Acts  xii.  3,  4,  xvi.  23.  It 
is  not  said  on  what  pretence,  or  by  what 
authority,  this  would  be  done,  but,  as 
John  had  been  banished  to  Patmos  from 
Ephesus,  it  is  probable  that  this  persecu¬ 
tion  was  raging  in  the  adjacent  places, 
and  there  is  no  improbability  in  sup¬ 
posing  that  many  might  be  thrown  into 
prison.  That  ye  may  be  tried.  That 
the  reality  of  your  faith  may  be  subjected 
to  a  test  to  show  whether  it  is  genuine. 
The  design  in  the  case  is  that  of  the 
Saviour,  though  Satan  is  allowed  to  do 
it.  It  was  common  in  the  early  periods 
of  the  church  to  suffer  religion  to  be 
subjected  to  trial  amidst  persecutions, 
in  order  to  show  that  it  was  of  heavenly 
origin,  and  to  demonstrate  its  value  in 
view  of  the  world.  This  is,  indeed,  one 
of  the  designs  of  trial  at  all  times,  but 
this  seemed  eminently  desirable  when 
a  new  system  of  religion  was  about  to 
be  given  to  mankind.  Comp.  Notes  on 


a 


92 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


be  thou  faithful  *  unto  death,  and 
I  will  give  thee  a  crown  b  of  life. 

11  lie  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 

a  Mat.  10.  22.  b  Ja.  1. 12. 


hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches ;  He  that  overcometh  shall 
not  he  hurt  of  the  second  *  death. 


c  c.  20. 14. 


1  Peter  i.  6,  7.  And  ye  shall  have 
tribulation  ten  days.  A  short  time;  a 
brief  period  ;  a  few  days.  It  is  possible, 
indeed,  that  this  might  have  meant  lite¬ 
rally  ten  days,  but  it  is  much  more  in 
accordance  with  the  general  character 
of  this  book  in  regard  to  numbers,  to 
suppose  that  the  word  ten  here  is  used 
to  denote  a  few.  Comp.  Gen.  xxiv.  55, 

1  Sam.  xxv.  3S,  Dan.  i.  12,  14.  We  are 
wholly  ignorant  how  long  the  trial  ac¬ 
tually  lasted,  but  the  assurance  was  that 
it  would  not  be  long,  and  they  were  to 
allow  this  thought  to  cheer  and  sustain 
them  in  their  sorrows.  Why  should  not 
the  same  thought  encourage  us  now  ? 
Affliction  in  this  life,  however  severe, 
can  be  but  brief;  and  in  the  hope  that 
it  will  soon  end  why  should  we  not 
bear  it  without  murmuring  or  repining  ? 
•f  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death.  Imply¬ 
ing,  perhaps,  that  though,  in  regard  to 
the  church,  the  affliction  would  be  brief, 
yet  that  it  might  be  fatal  to  some  of 
them,  and  they  who  were  thus  about  to 
die,  should  remain  faithful  to  their  Sa¬ 
viour  until  the  hour  of  death.  In  rela¬ 
tion  to  all,  whether  they  were  to  suffer 
a  violent  death  or  not,  the  same  injunc¬ 
tion  and  the  same  promise  was  appli¬ 
cable.  It  is  true  of  every  one  who  is  a 
Christian,  in  whatever  manner  he  is  to 
die,  that  if  he  is  faithful  unto  death,  a 
crown  of  life  awaits  him.  Comp.  Notes 

2  Tim.  iv.  8.  And  1  will  give  thee  a 
crown  of  life.  See  Notes  on  James  i.  12. 
Comp.  1  Pet.  v.  4,  1  Cor.  ix.  24-27.  — 
The  promise  here  is  somewhat  different 
from  that  which  was  made  to  the  faith¬ 
ful  in  Ephesus  (ver.  7),  but  the  same 
thing  substantially  is  promised  them — 
happiness  hereafter,  or  an  admission  into 
heaven.  In  the  former  case  it  is  the 
peaceful  image  of  those  admitted  into 
the  scenes  of  Paradise;  here  it  is  the 
triumph  of  the  crowned  martyr. 

11.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  &c.  See 
Notes  oh  ver.  7.  He  that  overcometh. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  7.  The  particular  pro¬ 
mise  here  is  made  to  him  that  should 
“ overcome;”  that  is,  that  would  gain  the 
victory  in  the  persecutions  which  were 
to  come  upon  them.  The  reference  is 


to  him  who  would  show  the  sustaining 
power  of  religion  in  times  of  persecution ; 
who  would  not  yield  his  principles  when 
opposed  and  persecuted;  who  would  be 
triumphant  when  so  many  efforts  were 
made  to  induce  him  to  apostatize  and 
abandon  the  cause,  f  Shall  not  be  hurt 
of  the  second  death.  By  a  second  death. 
That  is,  he  will  have  nothing  to  fear  in 
the  future  world.  The  punishment  of 
hell  is  often  called  death,  mot  in  the 
sense  that  the  soul  will  cease  to  exist, 
but  (a)  because  death  is  the  most  fear¬ 
ful  thing  of  which  we  have  any  know¬ 
ledge,  and  (b)  because  there  is  a  striking 
similarity,  in  many  respects,  between 
death  and  future  punishment.  Death 
cuts  off  from  life  —  and  so  the  second 
death  cuts  off  from  eternal  life ;  death 
puts  an  end  to  all  our  hopes  here,  and 
the  second  death  to  all  our  hopes  for¬ 
ever;  death  is  attended  with  terrors  and 
alarms — the  faint  and  feeble  emblem  of 
the  terrors  and  alarms  in  the  world  of 
wo.  The  phrase,  “the  second  death” 
is  three  times  used  elsewhere  by  John  in 
this  book  (ch.  xx.  6, 14,  xxi.  8),  but  does 
not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  The  words  death  and  to  die, 
however,  are  not  unfrequently  used  to 
denote  the  future  punishment  of  the 
wicked. 

The  promise  here  made  would  be  all 
that  was  necessary  to  sustain  them  in 
their  trials.  Nothing  more  is  requisite 
to  make  the  burdens  of  life  tolerable 
than  an  assurance  that,  when  we  reach 
the  end  of  our  earthly  journey,  we  have 
arrived  at  the  close  of  suffering,  and  that 
beyond  the  grave  there  is  no  power  that 
can  harm  us.  Religion,  indeed,  does 
not  promise  to  its  friends  exemption 
from  death  in  one  form.  To  none  of 
the  race  has  such  a  promise  ever  been 
made,  and  to  but  two  has  the  favor  been 
granted  to  pass  to  heaven  without  tast¬ 
ing  death.  It  could  have  been  granted 
to  all  the  redeemed,  but  there  were  good 
reasons  why  it  should  not  be ;  that  is, 
why  it  would  be  better  that  even  they 
who  are  to  dwell  in  heaven  should  re¬ 
turn  to  the  dust,  and  sleep  in  the  tomb, 
than  that  they  should  be  removed  by 


CHAPTER  II. 


93 


A.  D.  96.] 

perpetual  miracle,  translating  them  to 
heaven.  Religion,  therefore,  does  not 
come  to  us  with  any  promise  that  we 
shall  not  die.  But  it  comes  with  the  as¬ 
surance  that  we  shall  be  sustained  in  the 
dying  hour ;  that  the  Redeemer  will  ac¬ 
company  us  through  the  dark  valley; 
that  death  to  us  will  be  a  calm  and 
quiet  slumber  in  the  hope  of  awaking  in 
the  morning  of  the  resurrection;  that 
we  shall  be  raised  up  again  with  bodies 
incorruptible  and  undecaying ;  and  that 
beyond  the  grave  we  shall  never  fear 
death  in  any  form.  What  more  is  need¬ 
ful  to  enable  us  to  bear  with  patience 
the  trials  of  this  life,  and  to  look  upon 
death  when  it  does  come,  disarmed  as  it 
is  of  its  sting  (1  Cor.  xv.  55-57),  with 
calmness  and  peace  ? 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CHURCH  AT  PER- 
GAMOS. 

The  contents  of  this  epistle  (vs.  12-17) 
are  as  follows :  (1)  A  reference,  as  is 
usual  in  these  epistles,  to  some  attribute 
of  him  who  addressed  them,  fitted  to 
inspire  respect,  and  adapted  to  a  state 
of  things  existing  in  the  church,  ver  12. 
That  to  which  the  Saviour  here  directs 
their  attention  is,  that  he  has  “the  sharp 
sword  with  two  edges  ” — implying  (ver. 
16)  that  ho  had  the  power  of  punishing. 
(2)  A  statement,  in  the  usual  form,  that 
he  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
state  of  the  church ;  that  he  saw  all 
their  difficulties ;  all  that  there  was  to 
commend,  and  all  that  there  was  to  re¬ 
prove,  ver.  13.  (3)  A  commendation  of 
the  church  for  its  fidelity,  especially  in 
a  time  of  ’  ®evere  persecution,  when  one 
of  her  faithful  friends  was  slain,  ver.  13. 
(4)  A  reproof  of  the  church  for  tolerating 
some  who  held  false  and  pernicious  doc¬ 
trines —  doctrines  such  as  were  taught 
by  Balaam,  and  the  doctrines  of  the  Ni- 
colaitanes,  vs.  14,  15.  (5)  A  solemn 

threat  that,  unless  they  repented,  he 
would  come  against  them,  and  inflict 
summary  punishment  on  them,  ver.  16. 
(6)  The  usual  call  upon  all  to  hear  what 
the  spirit  says  to  the  churches,  and  a 
promise  to  those  who  should  overcome, 
ver.  17. 

Pergamos  was  a  city  in  the  southern 
part  of  Mysia,  the  capital  of  a  kingdom 
of  that  name,  and  afterwards  of  the  Ro¬ 
man  province  of  Asia  Propria.  It  was 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  C.aicus,  which 
is  formed  by  the  union  of  two  branches 


meeting  thirty  or  forty  miles  above  its 
mouth,  and  watering  a  valley  not 
exceeded  in  beauty  and  fertility  by  any 
in  the  world.  The  city  of  Pergamos 
stood  about  twenty  miles  from  the  sea. 
It  was  on  the  northern  bank  of  the 
river,  at  the  base  and  on  the  declivity 
of  two  high  and  steep  mountains.  About 
two  centuries  before  the  Christian  era, 
Pergamos  became  the  residence  of  the 
celebrated  kings  of  the  family  of  Attalus, 
and  a  seat  of  literature  and  the  arts. 
King  Eumenes,  the  second  of  the  name, 
greatly  beautified  the  town,  and  so  in¬ 
creased  the  number  of  volumes  in  the 
library  that  they  amounted  to  200,000. 
This  library  remained  at  Pergamos  after 
the  kingdom  of  the  Attali  had  lost  its 
independence,  until  Antony  removed  it 
to  Egypt,  and  presented  it  to  Queen 
Cleopatra.  Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.  iii.  2.  It 
is  an  old  tradition  that,  as  the  papyrus 
plant  had  not  begun  to  be  exported  from 
Egypt  ( Kilto ),  or  as  Ptolemy  refused  to 
sell  it  to  Eumenes  {Prof.  Stuart),  sheep 
and  goat  skins,  prepared  for  the  purpose, 
were  used  for  manuscripts,  and  as  the 
art  of  preparing  them  was  brought  to 
perfection  at  Pergamos,  they,  from  that 
circumstance,  obtained  the  name  of  per - 
gamena  (ncpyaiirivtj)  ox  parchment.  The 
last  king  of  Pergamos  bequeathed  his 
treasures  to  the  Romans,  who  took  pos¬ 
session  of  the  kingdom  also,  and  created 
it  into  a  province  by  the  name  of  Asia 
Propria.  Under  the  Romans,  it  retained 
that  authority  over  the  cities  of  Asia 
which  it  had  acquired  under  the  suc¬ 
cessors  of  Attalus.  The  present  name 
of  the  place  is  Bergamos,  and  it  is  of 
considerable  importance,  containing  a 
population  of  about  14,000,  of  whom 
about  3000  are  Greeks,  300  Armenians, 
and  the  rest  Turks.  Macfarlane  de¬ 
scribes  the  approach  to  the  town  as  very 
beautiful.  “The  approach  to  this  an¬ 
cient  and  decayed  city  was  as  impressive 
as  well  might  be.  After  crossing  the 
Caicus,  I  saw,  looking  over  three  vast 
tumuli',  or  sepulchral  barrows,  similar  to 
those  on  the  plains  of  Troy,  the  Turkish 
city  of  Pergamos,  with  its  tall  minarets, 
and  its  taller  cypresses,  situated  on  the 
lower  declivities  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
Acropolis,  whose  bold  grey  brow  was 
crowned  by  the  rugged  walls  of  a  bar¬ 
barous  castle,  the  usurper  of  tho  site  of 
a  magnificent  Greek  temple.  Tho  town 
consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  small  and 


94 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


12  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church 
in  Pergamos  write;  these  things 


mean  wooden  houses,  among  which  ap¬ 
pear  the  remains  of  early  Christian 
churches.  None  of  these  churches  have 
any  scriptural  or  apocalyptic  interest 
connected  with  them,  having  been  erect¬ 
ed  several  centuries  after  the  ministry 
of  the  apostles,  and  when  Christianity 
was  not  an  humble  and  despised  creed, 
but  the  adopted  religion  of  a  vast  em¬ 
pire.  The  Pagan  temples  have  fared 
worse  than  these  Christian  churches. 
The  fanes  of  Jupiter  and  Diana,  of  iEs- 
culapius  and  Venus,  are  prostrate  in  the 


saith  “  he  which  hath  the  sharp 
sword  with  two  edges ; 

a  c.  1. 16. 


dust;  and  where  they  have  not  been 
carried  away  by  the  Turks,  to  cut  up 
into  tombstones,  or  to  pound  into  mor¬ 
tar,  the  Corinthian  and  Ionic  columns, 
the  splendid  capitals,  the  cornices  and 
the  pediments,  all  in  the  highest  orna¬ 
ment,  are  thrown  into  unsightly  heaps.” 
Visit  to  the  Seven  Apocalyptic  Churches, 
1832.  Comp.  Missionary  Herald  for 
1839,  pp.  228-230. 

The  following  cut  will  furnish  a  view 
of  the  present  appearance  of  the  town. 


PERGAMOS. 


12.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Pergamos.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  20. 

These  things  saith  he  who  hath  the 
sharp  sword,  &c.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  16. 
Comp.  Heb.  iv.  12,  Eccl.  xii.  11,  Isa. 
xlix.  2.  Prof.  Stuart  suggests  that 
when  the  Saviour,  as  represented  in  the 


vision,  “  uttered  words,  as  they  proceed¬ 
ed  from  his  mouth,  the  halitus  which 
accompanied  them  assumed,  in  the  view 
of  John,  the  form  of  an  igneous  two- 
edged  sword.”  It  is  more  probable, 
however,  that  the  words  which  pro¬ 
ceeded  from  his  mouth  did  not  assume 


CHAPTER  II. 


95 


A.  D.  96.1 


13  I  know®  thy  works,  and  where 
thou  dwellest,  even  where  Satan’s 
seat  is :  and  thou  holdest  fast  my 
name,  and  hast  not  denied  b  my 

a  vor.  9.  6  2  Ti.  2. 12. 


any  thing  like  a  form  or  substance,  but 
John  means  to  represent  them  as  if  they 
were  a  sharp  sword.  His  words  cut  and 
penetrate  deep,  and  it  was  easy  to  pic¬ 
ture  him  as  having  a  sword  proceeding 
from  his  mouth ;  that  is,  his  words  were 
as  piercing  as  a  sharp  sword.  As  he 
was  about  to  reprove  the  church  at  Per- 
gamos,  there  was  a  propriety  in  referring 
to  this  power  of  the  Saviour.  Reproof 
cuts  deep;  and  this  is  the  idea  repre¬ 
sented  here. 

13.  I  know  thy  works.  The  uniform 
mode  of  addressing  the  seven  churches 
in  these  epistles.  See  Notes  on  ch.  ii.  2. 

And  where  thou  dwellest.  That  is,  I 
know  all  the  temptations  to  which  you 
are  exposed  ;  all  the  allurements  to  sin 
by  which  you  are  surrounded ;  all  the 
apologies  which  might  be  made  for  what 
has  occurred  arising  from  those  circum¬ 
stances  ;  and  all  that  could  be  said  in 
commendation  of  you  for  having  been  as 
faithful  as  you  have  been.  The  sense 
of  the  passage  is,  that  it  does  much  to 
enable  us  to  judge  of  character  to  know 
where  men  live.  It  is  much  more  easy 
to  be  virtuous  and  pious  in  some  cir¬ 
cumstances  than  in  others,  and  in  order 
to  determine  how  much  credit  is  due  to 
a  man  for  his  virtues,  it  is  necessary  to 
understand  how  much  he  has  been  called 
to  resist ;  how  many  temptations  he  has 
encountered ;  what  easily-besetting  sins 
he  may  have ;  or  what  allurements  may 
have  been  presented  to  his  mind  to  draw 
him  from  the  path  of  virtue  and  religion. 
In  like  manner,  in  order  to  judge  cor¬ 
rectly  of  those  who  have  embraced  error, 
or  have  been  led  into  sin,  it  is  necessary 
to  understand  what  there  may  have 
been  in  their  circumstances  that  gave  to 
error  what  was  plausible,  and  to  sin 
what  was  attractive ;  what  there  was  in 
their  situation  in  life  that  exposed  them 
to  these  influences,  and  what  arguments 
may  have  been  employed  by  the  learned, 
the  talented,  and  the  plausible  advocates 
of  error,  to  lead  them  astray.  We  often 
judge  harshly  where  the  Saviour  would 
be  far  less  severe  in  his  judgments  ;  we 
often  commend  much  where  in  fact  thoro 


faith,  even  in  those  days  wherein 
Antipas  was  my  faithful  martyr, 
who  was  slain  among  you,  where 
Satan  dwelleth. 


has  been  little  to  oommend.  It  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  conceive  that  in  the  strugglings 
against  evil  of  those  who  have  ultimately 
fallen,  there  may  be  more  to  commend 
than  in  cases  where  the  path  of  virtue 
has  been  pursued  as  the  mere  result  of 
circumstances,  and  where  there  never 
has  been  a  conflict  with  temptation. 
The  adjudications  of  the  great  day  will 
do  much  to  reverse  the  judgments  of 
mankind.  Even  where  Satan's  seat 
is.  A  place  of  peculiar  wickedness,  as 
if  Satan  dwelt  there.  Satan  is,  as  it  were, 
enthroned  there.  The  influence  of  Satan 
in  producing  persecution,  is  that  which 
is  particularly  alluded  to,  as  is  apparent 
from  the  reference  which  is  immediately 
made  to  the  case  of  Antipas,  the  “  faithful 
martyr.”  And  thou  holdest  fast  my 
name.  They  had  professed  the  name  of 
Christ;  that  is,  they  had  professed  to  be 
his  followers,  and  they  had  steadfastly 
adhered  to  him  and  his  cause  in  all  the 
opposition  made  to  him.  The  name 
Christian,  given  in  honor  of  Christ,  and 
indicating  that  they  were  his  disciples, 
they  had  not  been  ashamed  of  or  denied. 
It  was  this  name  that  subjected  the 
early  Christians  to  reproach.  See  1  Pet. 
iv.  14.  And  hast  not  denied  my  faith. 
That  is,  hast  not  denied  my  religion.  The 
great  essential  element  in  the  Christian 
religion  is  faith,  and  this,  since  it  is  so 
important,  is  often  put  for  the  whole  of 
religion.  Even  in  those  days  wherein 
Antipas  was  my  faithful  martyr.  Of 
Antipas  we  know  nothing  more  than  is 
here  stated.  “In  the  Acta  Sanctorum 
(II.  pp.  3,  4)  is  a  martyrology  of  Anti¬ 
pas  from  a  Greek  MS.;  but  it  is  full  of 
fable  and  fiction,  which  a  later  age  had 
added  to  the  original  story.”  Prof. 
Stuart,  in  loc.  Who  was  slam  among 
you.  It  would  seem  from  this,  that, 
though  the  persecution  had  raged  there, 
but  one  person  had  been  put  to  death. 
It  would  appear  also  that  the  persecu¬ 
tion  was  of  a  local  character,  since  Per- 
gamos  is  described  as  “  Satan’s  seat ;” 
and  the  death  of  Antipas  is  mentioned 
in  immediate  connexion  with  that  fact. 
All  the  circumstances  referred  to  would 


96 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96 


14  But  I  have  a  few  things 
against  thee,  because  thou  hast 
there  them  that  hold  the  doctrine 


lead  us  to  suppose  that  this  was  a 
popular  outbreak  and  not  a  persecution 
carried  on  under  the  authority  of  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  that  Antipas  was  put  to 
death  in  a  popular  excitement.  Bo 
Stephen  (Acts  vii.)  was  put  to  death, 
and  so  Paul  at  Lystra  was  stoned  until 
it  was  supposed  he  was  dead.  Acts, 
xiv.  19.  Where  Satan  dwelleth.  The 
repetition  of  this  idea — very  much  in 
the  manner  of  John  —  showed  how  in¬ 
tensely  the  mind  was  fixed  on  the 
thought,  and  how  much  alive  the  feel¬ 
ings  were  to  the  malice  of  Satan  as 
exhibited  at  Pergamos. 

14.  But  I  have  a  few  things  against 
thee.  As  against  the  church  at  Ephesus, 
ch.  ii.  4.  The  charge  against  this 
church,  however,  is  somewhat  different 
from  that  against  the  church  at  Ephesus. 
The  charge  there  was,  that  they  had 
“left  their  first  love,”  but  it  is  spoken  in 
commendation  of  them  that  they  “  hated 
the  deeds  of  the  Nicolaitanes”  (ch.  ii.  6); 
here  the  charge  is,  that  they  tolerated 
that  sect  among  them,  and  that  they 
had  among  them  also  those  who  held 
the  doctrine  of  Balaam.  Their  general 
course  had  been  such  that  the  Saviour 
could  approve  it  ,•  he  did  not  approve, 
however,  of  their  tolerating  those  who 
held  to  pernicious  practical  error — error 
that  tended  to  sap  the  very  foundation 
of  morals.  Because  thou  hast  those 
there  that  hold  the  doctrine  of  Balaam. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  they 
professedly  held  to  the  same  opinion  as 
Balaam,  or  openly  taught  the  same 
doctrines.  The  meaning  is,  that  they 
taught  substantially  the  same  doctrine 
which  Balaam  did,  and  deserved  to  he 
classed  with  him.  What  that  doctrine 
was  is  stated  in  the  subsequent  part  of 
the  verse.  Who  taught  Balac  to  cast 
a  stumbling-block  before  the  children  of 
Israel.  The  word  stumbling-block  pro¬ 
perly  means  any  thing  over  which  one 
falls  or  stumbles,  and  then  any  thing 
over  which  any  one  may  fall  into  sin,  or 
which  becomes  the  occasion  of  one’s 
falling  into  sin.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  it  was  through  the  instructions  of 
Balaam,  that  Balak  learned  the  way  by 
which  the  Israelites  might  be  led  into 


of  Balaam,  who  “  taught  Balac  to 
cast  a  stumbling-block  before  the 
children  of  Israel,  to  eat 1  things 
a  Nu  31. 16.  b  Ac.  15.  29. 

sin,  and  might  thus  bring  upon  them¬ 
selves  the  divine  malediction.  The  main 
circumstances  in  the  case  were  these  : — 
(1)  Balak,  king  of  Moab,  when  the  child¬ 
ren  of  Israel  approached  his  borders,  felt 
that  he  could  not  contend  successfully 
against  so  great  a  host,  for  his  people 
were  dispirited  and  disheartened  at  their 
numbers,  Num.  xxii.  3,  4.  (2)  In  these 

circumstances  he  resolved  to  send  for 
one  who  had  a  distinguished  reputation 
as  a  prophet,  that  he  might  “curse” 
that  people,  or  might  utter  a  maledic¬ 
tion  over  them,  in  order  at  the  same 
time  to  ensure  their  destruction,  and  to 
inspirit  his  own  people  in  making  war 
on  them  :  in  accordance  with  a  prevalent 
opinion  of  ancient  times,  that  prophets 
had  the  power  of  blighting  any  thing  by 
their  curse.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job  iii.  8. 
Eor  this  purpose,  he  sent  messengers  to 
Balaam  to  invite  him  to  come  and  per¬ 
form  this  service.  Num.  xxii.  5,  6. 
(3)  Balaam  professed  to  be  a  prophet  of 
the  Lord,  and  it  was  obviously  proper 
that  he  should  enquire  of  the  Lord 
whether  he  should  comply  with  this 
request.  He  did  so,  and  was  positively 
forbidden  to  go.  Num.  xxii.  12.  (4) 

When  the  answer  of  Balaam  was  re¬ 
ported  to  Balak,  he  supposed  that  ho 
might  be  prevailed  to  come  by  the  ofibr 
of  rewards,  and  he  sent  more  dis¬ 
tinguished  messengers,  with  an  offer  of 
ample  honor  if  he  would  come.  Num. 
xxii.  15-17.  (5)  Balaam  was  evidently 

strongly  inclined  to  go,  but,  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  his  character  as  a  prophet,  he 
said  that  if  Balak  would  give  him  his 
house  full  of  silver  and  gold  he  could 
do  no  more,  and  say  no  more,  than  the 
Lord  permitted,  and  he  proposed  again 
to  consult  the  Lord  to  see  if  he  could 
obtain  permission  to  go  with  the  mes¬ 
sengers  of  Balak.  He  obtained  per¬ 
mission,  but  with  the  express  injunction 
that  he  was  only  to  utter  what  God 
should  say,  and  when  he  came  to  Balak, 
notwithstanding  his  own  manifest  desire 
to  comply  with  the  wish  of  Balak,  and 
notwithstanding  all  the  offers  which 
Balak  made  to  him  to  induce  him  to 
do  the  contrary,  he  only  continued  to 
bless  the  Hebrew  people,  until,  in  dia- 


CHAPTER  II. 


97 


A.  D.  96.] 


sacrificed  unto  idols,  and  to  com¬ 
mit  fornication.® 

a  1  Co.  6. 13, 18. 


gust  and  indignation,  Balak  sent  him 
away  again  to  his  own  land.  Num. 
xxii.  xxiii.  xxiv.  10,  seq.  (6)  Balaam 
returned  to  his  own  house,  but  evidently 
with  a  desire  still  to  gratify  Balak. 
Being  forbidden  to  curse  the  people  of 
Israel ;  having  been  overruled  in  all  his 
purposes  to  do  it ;  having  been,  contrary 
to  his  own  desires,  constrained  to  bless 
them  when  he  was  himself  more  than 
willing  to  curse  them ;  and  having  still 
a  desire  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of 
the  king  of  Moab,  he  cast  about  for 
some  way  in  which  the  object  might 
yet  be  accomplished ;  that  is,  in  which 
the  curse  of  God  might  in  fact  rest 
upon  the  Hebrew  people,  and  they 
might  become  exposed  to  the  divine  dis¬ 
pleasure.  To  do  this,  no  way  occurred 
so  plausible,  and  that  had  such  proba¬ 
bility  of  success,  as  to  lead  them  into 
idolatry,  and  into  the  sinful  and  corrupt 
practices  connected  with  idolatry.  It 
was,  therefore,  resolved  to  make  use  of 
the  charms  of  the  females  of  Moab,  that 
through  their  influence,  the  Hebrews 
might  be  drawn  into  licentiousness. 
This  was  done.  The  abominations  of 
idolatry  spread  through  the  camp  of 
Israel ;  licentiousness  everywhere  pre¬ 
vailed,  and  God  sent  a  plague  upon  them 
to  punish  them.  Hum.  xxv.  1,  seq. 
That  also  this  was  planned  and  insti¬ 
gated  by  Balaam,  is  apparent  from 
Num.  xxxi.  16  :  “Behold  these  [women] 
caused  the  children  of  Israel,  through 
the  counsel  of  Balaam,  to  commit  tres¬ 
pass  against  the  Lord,  in  the  matter  of 
Peor,  and  there  was  a  plague  among  the 
congregation  of  the  Lord.”  The  attitude 
of  Balaam’s  mind  in  the  matter  was  this  : 
I.  He  had  a  strong  desire  to  do  that 
which  he  knew  was  wrong,  and  which 
was  forbidden  expressly  by  God.  II,  Ho 
was  restrained  by  internal  checks  and 
remonstrances,  and  prevented  from  doing 
what  he  wished  to  do.  Ill,  He  cast 
about  for  some  way  in  which  he  might 
do  it,  notwithstanding  these  internal 
checks  and  remonstrances,  and  finally 
accomplished  the  same  thing,  in  fact, 
though  inform  different  from  that  which 
he  had  first  prepared.  This  is  not  an 
unfair  description  of  what  often  occurs 
9 


15  So  hast  thou  also  them  that 
hold  the  doctrine  of  the  Nico¬ 
lai  tanes,  which  thing  I  hate. 


in  the  plans  and  purposes  of  a  wicked 
man.  The  meaning  in  the  passage  her 
fore  us  is,  that  in  the  church  at  Per- 
gamos  there  were  those  who  taught, 
substantially,  the  same  thing  that  Balaam 
did ;  that  is,  the  tendency  of  whose  teach¬ 
ing  was,  to  lead  men  into  idolatry,  and 
the  ordinary  accompaniment  of  idolatry 
— licentiousness.  *[  To  eat  things  sacri¬ 
ficed  unto  idols.  Balaam  taught  the 
Hebrews  to  do  this — perhaps  in  some 
way  securing  their  attendance  on  the 
riotous  and  gluttonous  feasts  of  idolatry 
celebrated  among  the  people  among 
whom  they  sojourned.  Such  feasts  were 
commonly  held  in  idol  temples,  and 
they  usually  led  to  scenes  of  dissipation 
and  corruption.  By  plausibly  teaching 
that  there  could  be  no  harm  in  eating 
what  had  been  offered  in  sacrifice — since 
an  idol  was  nothing,  and  the  flesh  of 
animals  offered  in  sacrifice  was  the  same 
as  if  slaughtered  for  some  other  pur¬ 
pose — it  would  seem  that  these  teachers 
at  Pergamos  had  induced  professing 
Christians  to  attend  on  those  feasts  — 
thus  lending  their  countenance  to  idol¬ 
atry,  and  exposing  themselves  to  all 
the  corruption  and  licentiousness  that 
commonly  attended  such  celebrations. 
See  the  banefulness  of  thus  eating  the 
meat  offered  in  sacrifice  to  idols,  con¬ 
sidered  in  the  Notes  on  1  Cor.  viii. 

And  to  commit  fornication.  Balaam 
taught  this ;  and  that  was  the  tendency 
of  the  doctrines  inculcated  at  Pergamos. 
On  what  pretenco  this  was  done  is  not 
said;  but  it  is  clear  that  the  church 
had  regarded  this  in  a  lenient  manner. 
So  accustomed  had  the  heathen  world 
been  to  this  vice,  that  many  who  had 
been  converted  from  idolatry  might  be 
disposed  to  look  on  it  with  less  severity 
than  we  do  now,  and  there  was  a  neces¬ 
sity  of  incessant  watchfulness  lest  the 
members  of  the  church  should  fall  into 
it.  Comp.  Notes  on  Acts  xv.  20. 

15.  So  hast  thou  also  them,  &c.  That 
is,  there  are  those  among  you  who  hold 
those  doctrines.  The  meaning  here 
may  bo,  either  that,  in  addition  to  those 
who  hold  the  doctrine  of  Balaam,  they 
had  also  another  class  who  held  the 
doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes ;  or  that  the 


98 


REVELATION, 


[A.  I).  96. 


16  Repent;  or  else  I  will  come 
unto  thee  quickly,  and  °  will  fight 
against  them  with  the  sword  of  my 
mouth. 

a  Is.  ll.  4. 


Nicolaitanes  held  the  same  doctrine,  and 
taught  the  same  thing  as  Balaam.  If 
but  one  class  is  referred  to,  and  it  is 
meant  that  the  Nicolaitanes  held  the 
doctrines  of  Balaam,  then  we  know  what 
constituted  their  teaching;  if  two  classes 
of  false  teachers  are  referred  to,  then  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing  what  was  the 
peculiarity  of  the  teaching  of  the  Nico¬ 
laitanes.  The  more  natural  and  obvious 
construction,  it  seems  to  me,  is,  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  speaker  means  to  say  that 
the  Nicolaitanes  taught  the  same  things 
which  Balaam  did : — to  wit,  that  they 
led  the  people  into  corrupt  and  licen¬ 
tious  practices.  This  interpretation 
seems  to  be  demanded  by  the  proper 
use  of  the  word  “so” — oDrws — meaning, 
in  this  manner,  on  this  wise,  thus;  and 
usually  referring  to  what  precedes.  If 
this  be  the  correct  interpretation,  then 
we  have,  in  fact,  a  description  of  what 
the  Nicolaitanes  held,  agreeing  with  all 
the  accounts  given  of  them  by  the 
ancient  fathers.  See  Notes  on  ver.  6. 
If  this  is  so,  also,  then  it  is  clear  that 
the  same  kind  of  doctrines  was  held  at 
Smyrna,  at  Pergamos,  and  at  Thyatira 
(ver.  20),  though  mentioned  in  somewhat 
different  forms.  It  is  not  quite  certain, 
however,  that  this  is  the  correct  inter¬ 
pretation,  or  that  the  writer  does  not 
mean  to  say  that  in  addition  to  those 
who  held  the  doctrine  of  Balaam,  they 
had  also  another  class  of  errorists  who 
held  the  doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes. 

Which  thing  1  hate.  So  the  common 
Greek  text — 8  /u<rfi.  But  the  best  sup¬ 
ported  reading,  and  the  one  adapted  by 
Griesbach,  Tittmann,  and  Hahn,  is  bpvtui; 
— in  like  manner;  that  is,  ‘as  Balak 
retained  a  false  prophet  who  misled  the 
Hebrews,  so  thou  retainest  those  who 
teach  things  like  to  those  which  Balaam 
taught.’ 

16.  Repent.  See  ver.  5.  ^  Or  else  I 

will  come  unto  thee  quickly.  On  the  word 
quickly,  see  Notes  on  ch.  i.  1.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  he  would  come 
against  them  in  judgment,  or  to  punish 
them.  <|[  And  will  fight  against  them. 
Against  the  Nicolaitanes.  He  would 


17  He 1  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches ;  to  him  that  overcometh 
b  ver.  7.  c.  3.  6, 13,  22. 


come  against  the  church  for  tolerating 
them,  but  his  opposition  would  be  prin¬ 
cipally  directed  against  the  Nicolaitanes 
themselves.  The  church  would  excite 
his  displeasure  by  retaining  them  in  its 
bosom,  but  it  was  in  its  power  to  save 
them  from  destruction.  If  the  church 
would  repent,  or  if  it  would  separate 
itself  from  the  evil,  then  the  Saviour 
would  not  come  against  them.  If  this 
were  not  done,  they  would  feel  the 
vengeance  of  his  sword,  and  be  sub¬ 
jected  to  punishment.  The  church 
always  suffers  when  it  has  offenders  in 
its  bosom ;  it  has  the  power  of  saving 
them  if  it  will  repent  of  its  own  unfaith¬ 
fulness,  and  will  strive  for  their  con¬ 
version.  With  the  sword  of  my  mouth. 
Notes,  ch.  i.  16,  ii.  12.  That  is,  he  would 
give  the  order  and  they  would  be  cut 
as  if  by  a  sword.  Precisely  in  what  way 
it  would  be  done,  he  does  not  say;  but 
it  might  be  by  persecution,  or  by  heavy 
judgments.  To  see  the  force  of  this,  we 
are  to  remember  tho  power  which  Christ 
has  to  punish  the  wicked  by  a  word  of 
his  mouth.  By  a  word  in  the  last  day 
he  will  turn  all  the  wicked  into  hell. 

17.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  &e.  Notes 
on  ver.  7.  To  him  that  overcometh. 
Notes  on  ver.  7.  Will  I  give  to  eat 
of  the  hidden  manna.  The  true  spiritual 
food ;  the  food  that  nourishes  the  soul. 
The  idea  is,  that  the  souls  of  those  who 
“  overcame,”  or  who  gained  the  victory 
in  their  conflict  with  sin,  and  in  the 
persecutions  and  trials  of  the  world, 
would  be  permitted  to  partake  of  that 
spiritual  food  which  is  laid  up  for  the 
people  of  God,  and  by  which  they  will 
be  nourished  forever.  The  Hebrews 
were  supported  by  manna  in  the  desert 
(Ex.  xvi.  16-35) ;  a  pot  of  that  manna 
was  laid  up  in  the  most  holy  place  to  be 
preserved  as  a  memorial  (Ex.  xvi.  32- 
34) ;  it  is  called  “  angel’s  food”  (Ps. 
lxxviii.  25),  and  “  corn  of  heaven”  (Ps. 
lxxviii.  24);  and  it  would  seem  to  have 
been  emblematical  of  that  spiritual  food 
by  which  tho  people  of  God  are  to  be 
fed  from  heaven,  in  their  journey 
through  this  world.  By  the  word  “  hid 


A.  D.  96.1  CHAPTER  II.  99 


will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  hidden  ° 

a  Ps.  25. 14. 

den,”  there  -would  seem  to  be  an  allusion 
to  that  which  was  laid  up  in  the  pot 
before  the  Ark  of  the  Testimony,  and 
the  blessing  which  is  promised  here  is 
that  they  would  be  nourished  as  if  they 
were  sustained  by  that  manna  thus  laid 
up  before  the  ark : — by  food  from  the 
immediate  presence  of  God.  The  lan¬ 
guage  thus  explained  would  mean  that 
they  who  overcome  will  be  nourished 
through  this  life  as  if  by  that  “  hidden 
manna that  is,  that  they  will  be  sup¬ 
plied  all  along  through  the  “  wilderness 
of  this  world”  by  that  food  from  the  im¬ 
mediate  presence  of  God  which  their 
souls  require.  As  the  parallel  places 
in  the  epistles  to  the  churches,  however, 
refer  rather  to  the  heavenly  world,  and 
to  the  rewards  which  they  who  are  vic¬ 
tors  shall  have  there,  it  seems  probable 
that  this  has  immediate  reference  to  that 
world  also,  and  that  the  meaning  is, 
that,  as  the  Most  Holy  place  was  a  type 
of  heaven,  they  will  be  admitted  into  the 
immediate  presence  of  God,  and  nou¬ 
rished  forever  by  the  food  of  heaven — 
that  which  the  angels  have ;  that  which 
the  soul  will  need  to  sustain  it  there. 
Even  in  this  world  their  souls  may  be 
nourished  with  this  “hidden  manna;" 
in  heaven  it  will  be  their  constant  food 
forever,  And  I  will  give  him  a  white 
stone.  There  has  been  a  great  variety 
of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  meaning  of 
this  expression,  and  almost  no  two  ex¬ 
positors  agree.  Illustrations  of  its 
meaning  have  been  sought  from  Grecian, 
Hebrew,  and  Roman  customs,  but  none 
of  these  have  removed  all  difficulty  from 
the  expression.  The  general  sense  of 
the  language  seems  plain,  even  though 
the  allusion  on  which  it  is  founded  is 
obscure  or  even  unknown.  It  is,  that 
the  Saviour  would  give  him  who  over¬ 
came,  a  token  of  his  favor  which  would 
have  some  word  or  name  inscribed  on 
it,  and  which  would  be  of  use  to  him 
alone,  or  intelligible  to  him  only : — that 
is,  some  secret  token  which  would  make 
him  sure  of  the  favor  of  his  Redeemer, 
and  which  would  be  unknown  to  other 
men.  The  idea  here  would  find  a  cor¬ 
respondence  in  the  evidences  of  his  favor 
granted  to  the  soul  of  the  Christian  him¬ 
self;  in  the  pledge  of  heaven  thus  made 
to  him,  and  which  he  would  understand, 


manna,  and  will  give  him  a  white 


but  which  no  one  else  would  understand. 
The  things,  then,  which  we  are  to  look 
for  in  the  explanation  of  the  emblem 
are  two  : — that  which  would  thus  be  a 
token  of  his  favor;  and  that  which 
would  explain  the  fact  that  it  would  be 
intelligible  to  no  one  else.  The  question 
is,  whether  there  is  any  known  thing 
pertaining  to  ancient  customs  which 
would  convey  these  ideas.  The  word 
rendered  stone — iprjtpos — means  properly 
a  small  stone,  as  worn  smooth  by  water 
— a  gravel-stone,  a  pebble;  then  any 
polished  stone,  the  stone  of  a  gem  or 
ring.  Hob.  Lex.  Such  a  stone  was 
used  among  the  Greeks  for  various  pur¬ 
poses,  and  the  word  came  to  have  a  sig¬ 
nification  corresponding  to  these  uses. 
The  following  uses  are  enumerated  by 
Dr.  Robinson  {Lex.)  ;  the  stones  or 
counters  for  reckoning;  dice,  lots,  used 
in  a  kind  of  magic ;  a  vote,  spoken  of 
the  black  and  white  stones  or  pebbles  ^ 
anciently  used  in  voting;  that  is,  the 
white  for  approval,  and  the  black  for 
condemning.  In  regard  to  the  use  of 
the  word  here,  some  have  supposed  that 
the  reference  is  to  a  custom  of  the 
Roman  emperors,  who,  in  the  games  and 
spectacles  which  they  gave  to  the 
people  in  imitation  of  the  Greeks,  are 
said  to  have  thrown  among  the  popu¬ 
lace  dice  or  tokens  inscribed  with  the 
words  “  Erumentum,  vestes,”  Ac. ;  that 
is,  “corn,  clothing,”  Ac.,  and  whosoever 
obtained  one  of  these  received  from  the 
emperor  whatever  was  marked  upon  it. 
Others  suppose  that  allusion  is  made  to 
the  mode  of  casting  lots,  in  which  some¬ 
times  dice  .or  tokens  were  used  with 
names  inscribed  on  them,  and  the  lot 
fell  to  him  whose  name  first  came  out. 

The  “  white  stone”  was  a  symbol  of  good- 
fortune  and  prosperity,  and  it  is  a 
remarkable  circumstance  that  among  the 
Greeks  persons  of  distinguished  virtue 
were  said  to  receive  a  iprjQos—stojie  — 
from  the  gods,  i.  e.  as  an  approving 
testimonial  of  their  virtue.  See  Robin¬ 
son’s  Lex.,  and  the  authorities  there 
referred  to;  Wetstein,  N.  T.,  in  loc.,  and 
Stuart,  in  loc.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes 
that  the  allusion  is  to  the  fact  that 
Christians  are  said  to  be  kings  and 
priests  to  God,  and  that  as  the  Jewish 
high  priost  had  a  mitre  or  turban,  on  the 


100 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


stone,  and  in  the  stone  a  new  ° 
name  written,  which  no  man 

a  Is.  56.  4;  65. 15.  o.  3. 12 ;  19. 12, 13. 

front  of  which  was  a  plate  of  gold 
inscribed  “Holiness  to  the  Lord,”  so 
they  who  were  kings  and  priests  under 
the  Christian  dispensation  would  have 
that  by  which  they  would  be  known, 
hut  that,  instead  of  a  plate  of  gold,  they 
would  have  a  pellucid  stone,  on  which 
the  name  of  the  Saviour  would  be 
engraved  as  a  token  of  his  favor.  It  is 
possible,  in  regard  to  the  explanation  of 
this  phrase,  that  there  has  been  too 
much  effort  to  find  all  the  circumstances 
alluded  to,  in  some  ancient  custom. 
Some  well-understood  fact  or  custom 
may  have  suggested  the  general  thought, 
and  then  the  filling  up  may  have  been 
applicable  to  this  case  alone.  It  is  quite 
clear,  I  think,  that  none  of  the  customs 
to  which  it  has  been  supposed  there  is 
reference,  correspond  fully  with  what  is 
stated  here,  and  that  though  there 
may  have  been  a  general  allusion  of 
that  kind,  yet  something  of  the  par¬ 
ticularity  in  the  circumstances  may  he 
regarded  as  peculiar  to  this  alone.  In 
accordance  with  this  view,  perhaps  the 
following  points  will  embody  all  that 
need  be  said :  (1)  A  white  stone  was  re¬ 
garded  as  a  token  of  favor,  prosperity, 
or  success,  everywhere — whether  con¬ 
sidered  as  a  vote,  or  as  given  to  a 
victor,  <fec.  As  such,  it  would  denote 
that  the  Christian  to  whom  it  is  said  to 
be  given  would  meet  with  the  favor  of 
the  Redeemer,  and  would  have  a  token 
of  his  approval.  (2)  The  name  written 
on  this  stone  would  be  designed  also  as 
a  token  or  pledge  of  his  favor  —  as  a 
name  engraved  on  a  signet  or  seal  would 
be  a  pledge  to  him  who  received  it  of 
friendship.  It  would  be  not  merely  a 
white  stone — emblematic  of  favor  and 
approval,  hut  would  be  so  marked  as  to 
indicate  its  origin — with  the  name  of 
the  giver  on  it.  This  would  appro¬ 
priately  denote,  when  explained,  that 
the  victor  Christian  would  receive  a 
token  of  the  Redeemer’s  favor,  as  if 
his  name  were  engraven  on  a  stone,  and 
given  to  him  as  a  pledge  of  his  friend¬ 
ship  ;  that  is,  that  he  would  be  as  certain 
of  his  favor  as  if  he  had  such  a  stone. 
In  other  words,  the  victor  would  be 


knoweth  6  saving  he  that  receiv- 
eth  it. 

b  1  Co.  2. 14. 


assured  from  the  Redeemer  who  dis¬ 
tributes  rewards,  that  his  welfare  would 
be  secure.  (3)  This  would  be  to  him  as 
if  he  should  receive  a  stone  so  marked 
that  its  letters  were  invisible  to  all 
others,  but  apparent  to  him  who  re¬ 
ceived  it.  It  is  not  needful  to  suppose 
that  in  the  Olympic  games,  or  in  the 
prizes  distributed  by  Roman  emperors, 
or  in  any  other  custom,  such  a  case  had 
actually  occurred,  but  it  is  conceivable 
that  a  name  might  be  so  engraved — with 
characters  so  small,  or  in  letters  so  un¬ 
known  to  all  others,  or  with  marks  so 
unintelligible  to  others,  that  no  other 
one  into  whose  hands  it  might  fall  would 
understand  it. — The  meaning  then  pro¬ 
bably  is,  that  to  the  true  Christian — the 
victor  over  sin  —  there  is  given  some 
pledge  of  the  divine  favor  which  has  to 
him  all  the  effect  of  assurance,  and  which 
others  do  not  perceive  or  understand. 
This  consists  of  favors  shown  directly  to 
the  soul — the  evidence  of  pardoned  sin  ; 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost;  peace  with  God; 
clear  views  of  the  Saviour ;  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  a  spirit  which  is  properly  that  of 
Christ,  and  which  is  the  gift  of  God  to 
the  soul.  The  true  Christian  under¬ 
stands  this ;  the  world  perceives  it  not. 
The  Christian  receives  it  as  a  pledge  of 
the  divine  favor,  and  as  an  evidence  that 
he  will  be  saved;  to  the  world  that  on 
which  he  relies  seems  to  be  enthusiasm, 
fanaticism,  or  delusion.  The  Christian 
bears  it  about  with  him  as  he  would  a 
precious  stone  given  to  him  by  his  Re¬ 
deemer,  and  on  which  the  name  of  his 
Redeemer  is  engraved,  as  a  pledge  that 
he  is  accepted  of  God,  and  that  the  re¬ 
wards  of  heaven  shall  be  his ;  the  world 
does  not  understand  it,  or  attaches  no 
value  to  it.  •[[  And  in  the  stone  a  new 
name  written.  A  name  indicating  a  new 
relation,  new  hopes  and  triumphs.  Pro¬ 
bably  the  name  here  referred  to  is  the 
name  of  the  Redeemer,  or  the  name 
Christian,  or  some  such  appellation.  It 
would  be  some  name  which  he  would 
understand  and  appreciate,  and  which 
would  be  a  pledge  of  acceptance. 

Which  no  man  knoweth,  &o.  That  is, 
no  one  would  understand  its  import,  as 


CHAPTER  II. 


101 


A.  D.  96.] 

no  one  but  the  Christian  estimates  the 
valuo  of  that  on  which  he  relies  as  the 
pledge  of  his  Redeemer’s  love. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CHURCH  AT 
THYATIRA. 

The  contents  of  this  epistle  (18-29), 
are  as  follows :  (1)  A  reference,  as  is 
usual  in  these  epistles,  to  some  attribute 
of  the  Saviour  which  demanded  their 
particular  attention,  or  which  was  espe¬ 
cially  appropriate  to  the  nature  of  the 
message  which  he  was  about  to  send  to 
them,  ver.  18.  The  attributes  which  he 
fixes  on  here  are,  that  his  eyes  are  like 
a  flame  of  fire  —  as  if  they  would  pierce 
and  penetrate  to  the  recesses  of  the 
heart;  and  that  his  feet  are  like  fine 
brass — perhaps  indicative  of  majesty  as 
he  moved  among  the  churches.  (2)  A 
statement,  in  the  usual  form,  that  he 
was  entirely  acquainted  with  the  church, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  judgment  which 
he  was  about  to  pronounce  was  founded 
on  a  thorough  knowledge  of  what  the 
church  was;  and  a  general  commenda¬ 
tion  of  them  for  their  charity,  service, 
faith,  and  patience,  ver.  19.  (3)  A 

severe  reproof  of  the  church,  notwith¬ 
standing,  for  their  tolerating  a  teacher 
of  dangerous  doctrine,  whom  he  calls 
Jezebel,  with  the  assurance  that  she  and 
her  children  should  not  go  unpunished, 
vs.  20-23.  (4)  An  assurance  to  all  the 

rest  in  Thyatira  that  no  other  calamity 
or  burden  would  come  upon  the  church 
than  what  was  inevitable  in  delivering 
it  from  the  dangerous  influence  of  these 
doctrines,  and  a  solemn  chargo  to  them 
to  hold  fast  all  the  truth  which  they  had 
until  he  should  come,  vs.  24,  25.  (5)  A 
promise,  as  usual,  to  those  who  should 
overcome,  or  who  should  be  victorious, 
vs.  26-29.  They  would  have  power  over 
the  nations;  they  would  be  associated 
with  the  Redeemer  in  ruling  them;  they 
would  have  the  morning  star.  (6)  A 
call,  as  usual,  on  all  who  had  ears  to 
hear,  to  attend  to  what  the  Spirit  said 
to  the  churches. 

Thyatira  was  a  city  of  Asia  Minor,  on 
the  northern  border  of  Lydia,  and  com¬ 
monly  reckoned  as  belonging  to  Lydia. 
It  was  about  twenty-seven  miles  from 
Sardis;  about  a  day’s  journey  from 
Pergamos,  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  sea-coast.  Its  modern  name  is 
Ak-hissar,  or  the  white  castle.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  Pliny,  it  was  known  in  earlier 
9* 


times  by  the  name  of  Pelopia,  Hist. 
Nat.  v.  29.  Strabo  says  that  it  was 
a  Macedonian  colony ;  xiii.  p.  928. 
The  Roman  road  from  Pergamos  to 
Sardis  passed  through  it.  It  was  noted 
for  the  art  of  dyeing  (Acts  xvi.  14),  and 
Luke’s  account  in  the  Acts  has  been 
confirmed  by  the  discovery  of  an  inscrip¬ 
tion  in  honor  of  Antonius  Claudius 
Alplienus,  which  concludes  with  the 
words  oi  (ia<peis  —  the  dyers.  The  Rev. 
Pliny  Fisk,  the  American  missionary, 
who  visited  the  city,  thus  describes  it : — 

“  Thyatira  is  situated  near  a  small 
river,  a  branch  of  the  Caicus,  in  the 
centre  of  an  extensive  plain.  At  the 
distance  of  three  or  four  miles,  it  is  al¬ 
most  completely  surrounded  by  moun¬ 
tains.  The  houses  are  low;  many  of 
them  of  mud  or  earth.  Excepting  the 
motsellim’s  palace,  these  is  scarcely  a 
decent  house  in  the  place.  The  streets 
are  narrow  and  dirty,  and  everything 
indicates  poverty  and  degradation.  We 
had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Economo, 
the  bishop’s  procurator,  and  a  principal 
man  among  the  Greeks  of  this  town.  .  . 
He  says,  the  Turks  have  destroyed  all 
remnants  of  the  ancient  church ;  and 
even  the  place  where  it  stood  is  now 
unknown.  At  present,  there  are  in  the 
town  one  thousand  houses,  for  which 
taxes  are  paid  to  the  government.” — • 
Memoir  of  the  llev.  P.  Risk.  Boston, 
Mass.,  1828. 

The  following  description,  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Schneider,  Missionary  of  the  Ame¬ 
rican  Board,  will  give  a  correct  view  of 
Thyatira,  as  it  existed  in  1848  : — 

“From  Magnesia,  we  proceeded  to 
Thyatira,  the  site  of  ono  of  the  Apoca^ 
lyptic  churches,  now  called  Akhissar. 
The  population  consists  of  about  seven 
hundred  Mussulman  houses,  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  Greek,  and  fifty  Armenian. 
The  town  is  located  in  a  plain  of  consi¬ 
derable  size,  and  is  hardly  visible  on  be¬ 
ing  approached,  by  reason  of  the  pro¬ 
fusion  of  foliage.  The  plain  itself  is 
bounded  on  all  sides  by  mountains,  and 
cotton  and  a  kind  of  reddish  root  [mad¬ 
der],  used  for  dyeing  red,  are  raised 
abundantly.  I  observed  that  this  root 
is  extensively  cultivated  in  all  that  re¬ 
gion,  and  forms  an  important  article  of 
export  to  England,  where  it  is  used  for 
dyeing  purposes.  In  Acts  xvi.  14;  wo 
read  of  Lydia,  a  seller  of  purple  of  the 
city  of  Thyatira.  May  not  this  root  be 


102 


KEY EL ATION 


[A.  D.  96. 


the  very  article  with  which  her  purple 
was  colored,  which  she  was  selling  at 
Philippi,  when  the  Lord  opened  her 
heart  to  attend  to  the  things  spoken 
hy  Paul?  It  seems  to  me  probable. 
But,  if  it  was  so,  this  art  of  coloring 
appears  to  have  been  lost,  for  I  could 
not  find  that  it  is  now  at  all  practised 
in  that  place  or  that  region. 

“  The  Christian  traveller  and  mission¬ 
ary  naturally  looks  for  something  inte¬ 
resting  in  a  place  where  once  existed  a 
true  church  of  Christ.  But,  alas !  how 
sadly  is  he  disappointed !  The  place 
presents  an  appearance  in  nothing  dif¬ 
ferent  from  other  Turkish  towns.  Every 
thing  wears  a  Mussulman  aspect.  The 
houses,  streets,  dress,  occupation,  and 
language  of  the  inhabitants,  all  indi¬ 
cate  a  predominating  Turkish  influence. 
Christianity  exists  there  in  name,  but  it 
is  the  bare  name.  Its  spirit  has  long 
since  fled.  The  Greeks,  especially,  seem 
to  be  peculiarly  superstitious.  I  visited 
their  church,  and  found  it  full  of  pic¬ 
tures  and  other  marks  of  degenerate 


Christianity.  A  long  string  of  these 
images,  extending  from  one  side  of  the 
church  to  the  other,  was  suspended  so 
low  as  to  permit  the  worshipper  to  ap¬ 
proach  and  kiss  them ;  and  so  frequently 
had  this  adoration  been  bestowed  on 
them,  that  all  appeared  soiled  from  the 
frequent  contact  of  the  lips.  Over  the 
entrance  of  the  church,  I  observed  a  re¬ 
presentation  of  a  grave  old  man,  with  a 
silvery  beard,  surrounded  by  angels. 
Suspecting  the  object  designed  to  be 
shadowed  forth,  I  inquired  of  a  lad 
standing  by,  what  that  figure  meant? 
He  instantly  replied,  ‘  It  is  God.’  I  ob¬ 
served  two  similar  representations  of  the 
Deity  in  the  interior  of  the  church.  The 
church-yard  is  used  as  a  burying-place ; 
but  only  those,  whose  friends  are  able  to 
pay  for  the  privilege  of  entombing  their 
dead  there,  can  enjoy  it.  Candles  are 
lighted  at  the  heads  of  the  graves  in  the 
night,  and  incense  is  often  burned. 
When  the  process  of  decay  has  pro¬ 
ceeded  so  far  as  to  leave  nothing  but 
the  bones,  these  are  taken  up  and  thrown 


THYATIEA, 


CHAPTER  II. 


103 


A.  D.  96.] 


18  And  unto  the  angel  of  the 
church  in  Thyatira  write ;  These 
things  saith  the  Son  of  God,  who 
hath  Iris  eyes  a  like  unto  a  flame  of 
fire,  and  his  feet  are  like  fine  brass ; 
a  c.  1. 14, 15. 


into  a  sealed  vault,  over  -which  a  chapel  is 
fitted  up,  in  which  mass  is  said  over  these 
relics  of  the  dead  for  the  benefit  of  their 
souls.  A  feeling  of  abhorrence  came 
over  me,  as  I  stood  in  the  place  where 
such  abominations  are  committed. 

“  The  Armenians  are  far  less  supersti¬ 
tious.  Comparatively  only  a  few  pic¬ 
tures  are  to  be  seen  in  their  church,  and 
three  or  four  individuals  are  more  or  less 
enlightened,  and  in  an  inquiring  state  of 
mind.  We  had  a  long  interview  with 
one  of  them,  the  teacher,  and  left  some 
books  with  him.  I  am  not  without 
hopes,  that  a  little  gospel  leaven  has 
been  deposited  here;  the  effects  of  which 
will  appear  at  some  future  day.” — Miss. 
Herald,  Feb.  1848. 

The  annexed  cut  will  give  a  represen¬ 
tation  of  this  city  as  it  now  exists. 

18.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  20.  f  These  things 
saith  the  Son  of  God.  This  is  the  first 
time,  in  these  epistles,  that  the  name  of 
the  speaker  is  referred  to.  In  each  other 
instance,  there  is  merely  some  attribute 
of  the  Saviour  mentioned.  Perhaps  the 
severity  of  the  rebuke  contemplated  here 
made  it  proper  that  there  should  be  a 
more  impressive  reference  to  the  autho¬ 
rity  of  the  speaker;  and  hence,  he  is  in¬ 
troduced  as  the  “  Son  of  God.”  It  is  not 
a  reference  to  him  as  the  “  Son  of  man” 
— the  common  appellation  which  he  gave 
to  himself  when  on  earth;  —  for  that 
might  have  suggested  his  humanity  only, 
and  would  not  have  conveyed  the  same 
impression  in  regard  to  his  authority — 
but  it  is  to  himself  as  sustaining  the 
rank,  and  having  the  authority  of  the 
Son  of  God  —  one  who,  therefore,  has  a 
right  to  speak,  and  a  right  to  demand 
that  what  he  says  shall  bo  heard. 

Who  hath  his  eyes  like  unto  a  flame 
of  fire.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  i.  14.  Be¬ 
fore  the  glance  of  his  eye  all  is  light, 
and  nothing  can  be  concealed  from  his 
view.  Nothing  would  be  better  fitted  to 
inspire  awe  then,  as  nothing  should  be 
now,  than  such  a  reference  to  the  Son 
of  God  as  being  able  to  penetrate  the 


19  1 6  know  thy  works,  and  char 
rity,  and  service,  and  faith,  and  thy 

Jtatience,  and  thy  works ;  and  the 
ast  to  be  more  than  the  first. 

b  ver.  2. 


secret  recesses  of  the  heart,  f  And  his 
feet  are  like  fine  brass.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  i.  15.  Perhaps  indicative  of  majesty 
and  glory  as  he  walked  in  the  midst  of 
the  churches. 

19.  I  knoio  thy  works.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  ii.  2.  He  knew  all  they  had  done, 
good  and  bad.  And  charity.  Love : — 
love  to  God,  and  love  to  man.  There  is 
no  reason  for  restricting  this  word  here 
to  the  comparatively  narrow  sense  which 
it  now  bears.  Comp.  Notes  on  1  Cor. 
xiii.  1.  And  service.  Gr.  ministry — 
SiaKovtav.  The  word  would  seem  to  in¬ 
clude  all  the  service  which  the  church 
had  rendered  in  the  cause  of  religion ; 
all  which  was  the  proper  fruit  of  love, 
or  which  would  be  a  carrying  out  of  the 
principles  of  love  to  God  and  man. 

And  faith.  Or,  fidelity  in  the  cause 
of  the  Redeemer.  The  word  here  would 
include  not  only  trust  in  Christ  for  sal¬ 
vation,  but  that  which  is  the  proper  re¬ 
sult  of  such  trust — fidelity  in  his  service. 

And  thy  patience.  Patient  endurance 
of  the  sorrows  of  life,  —  of  all  that  God 
brought  upon  them  in  any  way,  to  test 
the  reality  of  their  religion,  And  thy 
works.  Thy  works  as  the  fruit  of  the 
virtues  just  mentioned.  The  word  is 
repeated  here,  from  the  first  part  of  the 
verse,  perhaps,  to  specify  more  particu¬ 
larly  that  their  works  had  been  recently 
more  numerous  and  praiseworthy  even 
than  they  had  formerly  been.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  verse,  as  in  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  each  of  the  epistles,  the 
word  is  used,  in  the  most  general  sense, 
to  denote  all  that  they  had  done;  mean¬ 
ing  that  he  had  so  thorough  an  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  them  in  all  respects,  that  he 
could  judge  of  their  character.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  verse,  the  word  seems 
to  be  used  in  a  more  specific  sense,  as 
referring  to  good  works,  and  with  a  view 
to  say  that  they  had  latterly  abounded 
in  these  more  than  they  had  formerly. 

And  the  last  to  be  more  than  the  first. 
Those  which  have  been  recently  per¬ 
formed  are  more  numerous,  and  more 
commendable,  than  those  which  have 


104  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


20  Notwithstanding,  I  have  a  few 
things  against  thee,  because  thou 
sufferest  that  woman  Jezebel, 0  which 
calleth  herself  a  prophetess,  to  teach 
a  1  K.  16.  31. 


been  rendered  formerly.  That  is,  they 
were  making  progress;  they  had  been 
acting  more  and  more  in  accordance 
with  the  nature  and  claims  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  profession.  This  is  a  most  honor¬ 
able  commendation,  and  one  which  every 
Christian,  and  every  church,  should  seek. 
Religion  in  the  soul,  and  in  a  commu¬ 
nity,  is  designed  to  be  progressive ;  and, 
while  we  should  seek  to  live  in  such  a 
manner  always  that  we  may  have  the 
commendation  of  the  Saviour,  we  should 
regard  it  as  a  thing  to  be  greatly  desired 
that  we  may  be  approved  as  making  ad¬ 
vances  in  knowledge  and  holiness ;  that 
as  we  grow  in  years  we  may  grow  alike 
in  the  disposition  to  do  good,  and  in  the 
ability  to  do  it;  that  as  we  gain  in  ex¬ 
perience,  we  may  also  gain  in  a  readiness 
to  apply  the  results  of  our  experience  in 
promoting  the  cause  of  religion.  He 
would  deserve  little  commendation  in 
religion,  who  should  be  merely  station¬ 
ary;  he  alone  properly  developes  the 
nature  of  true  piety,  and  shows  that  it 
has  set  up  its  reign  in  the  soul,  who  is 
constantly  making  advances. 

20.  Notwithstanding,  I  have  a  few 
things  against  thee.  Comp.  Notes  on 
ver.  4.  Because  thou  sufferest  that 
woman  Jezebel.  Thou  dost  tolerate,  or 
countenance  her.  Comp.  Notes  on  ver. 
14.  Who  the  individual  here  referred  to 
by  the  name  Jezebel  was,  is  not  known. 
It  is  by  no  means  probable  that  this  was 
her  real  name,  but  it  seems  to  have  been 
given  to  her  as  expressive  of  her  cha¬ 
racter  and  influence.  Jezebel  was  the 
wife  of  Ahab  —  a  woman  of  vast  influ¬ 
ence  over  her  husband,  —  an  influence 
which  was  uniformly  exerted  for  evil. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Ethbaal,  king  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  lived  about  918  years 
before  Christ.  She  was  an  idolater,  and 
induced  her  weak  husband  not  only  to 
connive  at  her  introducing  the  worship 
of  her  native  idols,  but  to  become  an 
-  idolater  himself,  and  to  use  all  the 
means  in  his  power  to  establish  the 
worship  of  idols  instead  of  the  worship 
of  the  true  God.  She  was  highly  gifted, 
persuasive,  and  artful ;  was  resolute  in 


and  to  seduce  my  servants  to  com¬ 
mit  fornication,  and  to  eat b  things 
sacrificed  unto  idols. 

b  Ex.  34. 15.  1  Co.  10.  20,  28. 


the  accomplishment  of  her  purposes ; 
ambitious  of  extending  and  perpetuating 
her  power,  and  unscrupulous  in  the 
means  which  she  employed  to  execute 
her  designs.  See  1  Kings  xvi.  31,  seq. 
The  kind  of  character,  therefore,  which 
would  he  designated  by  the  term  as  used 
here,  would  be,  that  of  a  woman  who 
was  artful  and  persuasive  in  her  man¬ 
ner  ;  who  was  capable  of  exerting  a  wide 
influence  over  others ;  who  had  talents 
of  a  high  order;  who  was  a  thorough 
advocate  of  error;  who  was  unscrupu¬ 
lous  in  the  means  which  she  employed 
for  accomplishing  her  ends,  and  the 
tendency  of  whose  influence  was  to  lead 
the  people  into  the  Abominable  practices 
of  idolatry.  The  opinions  which  she 
held,  and  the  practices  into  which  she 
led  others,  appear  to  have  been  the  same 
which  are  referred  to  in  ver.  6,  and  vs.  14, 
15,  of  this  chapter.  The  difference  was, 
that  the  teacher  in  this  case  was  a  wo¬ 
man — a  circumstance  which  by  no  means 
lessened  the  enormity  of  the  offence;  for, 
besides  the  fact  that  it  was  contrary  to 
the  whole  genius  of  Christianity  that  a 
woman  should  be  a  public  teacher,  there 
was  a  special  incongruity  that  she  should 
be  an  advocate  of  such  abominable  opi¬ 
nions  and  practices.  Every  sentiment 
of  our  nature  makes  us  feel  that  it  is 
right  to  expect  that  if  a  woman  teaches 
at  all  in  a  public  manner,  she  should  in¬ 
culcate  only  that  which  is  true  and  holy 
— she  should  be  an  advocate  of  a  pure 
life.  We  are  shocked;  we  feel  that  there 
is  a  violation  of  every  principle  of  our 
nature,  and  an  insult  done  to  our  com¬ 
mon  humanity,  if  it  is  otherwise.  We 
hare  in  a  manner  become  accustomed  to 
the  fact  that  man  should  be  a  teacher  of 
pollution  and  error,  so  that  we  do  not 
shrink  from  it  with  horror;  we  never 
can  be  reconciled  to  the  fact  that  a  ivo- 
man  should.  Which  calleth  herself  a 
prophetess.  Many  persons  set  up  the 
claim  to  bo  prophets  in  the  times  when 
the  gospel  was  first  preached,  and  it  is 
not  improbable  that  many  females  would 
lay  claim  to  such  a  character,  after  the 
example  of  Miriam,  Deborah,  Huldah,  &e. 


CHAPTER  II. 


105 


A.  D.  96.] 

21  And  I  gave  her  space  “  to  re¬ 
pent  of  her  fornication ;  and  she 
repented  not.4 

22  Behold,  I c  will  cast  h  er  into 

aRo,  2.4.  2  Pe.  3.  9.  6  c.  9.  20. 
c  Eze.  16.  37 ;  23.  29. 


To  teach  and  seduce  my  servants  to 
commit  fornication.  Comp.  ver.  14. 
Whether  she  herself  practised  what  she 
taught,  is  not  expressly  affirmed,  but 
seems  to  be  implied  in  ver.  22.  It  is 
not  often  that  persons  teach  these  doc¬ 
trines  without  practising  what  they 
teach ;  and  the  fact  that  they  desire  and 
design  to  live  in  this  manner  will  com¬ 
monly  account  for  the  fact  that  they  in¬ 
culcate  such  views.  And  to  eat  things 
sacrificed  to  idols.  See  Notes  on  ver.  14. 
The  custom  of  attending  on  the  festivals 
of  idols  led  commonly  to  licentiousness, 
and  they  who  were  gross  and  sensual  in 
their  lives  were  fit  subjects  to  be  per¬ 
suaded  to  attend  on  idol  feasts — for  no¬ 
where  else  would  they  find  more  unli¬ 
mited  toleration  for  the  indulgence  of 
their  passions. 

21.  And  I  gave  her  space  to  repent  of 
her  fornication.  Probably  after  some 
direct  and  solemn  warning  of  the  evil 
of  her  course.  The  error  and  sin  had 
been  of  long  standing,  but  he  now  re¬ 
solved  to  bear  with  it  no  longer.  It  is 
true  of  almost  every  great  sinner,  that 
sufficient  time  is  given  for  repentance, 
and  that  vengeance  is  delayed  after 
crime  is  committed.  But  it  cannot  al¬ 
ways  be  deferred,  for  the  period  must 
arrive  when  no  reason  shall  exist  for 
longer  delay,  and  when  punishment  must 
come  upon  the  offender,  f  And  she  re¬ 
pented  not.  As  she  did  not  do  it;  as 
she  showed  no  disposition  to  abandon 
her  course;  as  all  plea  of  having  had 
no  time  to  repent  would  now  be  taken 
away,  it  was  proper  that  he  should  rise 
in  his  anger,  and  cut  her  down. 

22.  Behold,  I  will  cast  her  into  a  led. 
Not  into  a  bed  of  ease,  but  a  bed  of 
pain.  There  is  evidently  a  purpose  to 
contrast  this  with  her  former  condition. 
The  harlot’s  bed  and  a  sick-bed  are  thus 
brought  together,  as  they  are  often  in 
fact  in  the  dispensations  of  Providence 
and  the  righteous  judgment  of  God. 
One  cannot  be  indulged  without  lead¬ 
ing  on,  sooner  or  later,  to  the  horrid 
sufferings  of  tho  other:  —  and  how 


a  bed,  and  them  that  commit  adul¬ 
tery  with  her  into  great  tribulation, 
except  they  repent  of  their  deeds. 
24  And  I  will  kill  *  her  children 

d  c.  6.  8. 


soon,  no  one  knows.  And  them  that 
commit  adultery  with  her.  Those  who 
are  seduced  by  her  doctrines  into  this 
sin ;  either  they  who  commit  it  with 
her  literally,  or  who  are  led  into  the 
same  kind  of  life,  Unto  great  tri¬ 
bulation.  Great  suffering;  disease  of 
body  or  tortures  of  the  soul.  How  often 
— how  almost  uniformly  is  this  the  case 
with  those  who  thus  live !  Sooner  or 
later,  sorrow  always  comes  upon  the  li¬ 
centious  ;  and  God  has  evinced  by  some 
of  his  severest  judgments,  in  forms  of 
frightful  disease,  his  displeasure  at  the 
violation  of  the  laws  of  purity.  There 
is  no  sin  that  produces  a  more  withering 
and  desolating  effect  upon  the  soul  than 
thatwhichishere  referred  to;  none  which 
is  more  certain  to  be  followed  with  sor¬ 
row.  Except  they  repent  of  their  deeds. 
It  is  only  by  repentance  that  we  can 
avoid  the  consequences  of  sin.  The 
word  repent  here  evidently  includes  both 
sorrow  for  the  past,  and  abandonment 
of  the  evil  course  of  life. 

23.  And  I  will  kill  her  children  icith 
death.  A  strong  Hebraistic  mode  of  ex¬ 
pression,  meaning  that  he  Would  cer¬ 
tainly  destroy  them.  It  has  been  made 
a  question  whether  the  word  children 
here  is  to  be  taken  literally  or  figura¬ 
tively.  The  word  itself  would  admit  of 
either  interpretation ;  and  there  is  no¬ 
thing  in  the  connexion  by  which  its 
meaning  here  can  be  determined.  If  it 
is  to  be  taken  literally,  it  is  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  what  is  often  threatened  in 
the  Scriptures,  that  children  shall  be 
visited  with  calamity  for  the  sins  of  pa¬ 
rents,  and  with  what  often  occurs  in 
fact,  that  they  do  thus  suffer.  For,  it 
is  no  uncommon  thing  that  whole  fami¬ 
lies  are  made  desolate  on  account  of  the 
sin  and  folly  of  the  paront.  See  Notes 
on  Rom.  v.  19.  If  it  is  to  be  taken  figu¬ 
ratively,  then  it  refers  to  those  who  had 
imbibed  her  doctrines,  and  who,  of  course, 
would  suffer  in  the  punishment  which 
would  follow  from  the  propagation  of 
such  doctrines.  —  The  reference  in  the 
word  “  death”  horo  would  seem  to  be  to 


106 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


with  death ;  and  all  the  churches  ° 
shall  know  that  I4  am  he  which 
searcheth  the  reins  and  hearts ;  and 
I c  will  give  unto  every  one  of  you 
according  to  your  works. 

a  Zeph  1. 11.  b  1.  Ch.  28.  9 ;  2  Ch.  6.  30; 
Ps.  7.  9 ;  Je.  17. 10.  c  Ps.  62. 12. 


some  heavy  judgment  —  by  plague,  fa¬ 
mine,  or  sword,  by  which  they  would  be 
cut  off.  And  all  the  churches  shall 
know,  &c.  That  is,  the  design  of  this 
judgment  will  be  so  apparent,  that  it 
will  convince  all  that  I  know  what  is  in 
the  hearts  of  men,  even  the  secret  acts 
of  wickedness  that  are  concealed  from 
human  view.  lam  he  which  searcheth 
the  reins  and  hearts.  This  is  clearly  a 
claim  to  omniscience,  and  as  it  is  the 
Lord  Jesus  who  speaks  in  all  these  epis¬ 
tles,  it  is  a  full  proof  that  he  claims  this 
for  himself.  There  is  nothing  which 
more  clearly  appertains  to  God  than  the 
power  of  searching  the  heart,  and  no¬ 
thing  that  is  more  constantly  claimed 
by  him  as  his  peculiar  prerogative. 
1  Chron.  xxviii.  9 ;  Ps.  vii.  9 ;  xi.  4 ; 
xliv.  21 ;  cxxxix.  2;  Prov.  xv.  3;  Jer. 
xi.  20;  xvii.  10;  xx.  12;  xxxii.  19; 
Heb.  iv.  13. — The  word  reins— vc<pp6s — 
means,  literally,  the  kidney,  and  is  com¬ 
monly  used  in  the  plural,  to  denote  the 
kidneys,  or  the  loins.  In  the  Scriptures, 
it  is  used  to  denote  the  inmost  mind,  the 
secrets  of  the  soul  —  probably  because 
the  parts  referred  to  by  the  word  are  as 
hidden  as  any  other  part  of  the  frame, 
and  would  seem  to  be  the  repository  of 
the  more  secret  affections  of  the  mind. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  it  is  taught 
in  the  Scriptures  that  the  reins  are  the 
real  seat  of  any  of  the  affections  or  pas¬ 
sions  ;  but  there  is  no  more  impropriety 
in  using  the  term  in  a  popular  significa¬ 
tion  than  there  is  in  using  the  word 
heart,  which  all  continue  to  use,  to  de¬ 
note  the  seat  of  love.  And  I  will  (jive 
unto  every  one  of  you  according  to  your 
works.  To  every  one  of  you  ;  not  only 
to  those  who  have  embraced  these  opi¬ 
nions,  but  to  all  the  church.  This  is  the 
uniform  rule  laid  down  in  the  Bible,  by 
which  God  will  judge  men. 

24.  But  unto  you  I  say,  and  unto  the 
rest  in  Thyatira.  The  word  “and”  — 
xal — is  omitted  in  many  MSS.  and  ver¬ 
sions,  and  in  the  critical  editions  of 
Griesbach,  Tittmann,  and  Hahn,  and  the 


24  But  unto  you  I  say,  and  unto 
the  rest  in  Thyatira,  as  many  as 
have  not  this  doctrine,  and  which 
have  not  known  the  depths  d  of 
Satan,  as  they  speak ;  I  will  put 
upon  you  none  other  burden. 
d  2  Th.  2.  9-12. 


connexion  demands  that  it  should  be 
omitted.  As  it  stands  in  the  received 
text,  it  would  seem  that  what  he  here 
says  was  addressed  to  those  who  had 
received  that  doctrine,  and  to  all  others 
as  well  as  to  them  ;  whereas  the  decla¬ 
ration  here  made  pertains  manifestly  to 
those  who  had  not  received  the  doctrine. 
With  that  particle  omitted,  the  passage 
will  read,  as  rendered  by  Prof.  Stuart, 
“  But  I  say  unto  you,  the  remainder  in 
Thyatira,  so  many  as  hold  not  this  doc¬ 
trine,”  &c.  That  is,  he  addresses  now 
all  the  members  of  the  church  who  were 
not  involved  in  the  charges  already 
made.  He  does  not  say  how  large  a 
portion  of  the  church  had  escaped 
the  contaminating  influence  of  those 
opinions,  but  to  that  portion,  whether 
great  or  small,  he  addresses  only  words 
of  exhortation  and  comfort.  As  many 
as  have  not  this  doctrine.  To  all  who 
have  not  embraced  it,  or  been  con¬ 
taminated  with  it.  It  may  be  presumed 
that  there  was  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  church  which  had  not.  And  which 
have  not  known  the  depths  of  Satan. 
The  deep  art  and  designs  of  Satan. 
Deep  things  are  those  which  are  hidden 
from  view — as  of  things  which  are  far 
under  ground,  and  hence  the  word  is 
used  to  denote  mysteries,  or  profound 
designs  and  purposes.  The  allusion  here 
is  not  to  any  trials  or  sufferings  that 
Satan  might  bring  upon  any  one,  or  to 
any  temptations  of  which  he  might  be 
the  author,  but  to  his  profound  art  in 
inculcating  error  and  leading  men  astray. 
There  are  doctrines  of  error,  and  argu¬ 
ments  for  sin,  to  originate  which  seems 
to  lie  beyond  the  power  of  men,  and 
which  would  appear  almost  to  have 
exhausted  the  talent  of  Satan  himself. 
They  evince  such  a  profound  knowledge 
of  man;  of  the  divine  government;  of 
the  course  of  events  on  earth ;  and  of 
what  our  race  needs,  and  they  are 
defended  with  so  much  eloquence,  skill, 
learning,  and  subtilty  of  argumentation, 
that  they  appear  to  lie  beyond  the  com- 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


107 


25  But  that  a  which  ye  have 
already  hold  fast  till  I  come. 

26  And  he  that  overcometh, 1  and 

a  c.  3. 11.  b  rer.  7, 11, 17.  c.  3.  5,  12’ 
21;  21.  7. 

pass  of  the  human  powers,  f  As  they 
speak.  This  cannot  mean  that  the 
defenders  of  these  errors  themselves 
called  their  doctrines  “the  depths  of 
Satan,”  for  no  teachers  would  choose  so 
to  designate  their  opinions ;  but  it  must 
mean,  either  that  they  who  were  opposed 
to  those  errors  characterized  them  as 
“  the  depths  of  Satan,”  or  that  they  who 
opposed  them  said  that  they  had  not 
known  “the  depths  of  Satan.” — Prof. 
Stuart  understands  it  in  the  latter  sense. 
A  somewhat  more  natural  interpretation, 
it  seems  to  me,  however,  is  to  refer  it  to 
what  the  opposers  of  these  heretics  said 
of  these  errors.  They  called  them  “  the 
depths  of  Satan,”  and  they  professed  not 
to  have  known  any  thing  of  them.  The 
meaning  perhaps  would  be  expressed  by 
the  familiar  words,  “as  they  say,”  or  as 
“  they  call  them,”  in  the  following  man¬ 
ner  : — ‘  As  many  as  have  not  known  the 
depths  of  Satan,  as  they  say,  or,  ‘  to 
use  their  own  language.’  Doddridge 
paraphrases  it,  “As  they  proverbially 
speak.”  Tvndal  encloses  it  in  a  paren¬ 
thesis.  *[  I  will  put  upon  you  none 
other  burden.  That  is,  no  other  than 
that  which  you  now  experience  from 
having  these  persons  with  you,  and  that 
which  must  attend  the  effort  to  purify 
the  church.  He  had  not  approved  their 
conduct  for  suffering  these  persons  to 
remain  in  the  church,  and  he  threatens 
to  punish  all  those  who  had  become 
contaminated  with  these  pernicious  doc¬ 
trines.  He  evidently  designed  to  say 
that  there  was  some  token  of  his  dis¬ 
pleasure  proper  in  the  case,  but  he  was 
not  disposed  to  bring  upon  them  any 
other  expression  of  his  displeasure  than 
that  which  grew  naturally  and  neces¬ 
sarily  out  of  the  fact  that  they  had  been 
tolerated  among  them,  and  those  trou¬ 
bles  and  toils  which  must  attend  the 
effort  to  deliver  the  church  from  these 
errors.  Under  any  circumstances  the 
church  must  suffer.  It  would  suffer  in 
reputation.  It  would  suffer  in  respect 
to  its  internal  tranquillity.  Perhaps 
also,  these  were  those  who  were  impli¬ 
cated  in  these  errors,  and  who  would  be 


keepeth  mv  works  c  unto  the  end, 
to  him  will  I  give  power  over  the 
nations ; 

c  Jno.  6.  29.  Ja.  2.  20. 


implicated  in  the  punishment,  who  bad 
friends  and  kindred  in  the  church,  and 
the  judgments  which  were  to  come 
upon  the  advocates  of  these  errors  must, 
therefore,  come  in  a  measure  upon  the 
church.  A  kind  Saviour  says,  that  he 
would  bring  upon  them  no  other,  and  no 
weightier  burden,  than  must  arise  from 
his  purpose  to  inflict  appropriate  ven¬ 
geance  on  the  guilty  themselves.  The 
trouble  which  would  grow  out  of  that 
would  be  a  sufficient  expression  of  his 
displeasure.  This  is  in  fact  often  now 
all  that  is  necessary  as  a  punishment 
on  a  church  for  harboring  the  advocates 
of  error  and  of  sin.  The  church  has 
trouble  enough  ultimately  in  getting  rid 
of  them;  and  the  injury  which  such 
persons  do  to  its  piety,  peace,  and  repu¬ 
tation,  and  the  disorders  of  which  they 
are  the  cause,  constitute  a  sufficient 
punishment  for  having  tolerated  them 
in  its  bosom.  Often  the  most  severe 
punishment  that  God  can  bring  upon 
men  is,  to  “  lay  upon  them  no  other 
burden”  than  to  leave  them  to  the 
inevitable  consequences  of  their  own 
folly,  or  to  the  trouble  and  vexation 
incident  to  the  effort  to  free  them¬ 
selves  from  what  they  had  for  a  long 
time  tolerated  or  practised. 

25.  But  that  which  ye  have,  &c.  All 

that  there  is  of  truth  and  purity  remain¬ 
ing  among  you,  retain  faithfully.  Comp, 
ch.  iii.  11.  ^  Till  I  come.  To  receive 

you  to  myself.  John  xiv.  3. 

26.  And  he  that  overcometh.  Notes 
ch.  ii.  7.  f  And  keepeth  my  works  unto 
the  end.  The  works  that  I  command 
and  that  I  require,  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  Comp.  John  xiii.  1.  To  him  will 
I  give  power  over  the  nations.  The  evi¬ 
dent  meaning  of  what  is  said  here,  and 
in  the  next  verse,  is,  that  in  accordance 
with  the  uniform  promise  made  to  the 
redeemed  in  the  New  Testament,  they 
would  partake  of  the  final  triumph  and 
glory  of  the  Saviour,  and  be  associated 
with  him.  It  is  not  said  that  they 
would  have  exclusive  power  over  the 
nations,  or  that  they  would  hold  offices 
of  trust  under  him  during  a  personal 


108 


REVELATION,  ■  [A.  D.  96. 


27  And  °  he  shall  rule  them  with 
a  rod  of  iron ;  as  the  vessels  of  a 
potter  shall  they  he  broken  to 

a  Ps.  49.14;  149.6-9. 


reign  on  the  earth,  hut  the  meaning  is 
that  they  would  be  associated  with  him 
in  his  future  glory.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Rom.  viii.  17 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  2,  3. 

27.  And  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod 
of  iron.  There  is  an  allusion  here  to 
Ps.  ii.  9  :  “  Thou  shalt  break  them  with 
a  rod  of  iron  ;  thou  shalt  dash  them  in 
pieces  like  a  potter’s  vessel.”  There  is 
a  slight  change  in  the  passage,  “  he 
shall  rule,”  instead  of  “  thou  shalt 
break  in  order  to  adapt  the  language  to 
the  purpose  of  the  speaker  here.  The 
allusion  in  the  Psalm  is  to  the  Messiah 
as  reigning  triumphant  over  the  nations, 
or  subduing  them  under  him,  and  the 
idea  here,  as  in  the  previous  verse,  is, 
that  his  redeemed  people  will  be  asso¬ 
ciated  with  him  in  this  dominion.  To 
rule  with  a  sceptre  of  iron,  is  not  to  rule 
with  a  harsh  and  tyrannical  sway,  but 
with  power  that  is  firm  and  invincible. 
It  denotes  a  government  of  strength,  or 
one  that  cannot  be  successfully  opposed; 
one  in  which  the  subjects  are  effectually 
subdued.  As  the  vessels  of  a  potter 
shall  they  be  broken  to  shivers.  The 
image  here  is  that  of  the  vessel  of  a 
potter — a  fragile  vessel  of  clay — struck 
with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  broken  into 
fragments.  That  is,  as  applied  to  the 
nations,  there  would  be  no  power  to 
oppose  his  rule ;  the  enemies  of  his  gov¬ 
ernment  would  be  destroyed.  Instead 
of  remaining  firm  and  compacted  toge¬ 
ther,  they  would  be  broken  like  the 
clay  vessel  of  a  potter  when  struck  with 
a  rod  of  iron.  The  speaker  does  not 
intimate  when  this  would  be,  but  all  that 
is  said  here  would  be  applicable  to  that 
time  when  the  Son  of  God  will  come  to 
judge  the  world,  and  when  his  saints 
will  be  associated  with  him  in  his 
triumphs.  As,  in  respect  to  all  the 
others  of  the  seven  epistles  to  the 
churches,  the  rewards  promised  refer  to 
heaven,  and  to  the  happy  state  of  that 
blessed  world,  it  would  seem  also  that 
this  should  have  a  similar  reference,  for 
there  is  no  reason  why  “to  him  that 
overcame”  in  Thyatira  a  temporal  re¬ 
ward  and  triumph  should  be  promised 


shivers :  even  as  1 1  received  of  my 
Father. 

28  And  I  will  give  him  the 
morning  star.c 

b  Ps.  2.  9.  e  c.  22. 16. 


more  than  in  the  cases  of  the  others. 
If  so,  then  this  passage  should  not  be 
adduced  as  having  any  reference  to  an 
imaginary  personal  reign  of  the  Saviour 
and  of  the  saints  on  the  earth.  Even 
as  I  received  of  my  Father.  As  he  has 
appointed  me.  Ps.  ii.  6-9. 

28.  And  I  will  give  him  the  morning 
star.  The  “  morning  star”  is  that  bright 
planet — Venus — which  at  some  seasons 
of  the  year  appears  so  beautifully  in  the 
east,  leading  on  the  morning — the  har¬ 
binger  of  the  day.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  objects  in  nature,  and  is  sus¬ 
ceptible  of  a  great  variety  of  uses  for 
illustration.  It  appears  as  the  dark¬ 
ness  passes  away ;  it  is  an  indication 
that  the  morning  comes;  it  is  inter¬ 
mingled  with  the  first  rays  of  the  light 
of  the  sun ;  it  seems  to  be  a  herald  to 
announce  the  coming  of  that  glorious 
luminary  •  it  is  a  pledge  of  the  faithful¬ 
ness  of  God.  In  which  of  these  senses, 
if  any,  it  is  referred  to  here,  is  not 
stated;  nor  is  it  said  what  is  implied  by 
its  being  given  to  him  that  overcomes. 
It  would  seem  to  be  used  here  to  denote 
a  bright  and  brilliant  ornament ;  some¬ 
thing  with  which  he  who  “overcame” 
would  be  adorned,  resembling  the  bright 
star  of  the  morning.  It  is  observable 
that  it  is  not  said  that  he  would  make 
him  like  the  morning  star,  as  in  Dan. 
xii.  3 ;  nor  that  he  would  be  compared 
with  the  morning  star,  like  the  king  of 
Babylon,  Isa.  xiv.  12 ;  nor  that  he  would 
resemble  a  star  which  Balaam  says  he 
saw  in  the  distant  future,  Num.  xxiv. 
17.  The  idea  seems  to  be,  that  the 
Saviour  would  give  him  something  that 
would  resemble  that  morning  planet  in 
beauty  and  splendor — perhaps  meaning 
that  it  would  be  placed  as  a  gem  in  his 
diadem  and  would  sparkle  on  his  brow — 
bearing  some  such  relation  to  him  who 
is  called  “the  Sun  of  Righteousness,”  as 
the  morning  star  does  to  the  glorious  sun 
on  his  rising.  If  so,  the  meaning  would 
be,  that  he  would  receive  a  beautiful 
ornament,  bearing  a  near  relation  to  the 
Redeemer  himself  as  a  bright  sun — a 
pledge  that  the  darkness  was  past — but 


CHAPTER  III. 


109 


A.  D.  96.] 


29  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches. 


one  whose  beams  would  melt  away  into 
the  superior  light  of  the  Redeemer  him¬ 
self,  as  the  beams  of  the  morning  star 
are  lost  in  the  superior  glory  of  the 
sun. 

29.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  Ac.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  7. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CHURCH  AT  SARDIS. 

The  contents  of  the  epistle  to  the 
church  at  Sardis  (vs.  1-6)  are,  (1)  The 
usual  salutation  to  the  angel  of  the 
church,  ver.  1.  (2)  The  usual  reference 

to  the  attributes  of  the  Saviour — those 
referred  to  here  being  that  he  had  the 
seven  Spirits  of  God,  and  the  seven 
stars,  ver.  1.  (3)  The  assurance  that  he 

knew  their  works,  ver.  1.  (4)  The 

statement  of  the  peculiarity  of  the 
church,  or  what  he  saw  in  it — that  it 
had  a  name  to  live  and  was  dead,  ver.  1. 
(5)  A  solemn  direction  to  the  members 
of  the  church,  arising  from  their  cha¬ 
racter  and  circumstances,  to  be  watch¬ 
ful,  and  to  strengthen  the  things  which 
remained,  but  which  were  ready  to  die ; 
to  remember  what  they  had  received, 
and  to  hold  fast  that  which  had  been 
communicated  to  them,  and  to  repent 
of  all  their  sins,  vs.  2,  3.  (6)  A  threat 

that  if  they  did  not  do  this,  he  would 
come  suddenly  upon  them,  at  an  hour 
which  they  could  not  anticipate,  ver.  3. 
(7)  A  commendation  of  the  church  as 
far  as  it  could  be  done,  for  there  were 
still  a  few  among  them  who  had  not 
defiled  their  garments,  and  a  promise 
that  they  should  walk  before  him  in 
white,  ver.  4.  (8)  A  promise,  as  usual, 

to  him  that  should  be  victorious.  The 
promise  here  is,  that  he  should  walk 
before  him  in  white;  that  his  name 
should  not  be  blotted  out  of  the  book 
of  life  ;  that  he  should  be  acknowledged 
before  the  Father,  and  before  the 
angels,  ver.  5.  (9)  The  usual  call  on 

all  persons  to  hear  what  the  Spirit  said 
to  the  churches. 

Sardis  was  the  capital  of  the  ancient 
kingdom  of  Lydia,  one  of  the  provinces 
of  Asia  Minor,  and  wa3  situated  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Tmolus,  in  a  fine  plain 
watered  by  the  river  Pactolus,  famous 
10 


CHAPTER  III. 

AND  unto  the  angel  of  the  church 
in  Sardis  write ;  These  things 


for  its  golden  sands.  It  was  the  capital 
where  the  celebrated  Croesus,  proverbial 
for  his  wealth,  reigned.  It  was  taken 
by  Cyrus  (B.  C.  548),  when  Crcesus  was 
king,  and  was  at  that  time  one  of  the 
most  splendid  and  opulent  cities  of  the 
East.  It  subsequently  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Romans,  and  under  them 
sank  rapidly  in  wealth  and  importance. 
In  the  time  of  Tiberius  it  was  destroyed 
by  an  earthquake,  but  was  rebuilt  by 
order  of  the  emperor.  The  inhabitants 
of  Sardis  bore  an  ill  repute  amoDg  the 
ancients  for  their  voluptuous  modes  of 
life.  Perhaps  there  may  be  an  allusion 
to  this  fact,  in  the  words  which  are  used 
in  the  address  to  the  church  there, 
“  Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in  Sardis 
which  have  not  defiled  their  garments.” 
Successive  earthquakes,  and  the  ravages 
of  the  Saracens  and  the  Turks,  have 
reduced  this  once  celebrated  city  to  a 
heap  of  ruins,  though  exhibiting  still 
many  remains  of  former  splendor.  The 
name  of  the  village  which  now  occupies 
the  place  of  this  ancient  capital,  is  Sart. 
It  is  a  miserable  village,  comprising 
only  a  few  wretched  cottages,  occupied 
by  Turks  and  Greeks.  There  are  ruins 
of  the  theatre,  the  Stadium,  and  of  some 
ancient  churches.  The  most  remarkable 
of  the  ruins  are  two  pillars  supposed  to 
have  belonged  to  the  temple  of  Cybele, 
and,  if  so,  they  are  among  the  most 
ancient  in  the  world,  the  temple  of 
Cybele  having  been  built  only  three 
hundred  years  after  that  of  Solomon. 
The  Acropolis  serves  well  to  define  the 
site  of  the  city.  Several  travellers  have 
recently  visited  the  remains  of  Sardis, 
and  its  appearance  will  be  indicated  by 
a  few  extracts  from  their  writings. 
Arundell,  in  his  “Discoveries  in  Asia 
Minor,”  says,  “If  I  were  asked  what 
impresses  the  mind  most  strongly  in 
beholding  Sardis,  I  should  say,  its  in¬ 
describable  solitude,  like  the  darkness 
of  Egypt,  darkness  that  could  be  felt. 
So  the  deep  solitude  of  the  spot,  once 
the  ‘  lady  of  kingdoms/  produces  a  cor¬ 
responding  feeling  of  desolate  abandon¬ 
ment  in  the  mind,  which  can  never  be 
forgotten.” 

The  Rev.  J.  Hartley,  in  regard  to 


110 


[A.  D.  96. 


REVELATION, 


these  ruins,  remarks  —  “  The  ruins  are, 
with  one  exception,  more  entirely  gone 
to  decay  than  those  of  most  of  the  an¬ 
cient  cities  which  we  have  visited.  No 
Christians  reside  on  the  spot:  two  Greeks 
only  work  in  a  mill  here,  and  a  few 
wretched  Turkish  huts  are  scattered 
among  the  ruins.  We  saw  the  churches 
of  St.  John  and  the  Virgin,  the  theatre, 
and  the  building  styled  the  Palace  of 
Croesus  ;  but  the  most  striking  object  at 
Sardis  is  the  temple  of  Cybele.  I  was 
filled  with  wonder  and  awe  at  beholding 
the  two  stupendous  columns  of  this  edi¬ 
fice,  which  are  still  remaining:  they  are 
silent  but  impressive  witnesses  of  the 
power  and  splendor  of  antiquity.” 

The  impression  produced  on  the  mind, 
is  vividly  desscribed  in  the  following 
language  of  a  recent  traveller,  who 
lodged  there  for  a  night : — “  Every  ob¬ 
ject  was  as  distinct  as  in  a  northern 
twilight;  the  snowy  summit  of  the 
mountain  [Tmolus],  the  long  sweep  of 
the  valley,  and  the  flashing  current  of 
the  river  [Pactolus].  I  strolled  along 
towards  the  banks  of  the  Pactolus,  and 
seated  myself  by  the  side  of  the  half- 
exhausted  stream. 

“  There  are  few  individuals,  who  can¬ 
not  trace  on  the  map  of  their  memory 


some  moments  of  overpowering  emotion, 
and  some  scene,  which,  once  dwelt  upon, 
has  become  its  own  painter,  and  left  be¬ 
hind  it  a  memorial  that  time  could  not 
efface.  I  can  readily  sympathize  with 
the  feelings  of  him  who  wept  at  the  base 
of  the  pyramids ;  nor  were  my  own  less 
powerful,  on  that  night,  when  I  sat  be¬ 
neath  the  sky  of  Asia  to  gaze  upon  the 
ruins  of  Sardis,  from  the  banks  of  the 
golden-sanded  Pactolus.  Beside  me 
were  the  cliffs  of  the  Acropolis,  which, 
centuries  before,  the  hardy  Median 
scaled,  while  leading  on  the  conquering 
Persians,  whose  tents  had  covered  the 
very  spot  on  which  I  was  reclining. 
Before  me  were  the  vestiges  of  what 
had  been  the  palace  of  the  gorgeous 
Croesus;  within  its  walls  were  once  con¬ 
gregated  the  wisest  of  mankind,  Thales, 
Cleobulus,  and  Solon.  It  was  here  that 
the  wretched  father  mourned  alone  the 
mangled  corse  of  his  beloved  Atys ;  it 
was  here  that  the  same  humiliated  mon¬ 
arch  wept  at  the  feet  of  the  Persian  boy, 
who  wrung  from  him  his  kingdom.  Far 
in  the  distance  were  the  gigantic  tumuli 
of  the  Lydian  monarchs,  Candaules, 
Ilalyattys,  and  Gyges;  and  around  them 
were  spread  those  very  plains,  once 
trodden  by  the  countless  hosts  of  Xerxes 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  III. 


Ill 


saith  he  that  hath  the  seven  “  Spi¬ 
rits  of  God,  and  the  seven  stars ; 
I  know b  thy  works,  that  thou  hast 
a  c.  5.  6.  b  c.  2.  2.  &c. 


when  hurrying  on  to  find  a  sepulchre  at 
Marathon. 

“  There  were  more  varied  and  more 
vivid  remembrances  associated  with  the 
sight  of  Sardis,  than  could  possibly  be 
attached  to  any  other  spot  of  earth  ;  but 
all  were  mingled  with  a  feeling  of  dis¬ 
gust  at  the  littleness  of  human  glory; 
all — all  had  passed  away  !  There  were 
before  me  the  fanes  of  a  dread  religion, 
the  tombs  of  forgotten  monarchs,  and 
the  palm-tree  that  waved  in  the  banquet- 
hall  of  kings  ;  while  the  feeling  of  deso¬ 
lation  was  doubly  heightened  by  the 
calm  sweet  sky  above  me,  which,  in  its 
unfading  brightness,  shone  as  purely 
now  as  when  it  beamed  upon  the  golden 
dreams  of  Croesus.” — Emerson' s  Letters 
from  the  JEgean ,  p.  113  seq. 

The  present  appearance  of  the  ruins 
is  indicated  by  the  preceding  cut. 

1.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Sardis.  Notes  on  ch.  i.  20.  These 
things  saith  he  that  hath  the  seven  Spirits 
of  God.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  4.  If  the 
phrase,  “  the  seven  spirits  of  God,”  as 
there  supposed,  refers  to  the  Holy  Spirit, 
there  is  great  propriety  in  saying  of  the 
Saviour,  that  he  has  that  spirit,  inasmuch 
as  the  Holy  Spirit  is  represented  as  sent 
forth  by  him  into  the  world.  John  xv. 
26,  27 ;  xvi.  7,  13,  14.  It  was  one  of 
the  highest  characteristics  that  could  be 
given  of  the  Saviour,  to  say,  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  his  to  send  forth  into 
the  world,  and  that  that  great  Agent,  on 
whose  gracious  influences  all  were  de¬ 
pendent  for  the  possession  of  true  reli¬ 
gion,  could  bo  given  or  withheld  by  him 
at  his  pleasure.  And  the  seven  stars. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  16.  These  repre¬ 
sented  the  angels  of  the  seven  churches 
(Notes,  ch.  i.  20),  and  the  idea  which 
the  Saviour  would  seem  to  intend  to 
convey  here  is,  that  he  had  entire  con¬ 
trol  over  the  ministers  of  the  churches, 
and  could  keep  or  remove  them  at  plea¬ 
sure.  f"  I  know  thy  works.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  ii.  2.  That  thou  hast  a  name 
that  thou  livest.  Thou  dost  profess  at¬ 
tachment  to  me  and  my  cause.  The 
word  life  is  a  word  that  is  commonly  em¬ 
ployed,  in  the  New  Testament,  to  denote 


a  name  that  thou  livest, c  and  art 
dead. 

2  Be  watchful,  and  strengthen® 

c  1  Ti.  5.  6.  d  c.  2.  4. 


religion,  in  contradistinction  from  the 
natural  state  of  man,  which  is  described 
as  death  in  sin.  By  the  profession  of 
religion,  they  expressed  the  purpose  to 
live  unto  God,  and  for  another  world; 
they  professed  to  have  true,  spiritual 
life,  And  art  dead.  That  is,  spiritu¬ 
ally.  This  is  equivalent  to  saying,  that 
their  profession  was  merely  in  name ; 
and  yet,  this  must  be  understood  com¬ 
paratively,  for  there  were  some  even  in 
Sardis  who  truly  lived  unto  God.  Yer.  4. 
The  meaning  is,  that,  in  general,  the 
profession  of  religion  among  them  was 
a  mere  name.  The  Saviour  does  not, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  churches  of  Ephe¬ 
sus  and  Tliyatira,  specify  any  prevailing 
form  of  error  or  false  doctrine ;  but  it 
would  seem  that  here  it  was  a  simple 
want  of  religion. 

2.  Be  watchful.  Be  wakeful;  be  at¬ 
tentive  and  earnest  —  in  contradistinc¬ 
tion  from  the  drowsy  condition  of  the 
church.  Strengthen  the  things  which 
remain.  The  true  piety  that  still  lives 
and  lingers  among  you.  Whatever  there 
was  of  religion  among  them,  it  was  of 
importance  to  strengthen  it,  that  the 
love  of  the  Saviour  might  not  become 
wholly  extinct.  An  important  duty  in 
a  low  and  languishing  state  of  religion, 
is,  to  “  strengthen  the  things  that  still 
survive.”  It  is  to  cultivate  all  the  graces 
which  do  exist;  to  nourish  all  the  love 
of  truth  which  may  linger  in  the  church; 
and  to  confirm,  by  warm  exhortation, 
and  by  a  reference  to  the  gracious  pro¬ 
mises  of  God’s  word,  the  few  who  may 
be  endeavouring  to  do  their  duty,  and 
who,  amidst  many  discouragements,  are 
aiming  to  be  faithful  to  the  Saviour.  In 
the  lowest  state  of  religion  in  a  church, 
there  may  be  a  few,  perhaps  quite  ob¬ 
scure  and  of  humble  rank,  who  are  mourn¬ 
ing  over  the  desolations  of  Zion,  and 
who  are  sighing  for  better  times.  All 
such  it  is  the  duty  of  the  ministers  of 
religion  to  comfort  and  encourage ;  for, 
it  is  in  their  hearts  that  piety  may  be 
kept  alive  in  the  church ;  it  is  through 
them  that  it  may  be  hoped  religion  may 
yet  be  revived.  In  the  apparent  hope¬ 
lessness  of  doing  much  good  to  others. 


112 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96 


the  things  which  remain,  that  are 
ready  to  die :  for  I  have  not  found 
thy  works  perfect  °  before  God. 

3  Remember b  therefore  how  thou 
hast  received  and  heard  ;  and  hold 
a  Da.  5.  27.  ft  He.  2.1. 


good  may  always  be  done  to  the  cause 
itself  by  preserving  and  strengthening 
what  there  may  be  of  life  among  those 
few,  amidst  the  general  desolation  and 
death.  It  is  much  to  preserve  life  in 
grain  sown  in  a  field  through  the  long 
and  dreary  winter,  when  all  seems  to  be 
dead  —  for  it  will  burst  forth,  with  new 
life  and  beauty,  in  the  spring.  When 
the  body  is  prostrate  with  disease,  and 
life  just  lingers,  and  death  seems  to  be 
coming  on,  it  is  much  to  preserve  the 
little  strength  that  remains  ;  much  to 
keep  the  healthful  parts  from  being  in¬ 
vaded,  that  there  may  be  strength  yet 
to  recover.  That  are  ready  to  die. 
That  seem  just  ready  to  become  extinct. 
So,  sometimes,  in  a  plant,  there  seems 
to  be  but  the  least  conceivable  life  re¬ 
maining,  and  it  appears  that  it  must 
die.  So,  when  we  are  sick,  there  seems 
to  be  but  the  feeblest  glimmering  of  life, 
and  it  is  apparently  just  ready  to  go  out. 
So,  when  a  fire  dies  away,  there  seems 
but  a  spark  remaining,  and  it  is  just 
ready  to  become  extinct.  And  thus,  in 
religion  in  the  soul ;  religion  in  a  church ; 
religion  in  a  community — it  often  seems 
as  if  it  were  just  about  to  go  out  for 
ever.  For  I  have  not  found  thy  works 
perfect  before  God.  I  have  not  found 
them  complete  or  full.  They  come  short 
of  that  which  is  required.  Of  what 
church,  of  what  individual  Christian,  is 
not  this  true  ?  Whom  might  not  the 
Saviour  approach  with  the  same  lan¬ 
guage  ?  It  was  true,  however,  in  a 
marked  and  eminent  sense,  of  the 
church  at  Sardis. 

3.  Remember,  therefore,  how  thou  hast 
received.  This  may  refer  either  to  some 
peculiarity  in  the  manner  in  which  the 
gospel  was  conveyed  to  them  —  as,  by 
the  labors  of  the  apostles,  and  by  the  re¬ 
markable  effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
or  to  the  ardor  and  love  with  which  they 
embraced  it;  or  to  the  greatness  of  the 
favors  and  privileges  conferred  on  them; 
or  to  their  own  understanding  of  what 
the  gospel  required,  when  they  were  con¬ 
verted.  It  is  not  possible  to  determine 


fast,  and  repent."  If  therefore  thou 
shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come  on 
thee  as  a  thief,  d  and  thou  shalt  not 
know  what  hour  I  will  come  upon 
thee. 

c  ver.  19.  d  c.  16. 15. 


in  which  sense  the  language  is  used, 
but  the  general  idea  is  plain,  that  there 
was  something  marked  and  unusual  in 
the  way  in  which  they  had  been  led  to 
embrace  the  gospel,  and  that  it  was 
highly  proper  in  these  circumstances  to 
look  back  to  the  days  when  they  gave 
themselves  to  Christ. — It  is  always  well 
for  Christians  to  call  to  remembrance 
the  “day  of  their  espousals,”  and  their 
views  and  feelings  when  they  gave  their 
hearts  to  the  Saviour,  and  to  compare 
those  views  with  their  present  condition, 
especially  if  their  conversion  was  marked 
by  any  thing  unusual.  And  heard. 
How  thou  didst  hear  the  gospel  in  for¬ 
mer  times ;  that  is,  with  what  earnest¬ 
ness  and  attention  thou  didst  embrace 
it.  This  would  rather  seem  to  imply  that 
the  reference  in  the  whole  passage  is  to 
the  fact  that  they  embraced  the  gospel 
with  great  ardor  and  zeal.  And  hold 
fast.  (1)  Hold  fast  the  truths  which 
thou  didst  then  receive;  (2)  hold  fast 
what  remains  of  true  religion  among 
you.  And  repent.  Repent  in  regard 
to  all  that  in  which  you  have  departed 
from  your  views  and  feelings  when  you 
embraced  the  gospel.  If  therefore  thou 
shalt  not  watch.  The  speaker  evidently 
supposed  that  it  was  possible  that  they 
would  not  regard  the  warning;  that  they 
would  presume  that  they  would  be  safe 
if  they  refused  to  give  heed  to  it,  or  that 
by  mere  inattention  and  indifference  they 
might  suffer  the  warning  to  pass  by  un¬ 
heeded.  Similar  results  have  been  so 
common  in  the  world  as  to  make  such 
a  supposition  not  improbable,  and  to 
make  proper,  in  other  cases  as  well  as 
that,  the  solemn  threatening  that  he 
would  come  suddenly  upon  them.  I 
will  come  on  thee  as  a  thief.  In  a  sud¬ 
den  and  unexpected  manner.  See  Notes 
on  1  Thess.  v.  2.  And  ye  shall  not 
know  what  hour  I  will  come  upon  thee. 
You  shall  not  know  beforehand;  you 
shall  have  no  warning  of  my  immediate 
approach.  This  is  often  the  way  in 
which  God  comes  to  men  in  his  heavy 
judgments.  Long  beforehand,  he  admo- 


CHAPTER  III. 


113 


A.  D.  96.] 

4  Thou  hast  a  few  names  even 
in  Sardis  which  have  not  defiled 
their  garments ;  and  they  shall  walk 
with  me  in  white ;  “  for  they  are 
worthy. 

a  c.  7.  9 ;  19.  8 


nishes  us,  indeed,  of  what  must  be  the 
consequences  of  a  course  of  sin,  and 
warns  us  to  turn  from  it ;  but  when  sin¬ 
ners  refuse  to  attend  to  his  warning,  and 
still  walk  in  the  way  of  evil,  he  comes 
suddenly,  and  cuts  them  down.  Every 
man  who  is  warned  of  the  evil  of  his 
course,  and  who  refuses  or  neglects  to 
repent,  has  reason  to  believe  that  God 
will  come  suddenly  in  his  wrath,  and 
call  him  to  his  bar.  Prov.  xxix.  1.  No 
such  man  can  presume  on  impunity ;  no 
one  who  is  warned  of  his  guilt  and  dan¬ 
ger  can  feel  that  he  is  for  one  moment 
safe.  No  one  can  have  any  basis  of  cal¬ 
culation  that  he  will  be  spared ;  no  one 
can  flatter  himself  with  any  probable 
anticipation  that  he  will  have  time  to 
repent  when  God  comes  to  take  him 
away.  Benevolence  has  done  its  appro¬ 
priate  work  in  warning  him ; — how  can 
the  Great  Judge  of  all  be  to  blame,  if  he 
comes  then,  and  suddenly  cuts  the  sin¬ 
ner  off? 

4.  Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in  Sar¬ 
dis.  See  the  Analysis  of  the  chap¬ 
ter.  The  word  names  here  is  equivalent 
to  'persons,  and  the  idea  is,  that  even 
in  a  place  so  depraved,  and  where  reli¬ 
gion  had  so  much  declined,  there  were 
a  few  persons  who  had  kept  themselves 
free  from  the  general  contamination.  In 
most  cases  where  error  and  sin  prevail, 
there  may  be  found  a  few  who  are  worthy 
of  the  divine  commendation ;  a  few  who 
show  that  true  religion  may  exist  even 
when  the  mass  are  evil.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Itom.  xi.  4.  If  Which  have  not  de¬ 
filed  their  garments.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Jude  23.  The  meaning  is,  that  they  had 
not  defiled  themselves  by  coming  in  con¬ 
tact  with  the  profane  and  the  polluted ; 
or,  in  other  words,  they  had  kept  them¬ 
selves  free  from  the  prevailing  corrup¬ 
tion.  They  were  like  persons  clothed 
in  white  walking  in  the  midst  of  the  de¬ 
filed,  yet  keeping  their  raiment  from  be¬ 
ing  soiled,  ^f  And  they  shall  walk  with 
me  in  white.  White  is  the  emblem  of. 
innocence,  and  is  hence  appropriately 
represented  as  the  color  of  the  raiment 
10* 


5  He  that  overcometh,  the  same 
shall  be  clothed  in  white  raiment ; 
and  I  will  not  blot  out  his  name 
out  of  the b  book  of  life,  but  I  will 

b  c.  17.  8. 


of  the  heavenly  inhabitants.  The  per¬ 
sons  here  referred  to  had  kept  their  gar¬ 
ments  uncontaminated  on  the  earth,  and 
as  an  appropriate  reward,  it  is  said  that 
they  would  appear  in  white  raiment  in 
heaven.  Comp.  ch.  vii.  9  ;  xix.  8.  For 
they  are  worthy.  They  have  shown  them¬ 
selves  worthy  to  be  regarded  as  follow¬ 
ers  of  the  Lamb ;  or,  they  have  a  cha¬ 
racter  that  is  fitted  for  heaven.  The 
declaration  is  not  that  they  have  any 
claim  to  heaven  on  the  ground  of  their 
own  merit,  or  that  it  will  be  in  virtue 
of  their  own  works  that  they  will  be  re¬ 
ceived  there ;  but  that  there  is  a  fitness 
or  propriety  that  they  should  thus  ap¬ 
pear  in  heaven.  We  are  all  personally 
unworthy  to  be  admitted  to  heaven,  but 
wo  may  evince  such  a  character  as  to 
show  that,  according  to  the  arrange¬ 
ments  of  grace,  it  is  fit  and  proper  that 
we  should  be  received  there.  We  have 
the  character  to  which  God  has  promised 
eternal  life. 

5.  He  that  overcometh.  See  Notes  on 
eh.  ii.  7.  ^f  The  same  shall  be  clothed  in 
white  raiment.  Whosoever  he  may  be 
that  shall  overcome  sin  and  the  tempta¬ 
tions  of  this  world,  shall  be  admitted  to 
this  glorious  reward.  The  promise  is 
made  not  only  to  those  in  Sardis  who 
should  be  victorious,  but  to  all  in  every 
age  and  every  land.  The  hope  that  is 
thus  held  out  before  us,  is  that  of  ap¬ 
pearing  with  the  Redeemer  in  his  king¬ 
dom,  clad  in  robes  expressive  of  holi¬ 
ness  and  joy.  And  I  will  not  blot  out 
his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life.  The 
book  which  contains  the  names  of  those 
who  are  to  live  with  him  for  ever.  The 
names  of  his  people  are  thus  represented 
as  enrolled  in  a  book  which  he  keeps — 
a  register  of  those  who  are  to  live  for¬ 
ever.  .  The  phrase  “book  of  life”  fre¬ 
quently  occurs  in  the  Bible,  representing 
this  idea.  See  Notes  on  Phil.  iv.  3. 
Comp.  Rev.  xv.  3 ;  xx.  12,  15 ;  xxi.  27 ; 
xxii.  19.  The  expression  “I  will  not 
blot  out”  means,  that  the  names  would 
be  found  there  on  the  great  day  of  final 
account,  and  would  be  found  there  for- 


114 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


confess®  his  name  before  my  Father, 
ancl  before  his  angels. 

a  Lu.12.  8. 


ever.  It  may  be  remarked,  that  as  no 
one  can  have  access  to  that  book  but  he 
who  keeps  it,  there  is  the  most  positive 
assurance  that  it  will  never  be  done,  and 
the  salvation  of  the  redeemed  will  be, 
therefore,  secure.  And  let  it  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  the  period  is  coming  when  it 
will  be  felt  to  be  a  higher  honor  to  have 
the  name  enrolled  in  that  book  than  in  the 
books  of  heraldry — in  the  most  splendid 
catalogue  of  princes,  poets,  warriors, 
nobles,  or  statesmen,  that  the  world  has 
produced.  But  I  will  confess  his  name, 
&c.  I  will  acknowledge  him  to  be  my 
follower.  See  Notes  on  Matt.  x.  32. 

6.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  &c.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  ii.  7. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CHURCH  IN 
PHILADELPHIA. 

This  epistle  (vs.  7-13)  comprises  the 
following  subjects  :  —  (1)  The  usual  ad¬ 
dress  to  the  angel  of  the  church,  ver.  7. 

(2)  The  reference  to  some  attribute,  or 
characteristic  of  the  speaker,  ver.  7.  He 
here  addresses  the  church  as  one  who  is 
holy  and  true,  as  he  who  has  the  key  of 
David,  and  who  can  shut,  and  no  one 
can  open,  and  open,  and  no  one  can 
shut.  The  representation  is  that  of 
one  who  occupies  a  royal  palace,  and 
who  can  admit  or  exclude  any  one  whom 
he  pleases.  The  reference  to  such  a 
palace  is  continued  through  the  epistle. 

(3)  The  usual  declaration  that  he  knows 

their  works,  and  that  he  has  found  that 
they  had  strength,  though  but  a  little, 
and  had  kept  his  word,  ver.  8.  (4)  A 

declaration  that  he  would  constrain  some 
who  professed  that  they  were  Jews,  but 
who  were  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan,  to 
come  and  humble  themselves  before 
them,  ver.  9.  (5)  The  particular  pro¬ 

mise  to  that  church.  He  would  keep 
them  in  the  hour  of  temptation  that  was 
coming  to  try  all  that  dwelt  upon  the 
earth,  ver.  10.  (6)  The  command  ad¬ 

dressed  to  them  as  to  the  other  churches. 
He  solemnly  enjoins  it  on  them  to  see 
that  no  one  should  take  their  crown,  or 
deprive  them  of  the  reward  which  he 
would  give  to  his  faithful  followers,  ver. 
11.  (7)  A  general  promise,  in  view  of 


6  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches. 


the  circumstances  in  Philadelphia,  to  all 
who  should  overcome,  ver.  12.  They 
would  be  made  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of 
God,  and  go  no  more  out.  They  would 
have  written  on  themselves  the  name  of 
his  God,  and  the  name  of  the  holy  city 
— showing  that  they  were  inhabitants 
of  the  heavenly  world.  (8)  The  usual 
call  on  all  to  attend  to  what  was  said  to 
the  churches,  ver.  13. 

Philadelphia  stood  about  twenty-five 
miles  southeast  from  Sardis,  in  the 
plain  of  Hermus,  and  about  midway  be¬ 
tween  the  river  of  that  name  and  the 
termination  of  Mount  Tmolus.  It  was 
the  second  city  in  Lydia,  and  was  built 
by  king  Attains  Philadelphus,  from  whom 
it  received  its  name.  In  the  year  133, 
B.  C.,  the  place  passed,  with  the  country 
in  the  vicinity,  under  the  dominion  of 
the  Romans.  The  site  is  reported  by 
Strabo  to  be  liable  to  earthquakes,  but 
it  continued  to  be  a  place  of  importance 
down  to  the  Byzantine  age ;  and,  of  all 
the  towns  in  Asia  Minor,  it  withstood 
the  Turks  the  longest.  It  was  taken  by 
Bajazat,  A.  D.  1392.  “It  still  exists  as 
a  Turkish  town,  under  the  name  of  Al¬ 
lah  Shehr,  ‘  City  of  God/  i.  e.,  the  ‘High 
Town.’  It  covers  a  considerable  extent 
of  ground,  running  up  the  slopes  of  four 
hills,  or  rather  of  one  hill,  with  four  flat 
summits.  The  country  as  viewed  from 
these  hills  is  exti'emely  magnificent  — 
gardens  and  vineyards  lying  at  the  back 
and  sides  of  the  town,  and  before  it  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  extensive 
plains  of  Asia.  The  missionaries,  Risk 
and  Parsons  were  informed  by  the  Greek 
bishop,  that  the  town  contained  3000 
houses,  of  which  he  assigned  250  to  the 
Greeks,  and  the  rest  to  the  Turks.  On 
the  same  authority,  it  is  stated  that 
there  are  five  churches  in  the  town,  be¬ 
sides  twenty  others  which  were  too  old 
or  too  small  for  use.  Six  minarets,  in¬ 
dicating  as  many  mosques,  are  seen  in 
the  town,  and  one  of  these  mosques  is 
believed  by  the  native  Christians  to 
have  been  the  church  in  which  assem¬ 
bled  the  primitive  Christians  addressed 
in  the  Apocalypse.  There  are  few  ruins ; 
but  in  one  part  are  four  pillars,  which 
are  supposed  to  have  been  columns  of  a 


CI1APTEK  III 


115 


A.  D.  96.] 


7  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church 
in  Philadelphia  write ;  These  things 


church.  One  solitary  pillar  has  been 
often  noticed,  as  reminding  beholders 
of  the  remarkable  words  in  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse,  ‘Him  that  overcometh  will  I 
make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my 
God.’  ”  —  Kitto’s  Ency.  See,  also,  the 
Missionary  Herald  for  1821,  p.  253; 


saith  he  that  is  holy,  “  he  that  is 

a  Ac.  3.  14. 


1839,  pp.  210-212.  The  town  is  the 
seat  of  a  Greek  Archbishop,  with  about 
twenty  inferior  clergy.  The  streets  are 
narrow,  and  are  described  as  remark¬ 
ably  filthy.  The  annexed  cut  will  give 
a  representation  of  the  town  as  it  now 
appears. 


PHILADELPHIA. 


7.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Philadelphia.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  20. 

These  things  saith  he  that  is  holy. 
This  refers  undoubtedly  to  the  Lord 
Jesus.  The  appellation  holy,  or  the 
holy  one,  is  one  that  befits  him,  and  is 
not  unfrequently  given  to  him  in  the 
New  Testament.  Luke  i.  35;  Acts  i. 
27,  iii.  14.  It  is  not  only  an  appellation 
appropriate  to  the  Saviour,  but  well 
adapted  to  be  employed  when  ho  is 
addressing  the  churches.  Our  impres¬ 
sion  of  what  is  said  to  us  will  often 
depend  much  on  our  idea  of  the  charac¬ 
ter  of  him  who  addresses  us,  and  solem¬ 
nity  and  thoughtfulness  always  become 
us  when  we  are  addressed  by  a  holy 
Redeemer.  f  lie  that  is  true.  Another 
characteristic  of  the  Saviour  well-fitted 


to  be  referred  to  when  ho  addresses 
men.  It  is  a  characteristic  often  ascribed 
to  him  in  the  New  Testament  (John.  i. 
9,  14,  17  ;  viii.  40,  45 ;  xiv.  6  ;  xviii.  37; 
1  John  v.  20),  and  one  which  is  emi¬ 
nently  adapted  to  impress  the  mind  with 
solemn  thought  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
he  is  to  pronounce  on  our  character,  and 
to  determine  our  destiny.  He  that 
hath  the  key  of  David.  This  expression 
is  manifestly  taken  from  Isa.  xxii.  22, 
“And  the  key  of  the  house  of  David 
will  I  lay  upon  his  shoulder.”  See  the 
passage  explained  in  the  Notes  on  that 
place.  As  used  by  Isaiah,  the  phrase 
is  applied  to  Eliakim,  and  it  is  not  to  bo 
inferred  that  because  the  language  here 
is  applied  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  origin¬ 
ally  it  had  any  such  referonce.  “  The 


116 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


true,  °  he  that  hath  the  key  h  of 
David,  he  that  openeth,  and  no  man 
shutteth ;  and  shutteth,  c  and  no 
man  openeth ; 

aljno.  5. 20.  b  Is.  22.  22.  c  Job.  12.14. 


application  of  the  same  terms,”  says 
Prof.  Alexander  on  Isa.  xxii.  22,  “  to 
Peter  (Matt.  xvi.  19),  and  to  Christ 
himself  (Rev.  iii.  7)  does  not  prove  that 
they  here  refer  to  either,  or  that  Eliakim 
was  a  type  of  Christ,  but  merely  that 
the  same  words  admit  of  different  appli¬ 
cations.”  The  language  is  that  which 
properly  denotes  authority  or  control — 
as  when  one  has  the  key  of  a  house,  and 
has  unlimited  access  to  it;  and  the 
meaning  here  is,  that,  as  David  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  the  king  of  Israel  residing  in 
a  palace,  so  he  who  had  the  key  to  that 
palace  had  regal  authority,  He  that 
openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth,  &c.  He 
has  free  and  unrestrained  access  to  the 
house ;  the  power  of  admitting  any  one, 
or  of  excluding  any  one.  Applied  here 
to  the  Saviour,  as  king  in  Zion,  this 
means  that  in  his  kingdom  he  has  the 
absolute  control  in  regard  to  the  ad¬ 
mission  or  exclusion  of  any  one.  He 
can  prescribe  the  terms ;  he  can  invite 
whom  he  chooses ;  he  can  exclude 
those  whom  he  judges  should  not  be 
admitted.  A  reference  to  this  absolute 
control  was  every  way  proper  when  he 
was  addressing  a  church,  and  is  every 
way  proper  for  us  to  reflect  on  when  we 
think  of  the  subject  of  our  personal 
salvation. 

8.  I  know  thy  works.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  ii.  2.  Behold  I  have  set  before 
thee  an  open  door.  Referring  to  his 
authority  as  stated  in  ver.  7.  The 
“open  door”  here  evidently  refers  to 
the  enjoyment  of  some  privilege  or 
honor,  and  so  far  as  the  language  is 
concerned,  it  may  refer  to  any  one  of 
the  following  things,  either  (1)  the 
ability  to  do  good — represented  as  the 
“  opening  of  the  door.”  Comp.  Acts 
xiv.  27 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  9 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  12  ; 
Col.  iv.  3.  (2)  The  privilege  of  access 
to  the  heavenly  palace ;  that  is,  that 
they  had  an  abundant  opportunity  of 
securing  their  salvation,  the  door  being 
never  closed  against  them  by  day  or 
by  night.  Comp.  Rev.  xxi.  25.  Or, 
(3)  it  may  mean  that  they  had  before 
them  an  open  way  of  egress  from  dan¬ 


8  I  know  thy  works-,  behold,  I 
have  set  before  thee  an  open  d  door, 
and  no  man  can  shut  it :  for  thou 
hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast  kept 
d  1  Co.  16. 19. 


ger  and  persecution.  This  latter,  Prof. 
Stuart  supposes  to  be  the  true  meaning, 
and  argues  this  because  it  is  immedi¬ 
ately  specified  that  those  Jewish  perse¬ 
cutors  would  be  made  to  humble  them¬ 
selves,  and  that  the  church  would  but 
lightly  experience  the  troubles  which 
were  coming  upon  the  world  around 
them.  But  the  more  natural  interpre¬ 
tation  of  the  phrase  “an  open  door,”  is 
that  it  refers  to  access  to  a  thing  rather 
than  egress  from  a  thing;  that  we  may 
come  to  that  which  we  desire  to  ap¬ 
proach,  rather  than  escape  from  that 
which  we  dread.  There  is  no  objection, 
it  seems  to  me,  to  the  supposition  that 
the  language  may  be  used  here  in  the 
largest  sense  —  as  denoting  that,  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  church  at  Philadelphia,  there 
was  no  restraint.  He  had  given  them 
the  most  unlimited  privileges.  The 
temple  of  salvation  was  thrown  open  to 
them;  the  celestial  city  was  accessible; 
the  whole  world  was  before  them  as  a 
field  of  usefulness,  and  any  where,  and 
every  where,  they  might  do  good,  and  at 
all  times  they  might  have  access  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  no  man  can 
shut  it.  No  one  has  the  power  of  pre¬ 
venting  this,  for  he  who  has  control 
over  all  things,  concedes  these  privi¬ 
leges  to  you.  For  thou  hast  a  little 
strength.  This  would  imply  that  they 
had  not  great  vigor,  but  still  that,  not¬ 
withstanding  there  were  so  many  ob¬ 
stacles  to  their  doing  good,  and  so  many 
temptations  to  evil,  there  still  remained 
with  them  some  degree  of  energy. 
They  were  not  wholly  dead;  and,  as 
long  as  that  was  the  case,  the  door  was 
still  open  for  them  to  do  good.  The 
words  “  little  strength”  may  refer  either 
to  the  smallness  of  the  number — mean¬ 
ing  that  they  were  few ;  or  it  may  refer 
to  the  spiritual  life  and  energy  of  the 
church — meaning  that,  though  feeble, 
their  vital  energy  was  not  wholly  gone. 
The  more  natural  interpretation  seoms 
to  be  to  refer  it  to  the  latter ;  and  the 
sense  is,  that  although  they  had  not 
the  highest  degree  of  energy,  or  had 
not  all  that  the  Saviour  desired  they 


CHAPTER  III. 


117 


A.  D.  96.] 

my  word,  and  hast  not  denied  my 
name. 

9  Behold,  I  will  make  them  of 
the  synagogue  of  Satan,  which  say  0 
they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,  hut  do 
lie ;  behold,  I  will  make  them  to 
a  c.  2.  9. 

should  have,  they  were  not  wholly  dead. 
The  Saviour  saw  among  them  the  evi¬ 
dences  of  spiritual  life,  and  in  view  of 
that  he  says  he  had  set  before  them  an 
open  door,  and  there  was  abundant 
opportunity  to  employ  all  the  energy 
and  zeal  which  they  had.  It  may  be 
remarked  that  the  same  thing  is  true 
now,  that  wherever  there  is  any  vitality 
in  a  churoh  the  Saviour  will  furnish 
ample  opportunity  that  it  may  be  em¬ 
ployed  in  his  service,  And  hast  not 
denied  my  name.  When  Christians  were 
brought  before  heathen  magistrates  in 
times  of  persecution,  they  were  required 
to  renounce  the  name  of  Christ,  and  to 
disown  him  in  a  public  manner.  It  is 
possible  that,  amidst  the  persecutions 
that  raged  in  the  early  times,  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  church  at  Philadelphia  had 
been  summoned  to  such  a  trial,  and  they 
had  stood  the  trial  firmly.  It  would 
seem  from  the  following  verse,  that  the 
efforts  which  had  been  made  to  induce 
them  to  renounce  the  name  of  Christ 
had  been  made  by  those  who  professed 
to  be  Jews,  though  they  evinced  the 
spirit  of  Satan.  If  so,  then  the  attempt 
was  probably  to  convince  them  that 
Jesus  was  not  the  Christ.  This  attempt 
would  bo  made  in  all  places  where 
there  were  Jews. 

9.  Behold  I  will  make.  Greek,  “  I 
give” — bliiayt —  that  is,  I  will  arrange 
matters  so  that  this  shall  occur.  The 
word  implies  that  he  had  power  to  do 
this,  and  consequently  proves  that  he 
has  power  over  the  heart  of  man,  and 
can  secure  such  a  result  as  ho  chooses, 
f  Them  of  the  Synagogue  of  Satan, 
which  say  that  they  are  Jews.  Who 
profess  to  be  Jews,  but  are  really  of  the 
synagogue  of  Satan.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
ii.  9.  The  meaning  is,  that,  though  they 
were  of  Jewish  extraction,  and  boasted 
much  of  being  Jews,  yet  they  were 
really  under  the  influence  of  Satan,  and 
their  assemblages  deserved  to  be  called 
his  “  synagogue.”  And  are  not,  hut 
do  lie.  It  is  a  false  profession  alto- 


come  b  and  worship  before  thy  feet, 
and  to  know  that  I  have  loved 
thee. 

10  Because  thou  hast  kept  the 
word  of  my  patience,  I c  also  will 

b  Is.  60. 14.  C*2  Pe.  2.  9. 


gether.  Comp.  Notes  on  1  John  i.  6. 

Behold  I  will  make  them  to  come  and 
worship  before  thy  feet.  The  word  ren¬ 
dered  worship  here,  means  properly  to 
fall  prostrate,  and  then  to  do  homage, 
or  to  worship  in  the  proper  sense,  as  this 
was  commonly  done  by  falling  prostrate. 
See  Notes  on  Matt.  ii.  2.  So  far  as  the 
word  is  concerned,  it  may  refer  either  to 
spiritual  homage,  that  is,  the  worship 
of  God ;  or  it  may  mean  respect  as 
shown  to  superiors.  If  it  is  used  hero 
in  the  sense  of  divine  worship  properly 
so  called,  it  means  that  they  would  be 
constrained  to  come  and  worship  the 
Redeemer  “before  them,”  or  in  their 
very  presence  ;  if  it  is  used  in  the  more 
general  signification,  it  means  that  they 
would  be  constrained  to  show  them 
honor  and  respect.  The  latter  is  the 
probable  meaning ;  that  is,  that  they 
would  be  constrained  to  acknowledge 
that  they  were  the  children  of  God,  or 
that  God  regarded  them  with  his  favor. 
It  does  not  mean  necessarily  that  they 
would  themselves  be  converted  to  Christ, 
but  that,  as  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  revile  and  oppose  those  who  were 
true  Christians,  they  would  be  con¬ 
strained  to  come  and  render  them  the 
respect  due  to  those  who  were  sincerely 
endeavoring  to  serve  their  Maker.  The 
truth  taught  here  is,  that  it  is  in  the 
power  of  the  Lord  Jesus  so  to  turn  the 
hearts  of  all  the  enemies  of  religion 
that  they  shall  be  brought  to  show 
respect  to  it;  so  to  incline  the  minds  of 
all  people  that  they  shall  honor  the 
church,  or  be  at  least  outwardly  its 
friends.  Such  homage  the  world  shall 
yet  be  constrained  to  pay  to  it.  And 
to  know  that  I  have  loved  thee.  This  ex¬ 
plains  what  he  had  just  said,  and  shows 
that  he  means  that  the  enemies  of  his 
church  will  yet  bo  constrained  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  that  it  enjoys  the  smiles  of 
God,  and  that  instead  of  being  perse¬ 
cuted  and  reviled,  it  should  be  respected 
and  loved. 

10.  Because  thou  hast  kept  the  word 


118  REVELATION, 


keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  tempta¬ 
tion,  which  shall  come  upon  all  the 
world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon 
the  earth. 

11  Behold,  I  come  “  quickly : b 

a  Zep.  1. 14.  b  ver.  3. 

of  my  patience.  My  word  commanding 
or  enjoining  patience  ;  that  is,  thou  hast 
manifested  the  patience  which  I  require. 
They  had  shown  this  in  the  trials  which 
they  had  experienced ;  he  promises  now 
that  in  return  he  will  keep  them  in  the 
future  trials  that  shall  come  upon  the 
world.  One  of  the  highest  rewards  of 
patience  in  one  trial  is  the  grace  that 
God  gives  us  to  hear  another.  The  fact 
that  we  have  been  patient  and  submissive 
may  be  regarded  as  proof  that  he  will 
give  us  grace  that  we  may  be  patient 
and  submissive  in  the  trials  that  are  to 
come.  God  does  not  leave  those  who 
have  shown  that  they  will  not  leave  him. 

I  also  will  keep  thee.  That  is,  I  will 
so  keep  you  that  you  shall  not  sink 
under  the  trials  which  will  prove  a  severe 
temptation  to  many.  This  does  not 
mean  that  they  would  be  actually  kept 
from  calamity  of  all  kinds,  but  that  they 
would  be  kept  from  the  temptation  to 
apostacy  in  calamity.  He  would  give 
them  grace  to  bear  up  under  trials  with 
a  Christian  spirit,  and  in  such  a  manner 
that  their  salvation  should  not  be 
endangered.  From  the  hour  of  temp¬ 
tation.  The  season;  the  time;  the 
period  of  temptation.  You  shall  be  so 
kept  that  that  which  will  prove  to  be  a 
time  of  temptation  to  so  many  shall  not 
endanger  your  salvation.  Though  others 
fall,  you  shall  not ;  though  you  may  be 
afflicted  with  others,  yet  you  shall  have 
grace  to  sustain  you.  Which  shall 
come  upon  all  the  world.  The  phrase 
here  used — “all  the  world” — may  either 
denote  the  whole  world;  or  the  whole 
Roman  empire;  or  a  large  district  of 
country;  or  the  land  of  Judea.  See 
Notes  on  Luke  ii.  1.  Here,  perhaps,  all 
that  is  implied  is,  that  the  trial  would  be 
very  extensive  or  general  —  so  much  so 
as  to  embrace  the  world  as  the  word  was 
understood  by  those  to  whom  the  epistle 
was  addressed.  It  need  not  be  supposed 
that  the  whole  world  literally  was  in¬ 
cluded  in  it,  or  even  all  the  Roman 
empire,  but  what  was  the  world  to  them 
— the  region  which  they  would  embrace 
in  that  term.  If  there  were  some  far- 


[A.  D.  96. 

hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that 
no  man  take  thy  crown. 

12  Him  that  overcometh  will  I 
make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my 
God ;  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out : 
and  I  will  write  upon  him  the  name 

spreading  calamity  in  the  country  where 
they  resided,  it  would  probably  be  all 
that  would  be  fairly  embraced  in  the 
meaning  of  the  word.  It  is  not  known 
to  what  trial  the  speaker  refers.  It  may 
have  been  some  form  of  persecution,  or 
it  may  have  been  some  calamity  by  dis¬ 
ease,  earthquake,  or  famine  that  was  to 
occur.  Tacitus  (see  Wetstein,  in  loc.) 
mentions  an  earthquake  that  sank  twelve 
cities  in  Asia  Minor  in  one  night,  by 
which,  among  others,  Philadelphia  was 
deeply  affected,  and  it  is  possible  that 
there  may  have  been  reference  here  to 
that  overwhelming  calamity.  But  no¬ 
thing  can  be  determined  with  certainty 
in  regard  to  this.  To  try  them  that 
dwell  upon  the  earth.  To  test  their 
character.  It  would  rather  seem  from 
this  that  the  affliction  was  some  form  of 
persecution  as  adapted  to  test  the  fidelity 
of  those  who  were  affected  by  it.  The  per¬ 
secutions  in  the  Roman  empire  would  fur¬ 
nish  abundant  occasions  for  such  a  trial. 

11.  Behold  I  come  quickly.  That  is, 
in  the  trials  referred  to.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ch.  i.  1,  11,  16.  Hold  that  fast 
which  thou  hast.  That  is,  whatever  of 
truth  and  piety  you  now  possess.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  3.  That  no  man  take 
thy  crown.  The  crown  of  life  appointed 
for  all  who  are  true  believers.  See 
Notes  on  2  Tim.  iv.  8.  The  truth  which 
is  taught  here  is,  that  by  negligence  or 
unfaithfulness  in  duty,  we  may  be  de¬ 
prived  of  the  glory  which  we  might  have 
obtained  if  we  had  been  faithful  to  our 
God  and  Saviour.  We  need  to  be  on 
our  constant  guard,  that,  in  a  world  of 
temptation,  where  the  enemies  of  truth 
abound,  we  may  not  be  robbed  of  the 
crown  that  we  might  have  worn  for¬ 
ever.  Comp.  Notes  on  2  John  8. 

12.  Him  that  overcometh.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  ii.  7.  f  Will  1  make  a  pillar  in 
the  temple  of  my  God.  See  the  intro¬ 
ductory  remarks  to  this  epistle.  The 
promised  reward  of  faithfulness  here  is, 
that  he  who  was  victorious  would  bo 
honored  as  if  he  were  a  pillar  or  column 
in  the  temple  of  God.  Such  a  pillar  or 
column  was  partly  for  ornament,  and 


CHAPTER  III. 


119 


A.  D.  96.] 

of  my  God,  and  the  name  of  the 
city  of  my  God,  which  is  New" 

a  c.  21.  2, 10. 

partly  for  support,  and  the  idea  here  is, 
that  in  that  temple  he  would  contribute 
to  its  beauty  and  the  justness  of  its  pro¬ 
portions,  and  would  at  the  same  time  be 
honored  as  if  he  were  a  pillar  which  was 
necessary  for  the  support  of  the  temple. 
It  is  not  uncommon  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  to  represent  the  church  as  a 
temple,  and  Christians  as  parts  of  it. 
See  1  Cor.  iii.  16,  17 ;  vi.  19;  2  Cor.  vi. 
16 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  5.  And  he  shall  go  no 
more  out.  He  shall  be  permanent  as  a 
part  of  that  spiritual  temple.  The  idea 
of  “going  out”  does  not  properly  belong 
to  a  pillar,  but  the  speaker  here  has  in 
his  mind  the  man  though  represented  as 
a  column.  The  description  of  some 
parts  would  be  applicable  more  directly 
to  a  pillar ;  in  others  more  properly  to  a 
man.  Comp.  John  vi.  37 ;  x.  28,  29 ; 
1  John  ii.  19,  for  an  illustration  of  the 
sentiment  here.  The  main  truth  here  is, 
that  if  we  reach  heaven,  our  happiness 
will  be  secure  forever.  We  shall  have 
the  most  absolute  eertainty  that  the 
welfare  of  the  soul  will  no  more  be 
perilled  ;  that  we  shall  never  be  in  dan¬ 
ger  of  falling  into  temptation ;  that  no 
artful  foe  shall  ever  have  power  to 
alienate  our  affections  from  God;  that 
we  shall  never  die.  Though  we  may 
change  our  place,  and  may  roam  from 
world  to  world,  till  we  shall  have  sur¬ 
veyed  all  the  wonders  of  creation,  yet 
we  shall  never  “  go  out  of  the  temple  of 
God.”  Comp.  Notes  on  John  xiv.  2. 
When  we  reach  the  heavenly  world,  our 
conflicts  will  be  over;  our  doubts  at  an 
end.  As  soon  as  we  cross  the  threshold, 
we  shall  be  greeted  with  the  assurance, 
“he  shall  go  no  more  out  forever.” 
That  is  to  be  our  eternal  abode,  and 
whatever  of  joy  or  felicity  or  glory  that 
bright  world  can  furnish,  is  to  be  ours. 
Happy  moment  when,  emerging  from  a 
world  of  danger  and  of  doubt,  the  soul 
shall  settle  down  into  the  calmness  and 
peace  of  that  state  where  there  is  the 
assurance  of  God  himself  that  that 
world  of  bliss  is  to  be  its  eternal  abode. 

And  I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of 
my  God.  Considered  as  a  pillar  or 
column  in  the  temple.  The  name  of 
God  would  be  conspicuously  recorded 
on  it  to  show  that  he  belonged  to  God. 


Jerusalem,  •which  cometh  down  out 
of  heaven  from  my  God :  and  -I  will 
write  upon  him  my  new  name. 

The  allusion  is  to  a  public  edifice  on  the 
columns  of  which  the  names  of  dis¬ 
tinguished  and  honored  persons  were 
recorded;  that  is,  where  there  was  a 
public  testimonial  of  the  respect  in 
which  one  whose  name  was  thus  re¬ 
corded  was  held.  The  honor  thus  con¬ 
ferred  on  him  “  who  should  overcome,” 
would  be  as  great  as  if  the  name  of  that 
God  whom  he  served,  and  whose  favor 
and  friendship  he  enjoyed,  were  inscribed 
on  him  in  some  conspicuous  manner. 
The  meaning  is,  that  he  would  be  known 
and  recognized  as  belonging  to  God ;  the 
God  of  the  Redeemer  himself — indicated 
by  the  phrase  “the  name  of  my  God.” 

And  the  name  of  the  city  of  my  God. 
That  is,  indicating  that  he  belongs  to 
that  city,  or  that  the  New  Jerusalem  is 
the  city  of  his  habitation.  The  idea 
would  seem  to  be,  that  in  this  world,  and 
in  all  worlds  wherever  he  goes  and 
wherever  he  abides,  he  will  be  recog¬ 
nized  as  belonging  to  that  holy  city ;  as 
enjoying  the  rights  and  immunities  of 
such  a  citizen.  Which  is  New  Jeru¬ 
salem.  Jerusalem  was  the  place  where 
the  temple  was  reared,  and  where  the 
worship  of  God  was  celebrated.  It  thus 
came  to  be  synonymous  with  the  church 
— the  dwelling-place  of  God  on  earth. 

Which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven 
from  my  God.  See  this  explained  in 
the  Notes  on  ch.  xxi.  2,  seq.  Of  course, 
this  must  be  a  figurative  representation, 
but  the  idea  is  plain.  It  is  (1)  that  the 
church  is,  in  accordance  with  settled 
Scripture  language,  represented  as  a  city 
— the  abode  of  God  on  earth.  (2)  That 
this,  instead  of  being  built  here,  or 
having  an  earthly  origin,  has  its  origin 
in  heaven.  It  is  as  if  it  had  been  con¬ 
structed  there,  and  then  sent  down  to 
earth  ready  formed.  The  type,  the 
form,  the  whole  structure  is  heavenly. 
It  is  a  departure  from  all  proper  laws  of 
interpretation  to  explain  this  literally, 
as  if  a  city  should  be  actually  let  down 
from  heaven ;  and  equally  so  to  infer 
from  this  passage  and  the  others  of 
similar  import  in  this  book,  that  a  city 
will  be  literally  reared  for  the  residence 
of  the  saints.  If  the  passage  proves 
any  thing  on  either  of  these  points,  it 
is,  that  a  great  and  splendid  city,  such 


120  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


13  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches. 

as  that  described  in  ch.  xxi.  will  literally 
come  down  from  heaven.  But  who  can 
believe  that?  Such  an  interpretation, 
however,  is  by  no  means  necessary. 
The  comparison  of  the  church  with  a 
beautiful  city,  and  the  fact  that  it  has 
its  origin  in  heaven,  is  all  that  is  fairly 
implied  in  the  passage.  And  I  will 
write  upon  him  my  new  name.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  ii.  17.  The  reward,  there¬ 
fore,  promised  here  is,  that  he  who  by 
persevering  fidelity  showed  that  he  was  a 
real  friend  of  the  Saviour,  would  be  hon¬ 
ored  with  a  permanent  fibode  in  the  holy 
city  of  his  habitation.  In  the  church 
redeemed  and  triumphant  he  would  have 
a  perpetual  dwelling,  and  wherever  he 
should  be,  there  would  be  given  him  sure 
pledges  that  he  belonged  to  him,  and  was 
recognized  as  a  citizen  of  the  heavenly 
world.  To  no  higher  honor  could  any 
man  aspire  ;  and  yet  that  is  an  honor  to 
which  the  most  humble  and  lowly  may 
attain  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God. 

THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CHURCH  AT 
LAODICEA. 

The  contents  of  the  epistle  to  the 
church  at  Laodicea  (vs.  14-22),  are  as 
follows  :  (1)  The  usual  salutation  to  the 
angel  of  the  church,  ver.  14.  (2)  The 

reference  to  the  attributes  of  the  speaker 
— the  one  here  referred  to  being  that  he 
was  the  “Amen,”  “the  faithful  and  true 
witness,”  and  “the  beginning  of  the 
creation  of  God,”  ver.  14.  (3)  The  claim 
that  he  knew  all  their  works,  ver.  15. 
(4)  The  characteristic  of  the  church :  it 
was  “lukewarm” — “neither  cold  nor 
hot,”  ver.  15.  (5)  The  punishment 

threatened,  that  he  would  “  spue  them 
out  of  his  mouth,”  ver.  16.  (6)  A  so¬ 

lemn  reproof  of  their  self-confidence,  of 
their  ignorance  of  themselves,  and  of 
their  pride,  when  they  were  in  fact  poor, 
and  blind,  and  naked;  and  a  solemn 
counsel  to  them  to  apply  to  him  for 
those  things  which  would  make  them 
truly  rich — which  would  cover  up  the 
shame  of  their  nakedness,  and  which 
would  give  them  clear  spiritual  vision, 
vs.  17,  18.  (7)  A  command  to  repent, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  rebukes  and 
chastens  those  whom  he  loves.  (8)  An 
assurance  that  an  opportunity  is  still 


14  And  unto  the  angel  of  the 
church  0  of  the  Laodiceans  write ; 

a  Or,  in  Laodicea. 

offered  for  repentance,  represented  by 
his  standing  at  the  door  and  praying  for 
admittance,  ver.  20.  (9)  Apromise  to  him 
that  should  be  victorious  —  in  this  case 
that  he  should  sit  down  with  him  on  his 
throne,  ver.  21 ;  and  (10)  the  usual  call 
on  those  who  had  ears  to  hear,  to  attend 
to  what  the  Spirit  said  to  the  churches. 

Laodicea  was  situated  in  the  southern 
part  of  Phrygia,  near  the  junction  of  the 
small  rivers  Asopus  and  Carpus,  on  a 
plain  washed  at  its  edges  by  each.  It 
was  about  forty  miles  from  Ephesus,  and 
not  far  from  Colosse  and  Hierapolis.  In 
the  time  of  Strabo  it  was  a  large  city, 
but  the  frequency  of  earthquakes,  to 
which  this  district  has  been  always 
liable,  demolished,  long  since,  a  large 
part  of  the  city,  and  destroyed  many  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  place  was  aban¬ 
doned,  and  now  lies  in  ruins.  It  is  now 
a  deserted  place,  called  by  the  Turks 
Eski-hissar,  or  Old  Castle.  From  its 
ruins,  which  are  numerous,  consisting 
of  the  remains  of  temples,  theatres,  &c., 
it  seems  to  have  been  situated  on  six  or 
seven  hills,  taking  up  a  large  space  of 
ground.  The  whole  rising  ground  on 
which  the  city  stood  is  one  vast  tumulus 
of  ruins,  abandoned  entirely  to  the  owl 
and  the  fox.  Col.  Leake  says,  “There 
are  few  ancient  sites  more  likely  than 
Laodicea  to  preserve  many  curious  re¬ 
mains  of  antiquity  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  soil ;  its  opulence,  and  the  earth¬ 
quakes  to  which  it  was  subject,  render¬ 
ing  it  probable  that  valuable  works  of 
art  were  there  buried  beneath  the  ruins 
of  the  public  and  private  edifices.”  The 
neighboring  village  contains  some  fifty 
or  sixty  people,  among  whom,  on  a  visit 
of  a  recent  traveller  there,  there  were 
but  two  nominal  Christians.  “  The  name 
of  Christianity,”  says  Emerson  (p.  101), 
“is  forgotten,  and  the  only  sounds  that 
disturb  the  silence  of  its  desertion  are 
the  tones  of  the  Muezzin,  whose  voice 
from  the  distant  village  (Eski-hissar) 
proclaims  the  ascendency  of  Mohammed. 
Laodicea  is  even  more  solitary  than 
Ephesus;  for  the  latter  has  the  prospect 
of  the  rolling  sea,  or  of  a  whitening  sail 
to  enliven  its  decay ;  while  the  former 
sits  in  widowed  loneliness,  its  walls  are 
grass-grown,  its  temples  desolate,  its 


121 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  III. 

These  things  saith  the  Amen,  •  the  faithful  and  true  Witness,  the  be- 
a  Is.  65. 16.  ginning  of  the  creation  of  God : 


very  name  has  perished.”  A  thunder¬ 
storm  gathered  on  the  mountains  at  a 
distance  while  this  traveller  was  exam¬ 
ining  the  ruins  of  Laodicea.  He  returned 
to  Eski-hissar,  and  waited  until  the  fury 
of  the  storm  had  abated,  but  set  off  on 
his  journey  again  before  it  had  entirely 
ceased  to  blow  and  to  rain.  “We  pre¬ 
ferred,”  says  he,  “hastening  on,  to  a 
farther  delay  in  that  melancholy  spot, 
where  everything  whispered  desolation, 
and  where  the  very  wind  that  swept  im¬ 


petuously  through  the  valley,  sounded 
like  the  fiendish  laugh  of  time  exulting 
over  the  destruction  of  man  and  his 
proudest  monuments.”  See  Prof.  Stuart, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  44, 45 ;  Kitto’s  Ency. ;  Smith’3 
Journey  to  the  Seven  Churches,  1671; 
Leake,  Arundell,  Hartley,  McEarlane, 
Pocoke,  <fec. 

The  following  cut,  from  McFarlane’s 
“  Seven  Apocalyptic  Churches,”  will 
furnish  a  representation  of  the  ruins  of 
Laodicea. 


LAODICEA. 


14.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church 
of  the  Laodicean?,  write.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  i.  20.  These  things  saith  the 
Amen.  Referring,  as  is  the  case  in 
every  epistle,  to  some  attribute  of  the 
speaker  adapted  to  impress  their  minds, 
or  to  give  peculiar  force  to  what  he  was 
about  to  say  to  that  particular  church. 
Laodicea  was  characterized  by  luke¬ 
warmness,  and  the  reference  to  the  fact 
that  he  who  was  about  to  address  them 
was  the  “Amen” — that  is,  was  charac¬ 
terized  by  the  simple  earnestness  and 
sincerity  denoted  by  that  word — was 
eminently  fitted  to  make  an  impression 
on  the  minds  of  such  a  people.  The 
11 


word  amen  means  true,  certain,  faith¬ 
ful;  and,  as  used  here,  it  means  that 
he  to  whom  it  is  applied  is  eminently 
true  and  faithful.  What  he  affirms  is 
true ;  what  he  promises  or  threatens  is 
certain.  Himself  characterized  by  sin¬ 
cerity  and  truth  (Notes  on  2  Cor.  i.  20), 
he  can  look  with  approbation  only  on 
the  same  thing  in  others :  and  hence  he 
looks  with  displeasure  on  the  lukewarm¬ 
ness  which,  from  its  very  nature,  always 
approximates  insincerity.  This  was  an 
attribute,  therefore,  every  way  appro¬ 
priate  to  be  referred  to  in  addressing  a 
lukewarm  church.  *[  The  faithful  and 
true  Witness.  This  is  presenting  the 


122 


KE  YELATION,  [A.  D.  96 


15  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou 

_ a  1  K.  18. 21. _ 

idea  implied  in  the  word  amen  in  a  more 
complete  form,  but  substantially  the 
same  thing  is  referred  to.  He  is  a  wit¬ 
ness  for  God  and  his  truth,  and  he  can 
approve  of  nothing  which  the  God  of 
truth  would  not  approve.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  i.  5.  *[  The  beginning  of  the  creation 
of  God.  This  expression  is  a  very  im¬ 
portant  one  in  regard  to  the  rank  and 
dignity  of  the  Saviour,  and,  like  all  si¬ 
milar  expressions  respecting  him,  its 
meaning  has  been  much  controverted. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Col.  i.  15.  The  phrase 
here  used  is  susceptible,  properly,  of 
only  one  of  the  following  significations, 
viz. :  either  (a)  that  he  was  the  beginning 
of  the  creation  in  the  sense  that  he 
caused  the  universe  to  begin  to  exist, 
that  is,  that  he  was  the  author  of  all 
things ;  or  (b)  that  he  was  the  first  cre¬ 
ated  being;  or  (c)  that  he  holds  the  pri¬ 
macy  over  all,  and  is  at  the  head  of  the 
universe.  It  is  not  necessary  to  exam¬ 
ine  any  other  proposed  interpretations, 
for  the  only  other  senses  supposed  to  be 
conveyed  by  the  words,  that  he  is  the 
beginning  of  the  creation  in  the  sense 
that  he  rose  from  the  dead  as  the  first- 
fruits  of  them  that  sleep,  or  that  he  is 
the  head  of  the  spiritual  creation  of  God, 
are  so  foreign  to  the  natural  meaning  of 
the  words  as  to  need  no  special  refuta¬ 
tion.  As  to  the  three  significations  sug¬ 
gested  above,  it  may  be  observed,  that 
the  first  one  —  that  he  is  the  author  of 
the  creation,  and  in  that  sense  the  be¬ 
ginning,  though  expressing  a  scriptural 
doctrine  (John  i.  3;  Eph.  iii.  9;  Col.  i. 
16),  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  proper 
meaning  of  the  word  here  used — apx$. 
The  word  properly  refers  to  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  a  thing,  not  its  authorship, 
and  denotes  properly  primacy  in  time, 
and  primacy  in  rank,  but  not  primacy 
in  the  sense  of  causing  anything  to  ex¬ 
ist.  The  two  ideas  which  run  through 
the  word  as  it  is  used  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  are  those  just  suggested.  For  the 
former — primacy  in  regard  to  time — that 
is  properly  the  commencement  of  a  thing, 
see  the  following  passages  where  the 
word  occurs,  Matt.  xix.  4,  8,  xxiv.  8,  21 ; 
Mark  i.  1,  x.  6,  xiii.  8,  19;  Luke  i.  2; 
John  i.  1,  2,  ii.  11,  vi.  64,  viii.  25,  44,  xv. 
17,  xvi.  4;  Acts  xi.  15;  1  John  i.  1,  ii.  7, 
13,  14,  24,  iii.  8,  11 ;  2  John  5,  6.  For 
the  latter  signification,  primacy  of  rank, 


art  neither  cold  nor  hot:  I  would 
°  thou  wert  cold  or  hot. 

or  authority,  see  the  following  places? 
Luke  xii.  11,  xx.  20 ;  Rom.  viii.  38 ,  1 
Cor.  xv.  24;  Eph.  i.  21,  iii.  10,  vi.  12; 
Col.  i.  16,  18,  ii.  10, 15;  Tit.  iii.  1.  The 
word  is  not,  therefore,  found  in  the  sense 
of  authorship,  as  denoting  that  one  is 
the  beginning  of  anything  in  the  sense 
that  he  caused  it  to  have  an  existence. 
As  to  the  second  of  the  signification  sug¬ 
gested,  that  it  means  that  he  was  the 
first  created  being,  it  may  be  observed 

(а)  that  this  i3  not  a  necessary  significa¬ 
tion  of  the  phrase,  since  no  one  can  show 
that  this  is  the  only  proper  meaning 
which  could  be  given  to  the  words,  and 
therefore  the  phrase  cannot  be  adduced 
to  prove  that  he  is  himself  a  created 
being.  If  it  were  demonstrated  from 
other  sources  that  Christ  was,  in  fact,  a 
created  being,  and  the  first  that  God  had 
made,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  this 
language  would  appropriately  express 
that  fact.  But  it  cannot  be  made  out 
from  the  mere  use  of  the  language  here ; 
and  as  the  language  is  susceptible  of 
other  interpretations,  it  cannot  be  em¬ 
ployed  to  prove  that  Christ  is  a  created 
being.  (6)  Such  an  interpretation  would 
be  at  variance  with  all  those  passages 
which  speak  of  him  as  uncreated  and 
eternal;  which  ascribe  divine  attributes 
to  him ;  which  speak  of  him  as  himself 
the  Creator  of  all  things.  Comp.  John 
i.  1-3;  Col.  i.  16;  Heb.  i.  2,  6,  8, 10-12. 
The  third  signification,  therefore,  re¬ 
mains,  that  he  is  “  the  beginning  of  the 
creation  of  God,”  in  the  sense  that  he  is 
the  head  or  prince  of  the  creation ;  that 
is,  that  he  presides  over  it  so  far  as  the 
purposes  of  redemption  are  to  be  accom¬ 
plished,  and  so  far  as  is  necessary  for 
those  purposes.  This  is  (a)  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  meaning  of  the  word, 
Luke  xii.  11,  xx.  20,  et  al,  tit  supra,  and 

(б)  in  accordance  with  the  uniform  state¬ 
ments  respecting  the  Redeemer,  that 
“  all  power  is  given  unto  him  in  heaven 
and  in  earth”  (Matt,  xxviii.  18);  that 
God  has  “given  him  power  over  all 
flesh”  (John  xvii.  2);  that  all  things  are 
“  put  under  his  feet”  (Heb.  ii.  8 ;  1  Cor. 
xv.  27);  that  he  is  exalted  over  all 
things,  Eph.  i.  20-22.  Having  this  rank, 
it  was  proper  that  he  should  speak  with 
authority  to  the  church  at  Laodicea. 

15.  I  know  thy  works.  Notes,  ch.  ii.  2. 

That  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot.  The 


CHAPTER  III. 


123 


A.  D.  96  j 


word  cold  here  would  seem  to  denote  the 
state  where  there  was  no  pretension  to 
religion ;  where  every  thing  was  utterly 
lifeless  and  dead.  The  language  is  ob¬ 
viously  figurative,  but  it  is  such  as  is 
often  employed,  when  we  speak  of  one 
as  being  cold  towards  another,  as  having 
a  cold  or  icy  heart,  Ac.  The  word  hot 
would  denote,  of  course,  the  opposite — 
warm  and  zealous  in  their  love  and  ser¬ 
vice.  The  very  words  that  we  are  con¬ 
strained  to  use  when  speaking  on  this 
subject — such  words  as  ardent  (i.  e.  hot, 
or  burning) ;  fervid  (i.  e.  very  hot,  burn¬ 
ing,  boiling),  show  how  necessary  it  is 
to  use  such  words,  and  how  common  it 
is.  The  state  indicated  here,  therefore, 
would  be  that  in  which  there  was  a  pro¬ 
fession  of  religion,  but  no  warm-hearted 
piety ;  in  which  there  was  not,  on  the 
one  hand,  open  and  honest  opposition 
to  him,  and,  on  the  other,  such  warm¬ 
hearted  and  honest  love  as  he  had  a 
right  to  look  for  among  his  professed 
friends ;  in  which  there  was  a  profession 
of  that  religion  which  ought  to  warm  the 
heart  with  love,  and  fill  the  soul  with 
zeal  in  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer;  but 
where  the  only  result,  in  fact,  was  dead¬ 
ness  and  indifference  to  him  and  his 
cause.  Among  those  who  made  no  pro¬ 
fession,  he  had  reason  to  expect  nothing 
but  coldness ;  among  those  who  made  a 
profession,  he  had  a  right  to  expect  the 
glow  of  a  warm  affection,  but  he  found 
nothing  but  indifference.  I  would  thou 
t cert  cold  or  hot.  That  is,  I  would  prefer 
either  of  those  states  to  that  which  now 
exists.  Any  thing  better  than  this  con¬ 
dition,  where  love  is  professed,  but  where 
it  does  not  exist;  where  vows  have  been 
assumed  which  are  not  fulfilled.  Why 
he  would  prefer  that  they  should  be 
“  hot,”  is  clear  enough ;  but  why  would 
he  prefer  a  state  of  utter  coldness  —  a 
state  where  there  was  no  profession  of 
real  love  ?  To  this  question  the  follow¬ 
ing  answers  may  be  given  : — (1)  Such  a 
state  of  open  and  professed  coldness  or 
indifference  is  more  honest.  There  is  no 
disguise;  no  concealment;  no  pretence. 
We  know  where  one  in  this  state  “may 
be  found we  know  with  whom  we  are 
dealing ;  we  know  what  to  expect.  Sad 
as  the  state  is,  it  is  at  least  honest;  and 
we  are  so  made,  that  wo  all  prefer  such 
a  character  to  one  where  professions  are 
made  which  are  never  to  be  realized — to 
a  state  of  insincerity  and  hypocrisy.  (2) 


Such  a  state  is  more  honorable.  It  is 
a  more  elevated  condition  of  mind,  and 
marks  a  higher  character.  Of  a  man 
who  is  false  to  his  engagements;  who 
makes  professions  and  promises  never 
to  be  realized,  we  can  make  nothing. 
There  is  essential  meanness  in  such  a 
character,  and  there  is  nothing  in  it 
which  we  can  respect.  But,  in  the  cha¬ 
racter  of  the  man  who  is  openly  and 
avowedly  opposed  to  any  thing ;  who 
takes  his  stand,  and  is  earnest  and  zeal¬ 
ous  in  his  course,  though  it  be  wrong, 
there  are  traits  which  may  be,  under 
a  better  direction,  elements  of  true 
greatness  and  magnanimity.  In  the 
character  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  there  were 
always  the  elements  of  true  greatness ; 
in  that  of  Judas  Iscariot,  there  were 
never.  The  one  was  capable  of  becoming 
one  of  the  noblest  men  that  has  ever 
lived  on  the  earth ;  the  other,  even  un¬ 
der  the  personal  teaching  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer  for  years,  was  nothing  but  a 
traitor  —  a  man  of  essential  meanness. 
(3)  There  is  more  hope  of  conversion 
and  salvation  in  such  a  case.  There 
could  always  havo  been  a  ground  of 
hope  that  Saul  would  be  converted  and 
saved,  even  when  “'breathing  out  threat¬ 
ening  and  slaughter;”  of  Judas,  when 
numbered  among  the  professed  disciples 
of  the  Saviour,  there  was  no  hope.  The 
most  hopeless  of  all  persons,  in  regard 
to  salvation,  are  those  who  are  members 
of  the  church  without  any  true  religion ; 
who  have  made  a  profession  without  any 
evidence  of  personal  piety;  who  are 
content  with  a  name  to  live.  This  is 
so,  because  (a)  The  essential  character 
of  any  one  who  will  allow  himself  to  do 
this,  is  eminently  unfavorable  to  true 
religion.  There  is  a  lack  of  that  thorough 
honesty  and  sincerity  which  is  so  neces¬ 
sary  for  true  conversion  to  God.  He 
who  is  content  to  profess  to  be  what  he 
really  is  not,  is  not  a  man  on  whom  the 
truths  of  Christianity  are  likely  to  make 
an  impression.  ( b )  Such  a  man  never 
applies  the  truth  to  himself.  Truth  that 
is  addressed  to  impenitent  sinners,  he 
does  not  apply  to  himself,  of  course,  for 
he  does  not  rank  himself  in  that  class 
of  persons.  Truths  addressed  to  hypo¬ 
crites,  he  will  not  apply  to  himself,  for 
no  one,  however  insincere  and  hollow 
he  may  be,  chooses  to  act  on  the  pre¬ 
sumption  that  he  is  himself  a  hypocrite, 
or  so  as  to  leave  others  to  suppose  that 


124 


[A.  D.  96. 


REVELATION, 


16  So  then  because  thou  art  luke¬ 
warm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I 
will  spue  thee  out  of  my  mouth. 


he  regards  himself  as  such.  The  means 
of  grace  adapted  to  save  a  sinner,  as 
such,  he  will  not  use,  for  he  is  in  the 
church,  and  chooses  to  regard  himself 
as  safe.  Efforts  made  to  reclaim  him 
he  will  resist,  for  he  will  regard  it  as 
proof  of  a  meddlesome  spirit,  and  an  un¬ 
charitable  judging  in  others,  if  they  con¬ 
sider  him  to  be  any  thing  different  from 
what  he  professes  to  be.  What  right 
have  they  to  go  back  of  his  profession, 
and  assume  that  he  is  insincere  ?  As  a 
consequence,  there  are  probably  fewer 
persons  by  far  converted  of  those  who 
come  into  the  church  without  any  reli¬ 
gion,  than  of  any  other  class  of  persons 
of  similar  number,  and  the  most  hopeless 
of  all  conditions,  in  respect  to  conversion 
and  salvation,  is  when  one  enters  the 
church  deceived,  (c)  It  may  be  pre¬ 
sumed  that,  for  these  reasons,  God  him¬ 
self  will  make  less  direct  effort  to  con¬ 
vert  and  save  such  persons.  As  there 
are  fewer  appeals  that  can  be  brought 
to  bear  on  them ;  as  there  is  less  in  their 
character  that  is  noble  and  that  can  be 
depended  on  in  promoting  the  salvation 
of  a  soul ;  and  as  there  is  special  guilt 
in  hypocrisy,  it  may  be  presumed  that 
God  will  more  frequently  leave  such 
persons  to  their  chosen  course,  than  he 
will  those  who  make  no  professions  of 
religion.  Comp.  Ps.  cix.  17,  18 ;  Jer. 
vii  16 ;  xi.  14 ;  xiv.  11 ;  Isa.  i.  15 ;  Hos. 
iv.  17. 

16.  So  then  because  thou  art  lukewarm 
— I  will  spue  thee  out  of  my  mouth.  Re¬ 
ferring,  perhaps,  to  the  well-known  fact 
that  tepid  water  tends  to  produce  sick¬ 
ness  at  the  stomach  and  an  inclination 
to  vomit.  The  image  is  intensely  strong, 
and  denotes  deep  disgust  and  loathing 
at  the  indifference  which  prevailed  in 
the  church  at  Laodicea.  The  idea  is, 
that  they  would  be  utterly  rejected  and 
cast  off  as  a  church  :  —  a  threatening  of 
which  there  has  been  an  abundant  ful¬ 
filment  in  subsequent  times.  It  may 
be  remarked,  also,  that  what  was  threat¬ 
ened  to  that  church  may  be  expected  to 
occur  to  all  churches,  if  they  are  in  the 
same  condition,  and  that  all  professing 
Christians,  and  Christian  churches,  that 


17  Because  thou  sayest,  I  “  am 
rich,  and  increased  with  goods, 
a  Hos.  12.  8. 


are  lukewarm,  have  special  reason  to 
dread  the  indignation  of  the  Saviour. 

17.  Because  thou  sayest,  I  am  rich. 
So  far  as  the  language  here  is  concerned, 
this  may  refer  either  to  riches  literally, 
or  to  spiritual  riches  ;  that  is,  to  a  boast 
of  having  religion  enough.  Prof.  Stuart 
supposes  that  it  refers  to  the  former,  and 
so  do  AVetstein,  Vitringa,  and  others. 
Doddridge,  Rosenmuller,  and  others,  un¬ 
derstand  it  in  the  latter  sense.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  there  was  much  wealth  in 
Laodicea,  and  that,  as  a  people,  they 
prided  themselves  on  their  riches.  See 
the  authorities  in  Wetstein,  on  Col.  ii.  1, 
and  Vitringa,  p.  160.  It  is  not  easy  to 
determine  which  is  the  true  sense ;  but 
may  it  not  have  been  that  there  was  an 
allusion  to  both,  and  that,  in  every  re¬ 
spect,  they  boasted  that  they  had  enough  ? 
May  it  not  have  been  so  much  the  cha¬ 
racteristic  of  that  people  to  boast  of  their 
wealth,  that  they  earned  the  spirit  into 
every  thing,  and  manifested  it  even  in 
regard  to  religion  ?  Is  it  not  true,  that 
they  who  have  much  of  this  world’s 
goods,  when  they  make  a  profession  of 
religion,  are  very  apt  to  suppose  that 
they  are  well  off  in  every  thing,  and  to 
feel  self-complacent  and  happy  ?  And 
is  not  the  possession  of  much  wealth  by 
an  individual  Christian,  or  a  Christian 
church,  likely  to  produce  just  the  luke¬ 
warmness  which  it  is  said  existed  in  the 
church  at  Laodicea  ?  If  we  thus  under¬ 
stand  it,  there  will  be  an  accordance 
with  the  well-known  fact  that  Laodicea 
was  distinguished  for  its  riches,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  with  another  fact,  so 
common  as  to  be  almost  universal,  that 
the  possession  of  great  wealth  tends  to 
make  a  professed  Christian  self-compla¬ 
cent  and  satisfied  in  every  respect;  to 
make  him  feel  that,  although  he  may 
not  have  much  religion,  yet  he  is  on  the 
whole  well  off;  and  to  produce,  in  reli¬ 
gion,  a  state  of  just  such  lukewarmness 
as  the  Saviour  here  says  was  loathsome 
and  odious,  And  increased  with  goods, 
— Trsn\6vKt]ica,  “I  am  enriched.”  This  is 
only  a  more  emphatic  and  intensive  way 
of  saying  the  same  thing.  It  has  no 
reference  to  the  kind  of  riches  referred 


A.  D.  96.1  CHAPTER  III.  125 


and  have  need  of  nothing;  and 
knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched, 

to,  but  merely  denotes  the  confident 
manner  in  which  they  affirmed  that  they 
were  rich.  And  have  need  of  nothing. 
Still  an  emphatic  and  intensive  way  of 
saying  that  they  were  rich.  In  all  re¬ 
spects,  their  wants  were  satisfied ;  they 
had  enough  of  every  thing.  They  felt, 
therefore,  no  stimulus  to  effort  ,•  they  sat 
down  in  contentment,  self-complacency, 
and  indifference.  It  is  almost  unavoid¬ 
able  that  those  who  are  rich  in  this 
world’s  goods  should  feel  that  they  have 
need  of  nothing.  There  is  no  more  com¬ 
mon  illusion  among  men  than  the  feel¬ 
ing  that  if  one  has  wealth,  he  has  every 
thing;  that  there  is  no  want  of  his  na¬ 
ture  which  cannot  be  satisfied  with  that; 
and  that  he  may  now  sit  down  in  con¬ 
tentment  and  ease.  Hence  the  almost 
universal  desire  to  he  rich;  hence  the 
common  feeling  among  those  who  are 
rich  that  there  is  no  occasion  for  solici¬ 
tude  or  care  for  any  thing  else.  Comp. 
Luke  xii.  19.  And  Icnowest  not.  There 
is  no  just  impression  in  regard  to  the 
real  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  your 
condition.  That  thou  art  wretched. 
The  word  wretched  we  now  use  to  de¬ 
note  the  actual  consciousness  of  being 
miserable,  as  applicable  to  one  who  is 
sunk  into  deep  distress  or  affliction.  The 
word  here,  however,  refers  rather  to  the 
condition  itself  than  to  the  consciousness 
of  that  condition,  for  it  is  said  that  they 
did  not  know  it.  Their  state  was,  in 
fact,  a  miserable  state,  and  was  fitted  to 
produce  actual  distress  if  they  had  had 
any  just  sense  of  it,  though  they  thought 
that  it  was  otherwise.  And  miserable. 
This  word  has,  with  us  now,  a  similar 
signification ;  but  the  term  here  used — 
IXcetvb g  —  rather  means  a  pitiable  state 
than  one  actually  felt  to  be  so.  The 
meaning  is,  that  their  condition  was  one 
that  was  fitted  to  excite  pity  or  compas¬ 
sion;  not  that  they  were  actually  mise¬ 
rable.  Comp.  Notes  on  1  Cor.  xv.  19. 

And  poor.  Notwithstanding  all  their 
boast  of  having  enough.  They  really 
had  not  that  which  was  necessary  to 
meet  the  actual  wants  of  their  nature, 
and,  therefore,  they  were  poor.  Their 
worldly  property  could  not  meet  the 
wants  of  their  souls ;  and,  with  all  their 
pretensions  to  piety,  they  had  not  reli¬ 
gion  enough  to  meet  the  necessities  of 
11  st¬ 


and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind, 
and  naked : 


their  nature  when  calamities  should 
come,  or  when  death  should  approach ; 
and  they  were,  therefore,  in  the  strictest 
sense  of  the  term,  poor.  And  blind. 
That  is,  in  a  spiritual  respect.  They 
did  not  seo  the  reality  of  their  condition; 
they  had  no  just  views  of  themselves, 
of  the  character  of  God,  of  the  way  of 
salvation.  This  seems  to  be  said  in 
connection  with  the  boast  which  they 
made  in  their  own  minds — that  they  had 
every  thing ;  that  they  wanted  nothing. 
One  of  the  great  blessings  of  life  is  clear¬ 
ness  of  vision,  and  their  boast  that  they 
had  every  thing  must  have  included 
that;  but  the  speaker  here  says  that 
they  lacked  that  indispensable  thing  to 
completeness  of  character  and  to  full 
enjoyment.  With  all  their  boasting,  they 
were  actually  blind, — and  how  could  one 
who  was  in  that  state  say  that  he  "  had 
need  of  nothing?”  f  And  naked.  Of 
course,  spiritually.  Salvation  is  often 
represented  as  a  garment  (Matt.  xxii. 
11,  12 ;  Rev.  vi.  11 ;  vii.  9,  13,  14),  and 
the  declaration  here  is  equivalent  to  say¬ 
ing  that  they  had  no  religion.  They 
had  nothing  to  cover  the  nakedness  of 
the  soul,  and  in  respect  to  the  real 
wants  of  their  nature  they  were  like 
one  who  had  no  clothing  in  reference  to 
cold,  and  heat,  and  storms,  and  to  the 
shame  of  nakedness.  How  could  such 
an  one  be  regarded  as  rich?  —  We  may 
learn  from  this  instructive  verse,  (1) 
That  men  may  think  themselves  to  bo 
rich,  and  yet,  in  fact,  be  miserably  poor. 
They  may  have  the  wealth  of  this  world 
in  abundance,  and  yet  have  nothing  that 
really  will  meet  their  wants  in  disap¬ 
pointment,  bereavement,  sickness,  death; 
the  wants  of  the  never-dying  soul;  their 
wants  in  eternity.  What  had  the  “  rich 
fool,”  as  ho  is  commonly  termed,  in  the 
parable,  when  he  came  to  die?  Luke 
xii.  16,  seq.  What  had  “  Dives,”  as  he 
is  commonly  termed,  to  meet  the  wants 
of  his  nature  when  he  went  down  to 
hell?  Luke  xvi.  19,  seq.  (2)  Men  may 
have  much  property,  and  think  that  they 
have  all  they  want,  and  yet  be  wretched. 
In  the  sense  that  their  condition  is  a 
wretched  condition,  this  is  always  true, 
and  in  the  sense  that  they  are  consciously 
wretched,  this  may  be  and  often  is  true 
also.  (3)  Men  may  have  great  property, 


126 


REVELATION* 


[A.  D.  96. 


18  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  a  of  me 
gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou 
mayest  be  rich ;  and  white  raiment, 
that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  and 
a  Is.  55. 1. 


and  yet  be  miserable.  This  is  true  in 
the  sense  that  their  condition  is  a  piti¬ 
able  one,  and  in  the  sense  that  they  are 
actually  unhappy.  There  is  no  more 
pitiable  condition  than  that  where  one 
has  great  property,  and  is  self-compla¬ 
cent  and  proud,  and  who  has  neverthe¬ 
less  no  God,  no  Saviour,  no  hope  of 
heaven,  and  who  perhaps  that  very  day 
may  "lift  up  his  eyes  in  hell,  being  in 
torments and,  it  need  not  be  added,  that 
there  is  no  greater  actual  misery  in  this 
world  than  that  which  sometimes  finds 
its  way  into  the  palaces  of  the  rich.  He 
greatly  errs,  who  thinks  that  misery  is 
confined  to  the  cottages  of  the  poor. 
(4)  Men  may  be  rich,  and  think  they 
have  all  that  they  want,  and  yet  be 
blind  to  their  condition.  They  really 
have  no  distinct  vision  of  any  thing. 
They  have  no  just  views  of  God,  of 
themselves,  of  their  duty,  of  this  world, 
or  of  the  next.  In  most  important  re¬ 
spects,  they  are  in  a  worse  condition 
than  the  inmates  of  an  asylum  for  the 
blind,  for  they  may  have  clear  views 
of  God  and  of  heaven.  Mental  darkness 
is  a  greater  calamity  than  the  loss  of 
natural  vision;  and  there  is  many  an 
one  who  is  surrounded  by  all  that  afflu¬ 
ence  can  give,  who  never  yet  had  one 
correct  view  of  his  own  character,  of  his 
God,  or  of  the  reality  of  his  condition, 
and  whose  condition  might  have  heen 
far  better  if  he  had  actually  been  born 
blind.  (5)  There  may  be  gorgeous  robes 
of  adorning,  and  yet  real  nakedness. 
With  all  the  decorations  that  wealth  can 
impart,  there  maybe  a  nakedness  of  the 
soul  as  real  as  that  of  the  body  would  be 
if,  without  a  rag  to  cover  it,  it  were 
exposed  to  cold,  and  storm,  and  shame. 
The  soul,  destitute  of  the  robes  of  salva¬ 
tion,  is  in  a  worse  condition  than  the 
body  without  raiment : — for,  how  can  it 
bear  the  storms  of  wrath  that  shall  beat 
upon  it  forever,  and  the  shame  of  its 
exposure  in  the  last  dread  day  ? 

18.  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me  gold 
tried  in  the  fire.  Pure  gold;  such  as 
has  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  heat 
to  purify  it  from  dross.  See  Notes  on 


that  the  shame  of  thy  nakedness  b 
do  not  appear;  and  anoint  thine 
eyes  with  eye-salve,  that  thou  may¬ 
est  see. 

b  c.  16. 15. 


1  Peter  i.  7.  Gold  here  is  emblematic 
of  religion  —  as  being  the  most  precious 
of  the  metals,  and  the  most  valued  by 
men.  They  professed  to  be  rich,  but 
were  not;  and  he  counsels  them  to  ob¬ 
tain  from  him  that  which  would  make 
them  truly  rich.  That  thou  mayest  be 
rich.  In  the  true  and  proper  sense  of 
the  word.  With  true  religion ;  with 
the  favor  and  friendship  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer,  they  would  have  all  that  they 
really  needed,  and  would  never  be  in 
want.  And  white  raiment.  The  em¬ 
blem  of  purity  and  salvation.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  4.  This  is  said  in  reference  to 
the  fact  (ver.  17)  that  they  were  then 
naked.  That  thou  mayest  be  clothed. 
With  the  garments  of  salvation.  This 
refers,  also,  to  true  religion,  meaning 
that  that  which  the  Redeemer  furnishes 
will  answer  the  same  purpose  in  respect 
to  the  soul  which  clothing  does  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  body.  Of  course,  it  cannot 
be  understood  literally,  nor  should  the 
language  be  pressed  too  closely,  as  if 
there  was  too  strict  a  resemblance. 

And  that  the  shame  of  thy  nakedness 
do  not  appear.  We  clothe  the  body  as 
well  for  decency  as  for  protection  against 
cold,  and  storm,  and  heat.  The  soul  is  to 
be  clothed  that  the  “  shame”  of  its  sin¬ 
fulness  may  not  be  exhibited,  and  that 
it  may  not  be  offensive  and  repellant  in 
the  sight.  And  anoint  thine  eyes  toith 
eye-salve.  In  allusion  to  the  fact  that 
they  were  blind,  ver.  17.  The  word  eye- 
salve — KoWovptov,  occurs  nowhere  else  in 
the  New  Testament.  It  is  a  diminutive 
from  KoWvpa — collyra,  a  coarse  bread  or 
cake,  and  means  properly  a  small  cake 
or  cracknel.  It  is  applied  to  eye-salve 
as  resembling  such  a  cake,  and  refers  to 
a  medicament  prepared  for  sore  or  weak 
eyes.  It  was  compounded  of  various 
substances  supposed  to  have  a  healing 
quality.  See  Wetstein  in  loc.  The  re¬ 
ference  here  is  to  a  spiritual  healing, — 
meaning  that,  in  respect  to  their  spiri¬ 
tual  vision,  what  he  would  furnish  would 
produce  the  same  effect  as  the  collyrium 
or  eye-salve  would  in  diseased  eyes. 
The  idea  is,  that  the  grace  of  the  gospel 


CHAPTER  III. 


127 


A.  D.  96.1 


19  As  °  many  as  I  love,  I  rebuke 
and  chasten:  be  zealous  therefore, 
and  repent. 

20  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door, 

a  He.  12.  5,  6. 


enables  men  who  were  before  blind  to 
see  clearly  the  character  of  God,  the 
beauty  of  the  way  of  salvation,  the 
loveliness  of  the  person  and  of  work  of 
Christ,  &c.  See  Notes  on  Eph.  i.  18. 

19.  As  many  as  I  love,  1  rebuke  and 
chasten.  Of  course,  only  on  the  suppo¬ 
sition  that  they  deserve  it.  The  mean¬ 
ing  is,  that  it  is  a  proof  of  love  on  his 
part,  if  his  professed  friends  go  astray, 
to  recall  them  by  admonitions  and  by 
trials.  So  a  father  calls  back  his  chil¬ 
dren  who  are  disobedient,  and  there  is 
no  higher  proof  of  his  love  than  when, 
with  great  pain  to  himself,  he  adminis¬ 
ters  such  chastisement  as  shall  save  his 
child.  See  the  sentiment  here  expressed 
fully  explained  in  the  Notes  on  Heb. 
xii.  6,  seq.  The  language  is  taken  from 
Prov.  iii.  12.  f  Be  zealous,  therefore, 
and  repent.  Be  earnest,  strenuous, 
ardent  in  your  purpose  to  exercise  true 
repentance,  and  to  turn  from  the  error 
of  your  ways.  Lose  no  time ;  spare  no 
labor,  that  you  may  obtain  such  a  state 
of  mind  that  it  shall  not  be  necessary  to 
bring  upon  you  the  severe  discipline 
which  always  comes  on  those  who  con¬ 
tinue  lukewarm  in  religion. — The  truth 
taught  here  is,  that  when  the  professed 
followers  of  Christ  have  become  luke¬ 
warm  in  his  service,  they  should  lose  no 
time  in  returning  to  him,  and  seeking 
his  favor  again.  As  sure  as  he  has  any 
true  love  for  them,  if  this  is  not  done, 
he  will  bring  upon  them  some  heavy 
calamity,  alike  to  rebuke  them  for  their 
errors,  and  to  recover  them  to  himself. 

20.  Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock.  Intimating  that,  though  they 
had  erred,  the  way  of  repentance  and 
hope  was  not  closed  against  them.  He 
was  still  willing  to  be  gracious,  though 
their  conduct  had  been  such  as  to  be 
loathsome,  ver.  16.  To  see  the  real 
force  of  this  language,  we  must  remem¬ 
ber  how  disgusting  and  offensive  their 
conduct  had  been  to  him.  And  yet  he 
was  willing,  notwithstanding  this,  to 
receive  them  to  his  favor;  nay  more, 
he  stood  and  plead  with  them  that  he 
might  be  received  with  the  hospitality 


and  knock:  b  If c  any  man  hear  my 
voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come 
in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him, 
and  he  with  me. 

b  Ca.  5.  2.  Lu.  12.  36.  e  Jno.  14.  23. 


that  would  be  shown  to  a  friend  or 
stranger.  The  language  here  is  so  plain 
that  it  scarcely  needs  explanation.  It 
is  taken  from  an  act  when  we  approach 
a  dwelling,  and,  by  a  well-understood 
sign — knocking — announce  our  presence, 
and  ask  for  admission.  The  act  of 
knocking  implies  two  things :  (a)  that 
we  desire  admittance ;  and  ( b )  that  we 
recognize  the  right  of  him  who  dwells 
in  the  house  to  open  the  door  to  us  or 
not  as  he  shall  please.  We  would  not 
obtrude  upon  him ;  we  would  not  force 
his  door ;  and  if,  after  we  are  sure  that 
we  are  heard,  we  are  not  admitted,  we 
turn  quietly  away.  Both  of  these  things 
are  implied  here  by  the  language  used 
by  the  Saviour  when  he  approaches  man 
as  represented  under  the  imago  of 
knocking  at  the  door : — that  he  desires 
to  be  admitted  to  our  friendship ;  and 
that  he  recognizes  our  freedom  in  the 
matter.  He  does  not  obtrude  himself 
upon  us,  nor  does  he  employ  force  to 
find  admission  to  the  heart.  If  admitted, 
he  comes  and  dwells  with  us ;  if  reject¬ 
ed,  he  turns  quietly  away — perhaps  to 
return  and  knock  again ;  perhaps  never 
to  come  back.  The  language  here  used, 
also,  may  be  understood  as  applicable  to 
all  persons,  and  to  all  the  methods  by 
which  the  Saviour  seeks  to  come  into 
the  heart  of  a  sinner.  It  would  properly 
refer  to  any  thing  which  would  announce 
his  presence: — his  word;  his  Spirit;  the 
solemn  events  of  his  Providence;  the 
invitations  of  his  gospel.  In  these,  and 
in  other  methods  he  comes  to  man, 
and  the  manner  in  which  these  invita¬ 
tions  ought  to  be  estimated,  would  be 
seen  by  supposing  that  he  came  to  us 
personally  and  solicited  our  friendship, 
and  proposed  to  be  our  Redeemer.  It 
may  be  added  here,  that  this  expression 
proves  that  the  attempt  at  reconciliation 
begins  with  the  Saviour.  It  is  not  that 
the  sinner  goes  out  to  meet  him,  or  to 
seek  for  him ;  it  is  that  the  Saviour  pre¬ 
sents  himself  at  the  door  of  the  heart  as 
if  he  were  desirous  to  enjoy  the  friend¬ 
ship  of  man.  This  is  in  accordance  with 
the  uniform  language  of  the  New  Testa- 


128  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


21  To  him  that  overcometh  °  will 

alJno.  5.4,5.  c.  12.11. 

ment,  that  “  God  so  loved  the  world  as 
to  give  his  only-begotten  Son;”  that 
“  Christ  came  to  seek  and  to  save  the 
lost ;”  that  the  Saviour  says,  “  Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy- 
laden,”  &c.  Salvation,  in  the  Scriptures, 
is  never  represented  as  originated  by  man. 

If  any  ma?i  hear  my  voice.  Perhaps 
referring  to  a  custom  then  prevailing, 
that  he  who  knocked  spake,  in  order  to 
let  it  be  known  who  it  was.  This  might 
be  demanded  in  the  night  (Luke  xi.  5), 
or  when  there  was  apprehension  of 
danger,  and  it  may  have  been  the  cus¬ 
tom  when  John  wrote.  The  language 
here,  in  accordance  with  the  uniform 
usage  in  the  Scriptures  (Comp.  Isa.  lv. 
1;  John  vii.  37;  Rev.  xxii.  17),  is  uni¬ 
versal,  and  proves  that  the  invitations 
of  the  gospel  are  made,  and  are  to  be 
made,  not  to  a  part  only,  but  fully  and 
freely  to  all  men ;  for,  although  this 
originally  had  reference  to  the  members 
of  the  church  in  Laodicea,  yet  the  lan¬ 
guage  chosen  seems  to  have  been  of  de¬ 
sign  so  universal  {lav  ns)  as  to  be  appli¬ 
cable  to  every  human  being ;  and  any 
one,  of  any  age,  and  in  any  land,  would 
be  authorized  to  apply  this  to  himself, 
and,  under  the  protection  of  this  invita¬ 
tion  to  come  to  the  Saviour,  and  to  plead 
this  promise  as  one  that  fairly  included 
himself.  It  may  be  observed  farther, 
that  this  also  recognizes  the  freedom  of 
man.  It  is  submitted  to  him  whether 
he  will  hear  the  voice  of  the  Redeemer 
or  not;  and  whether  he  will  open  the 
door  and  admit  him  or  not.  He  speaks 
loud  enough,  and  distinctly  enough,  to 
be  heard,  but  he  does  not  force  the  door 
if  it  is  not  voluntarily  opened.  And 
open  the  door.  As  one  would  when  a 
stranger  or  friend  stood  and  knocked. 
The  meaning  here  is  simply,  if  any  one 
will  admit  me ;  that  is,  receive  me  as  a 
friend.  The  act  of  receiving  him  is 
as  voluntary  on  our  part  as  it  is  when 
we  rise  and  open  the  door  to  one  who 
knocks.  It  may  be  added  (1)  that 
this  is  an  easy  thing.  Nothing  is  more 
easy  than  to  open  the  door  when  one 
knocks ;  and  so  everywhere  in  the 
Scriptures  it  is  represented  as  an  easy 
thing,  if  the  heart  is  willing,  to  secure 
the  salvation  of  the  soul.  (6)  This  is  a 
' easondble  thing.  We  invite  him  who 


I  grant  to  sit 4  with  me  in  my  throne, 

b  Lu.  22.  30. 


knocks  at  the  door,  to  come  in.  We  al¬ 
ways  assume,  unless  there  is  reason  to 
suspect  the  contrary,  that  he  applies  for 
peaceful  and  friendly  purposes.  We 
deem  it  the  height  of  rudeness  to  let 
one  stand  and  knock  long ;  or  to  let  him 
go  away  with  no  friendly  invitation  to 
enter  our  dwelling.  Yet,  how  different 
does  the  sinner  treat  the  Saviour  !  How 
long  does  he  suffer  him  to  knock  at  the 
door  of  his  heart,  with  no  invitation  to 
enter — no  act  of  common  civility  such 
as  that  with  which  he  would  greet  even 
a  stranger  !  And  with  how  much  cool¬ 
ness  and  indifference  does  he  see  him 
turn  away — perhaps  to  come  back  no 
more,  and  with  no  desire  that  he  ever 
should  return  !  1  will  come  in  to  him, 

and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me. 
This  is  an  image  denoting  intimacy  and 
friendship.  Supper,  with  the  ancients, 
was  the  principal  social  meal ;  and  the 
idea  here  is,  that  between  the  Saviour 
and  those  who  would  receive  him,  there 
would  be  the  intimacy  which  subsists 
between  those  who  sit  down  to  a  friendly 
meal  together.  In  all  countries  and 
times,  to  eat  together,  to  break  bread 
together,  has  been  the  symbol  of  friend¬ 
ship,  and  this  the  Saviour  promises  here. 
The  truths,  then,  which  are  taught  in 
this  verse,  are  (l)  that  the  invitation  of 
the  gospel  is  made  to  all — “  if  any  man 
hear  my  voice  ;”  (2)  that  the  movement 
towards  reconciliation  and  friendship  is 
originated  by  the  Saviour — “  behold,  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock;”  (3)  that 
there  is  a  recognition  of  our  own  free 
agency  in  religion — “if  any  man  will 
hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door;”  (4) 
the  ease  of  the  terms  of  salvation,  re¬ 
presented  by  “hearing  his  voice,”  and 
“opening  the  door;”  and  (5)  the  bless¬ 
edness  of  thus  admitting  him,  arising 
from  his  friendship — “I  will  sup  with 
him,  and  he  with  me.”  What  friend 
can  man  have  who  would  confer  so 
many  benefits  on  him  as  the  Lord- Jesus 
Christ?  Who  is  there  that  he  should 
so  gladly  welcome  to  his  bosom  ? 

21.  To  him  that  overcometh.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  ii.  7.  Will  I  grant  to 
sit  with  me  in  my  throne.  That  is,  they 
will  share  his  honors  and  his  triumphs. 
See  Notes  ch.  ii.  26,  27 ;  comp.  Notes  on 
Rom.  viii.  17.  Even  as  I  vJio  over - 


CHAPTER  III 


129 


A.  D.  96.] 

even  as  I  also  overcame,  °  and  am 
set  down  with  mj  Father  in  his 
throne. 

a  Jno.  16.  33. 


came.  As  I  gained  a  victory  over  the 
world,  and  over  the  power  of  the 
Tempter.  As  the  reward  of  this,  he  is 
exalted  to  the  throne  of  the  universe 
(Phil.  ii.  6-11),  and  in  these  honors 
achieved  by  their-  great  and  glorious 
Head,  all  the  redeemed  will  share. 

And  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in 
his  throne.  Comp.  Notes  on  Phil.  ii. 
6-11.  That  is,  he  has  dominion  over 
the  universe.  All  things  are  put  under 
his  feet,  and  in  the  strictest  unison,  and 
with  perfect  harmony,  he  is  united  with 
the  Father  in  administering  the  affairs 
of  all  worlds.  The  dominion  of  the 
Father  is  that  of  the  Son ;  that  of  the 
Son  is  that  of  the  Father — for  they  are 
one.  See  Notes  on  John  v.  19;  comp. 
Notes  on  Eph.  i.  20-22;  1  Cor.  xv. 
24-28. 

22.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  &c.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  ii.  7. 

This  closes  the  epistolary  part  of  this 
book,  and  the  “  visions”  properly  com¬ 
mence  with  the  next  chapter.  Two 
remarks  may  be  made  in  the  conclusion 
of  this  exposition.  (1)  The  first  relates 
to  the  truthfulness  of  the  predictions  in 
these  epistles.  As  an  illustration  of  that 
truthfulness,  and  of  the  present  cor¬ 
respondence  of  the  condition  of  those 
churches  with  what  the  Saviour  said  to 
John  they  would  be,  the  following 
striKing  passage  may  be  introduced 
from  Mr.  Gibbon.  It  occurs  in  his  de¬ 
scription  of  the  conquests  of  the  Turks 
(Dec.  &  Fall,  iv.  260,  261) “  Two 
Turkish  chieftains,  Sarukhan  and  Aidiu, 
left  their  names  to  their  conquests,  and 
their  conquests  to  their  posterity.  The 
captivity  or  ruin  of  the  seven  churches 
of  Asia  was  consummated ;  and  the  bar¬ 
barous  lords  of  Ionia  and  Lydia  still 
trample  on  the  monuments  of  classic 
and  Christian  antiquity.  In  the  loss  of 
Ephesus,  the  Christians  deplored  the 
fall  of  the  first  angel,  the  extinction  of 
the  first  candlestick  of  the  Revelations  : 
the  destitution  is  complete ;  and  the 
temple  of  Diana,  or  the  church  of  Mary, 
will  equally  elude  the  search  of  the 
curious  traveller.  The  circus  and  throe 
etatoly  theatres  of  Laodicoa  aro  now 


22  He  b  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches. 

b  c.  2.  7. 


peopled  with  wolves  and  foxes  ;  Sardis 
is  reduced  to  a  miserable  village ;  the 
God  of  Mahomet,  without  a  rival  or  a 
son,  is  invoked  in  the  mosques  of 
Thyatira  and  Pergamos ;  and  the  popu¬ 
lousness  of  Smyrna  is  supported  by  the 
foreign  trade  of  Franks  and  Armenians. 
Philadelphia  alone  has  been  saved  by 
prophecy  or  courage.  At  a  distance 
from  the  sea,  forgotten  by  the  emperors, 
encompassed  on  all  sides  by  the  Turks, 
her  valiant  citizens  defended  their  reli¬ 
gion  and  freedom  above  fourscore  years, 
and  at  length  capitulated  with  the 
proudest  of  the  Ottomans.  Among  the 
Greek  colonies  and  churches  of  Asia, 
Philadelphia  is  still  erect,  a  column 
in  a  scene  of  ruins ;  a  pleasing  example 
that  the  paths  of  honor  and  safety  may 
sometimes  be  the  same.” 

(2)  The  second  remark  relates  to  the 
applicability  of  these  important  truths 
to  us.  There  is  perhaps  no  part  of  the 
New  Testament  more  searching  than 
these  brief  epistles  to  the  seven  churches; 
and  though  those  to  whom  they  were 
addressed  have  long  since  passed  away, 
and  the  churches  have  long  since  become 
extinct ;  though  darkness,  error,  and 
desolation  have  come  over  the  places 
where  these  churches  once  stood,  yet 
the  principles  laid  down  in  these  epistles 
still  live,  and  they  are  full  of  admonition 
to  Christians  in  all  ages  and  all  lands. 
It  is  a  consideration  of  as  much  import¬ 
ance  to  us  as  it  was  to  these  churches, 
that  the  Saviour  now  knows  our  works ; 
that  he  sees  in  the  church  and  in  any 
individual,  all  that  there  is  to  commend 
and  all  that  there  is  to  reprove ;  that  he 
has  power  to  reward  or  punish  now  as 
he  had  then ;  that  the  same  rules  in  ap¬ 
portioning  rewards  and  punishments  will 
still  be  acted  on ;  that  he  who  overcomes 
the  temptations  of  the  world  will  find  an 
appropriate  reward,  that  those  who  live 
in  sin  must  meet  with  the  proper  re¬ 
compense,  and  that  those  who  are  luke¬ 
warm  in  his  service  will  be  spurned  with 
unutterable  loathing.  His  rebukes  are 
awful ;  but  his  promises  are  full  of  ten¬ 
derness  and  kindness.  Whilo  they  Who 
have  embraced  error,  and  they  who  are 


130 


REVELATION, 


living  in  sin,  have  occasion  to  tremble 
before  him,  they  who  are  endeavoring  to 
perform  their  duty,  may  find  in  these 
epistles  enough  to  cheer  their  hearts,  and 
to  animate  them  with  the  hope  of  final 
victory,  and  of  the  most  ample  and  glo¬ 
rious  reward. 

CHAPTER  TV. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  properly  commences 
the  series  of  visions  respecting  future 
events,  and  introduces  those  remarkable 
symbolical  descriptions  which  were  de¬ 
signed  to  cheer  the  hearts  of  those  to 
whom  the  book  was  first  sent,  in  their 
trials,  and  the  hearts  of  all  believers  in 
all  ages,  with  the  assurance  of  the  final 
triumph  of  the  gospel.  See  the  Intro¬ 
duction. 

In  regard  to  the  nature  of  these  visions, 
or  the  state  of  mind  of  the  writer,  there 
have  been  different  opinions.  Some  have 
supposed  that  all  that  is  described  was 
made  only  to  pass  before  the  mind,  with 
no  visible  representation ;  others,  that 
there  were  visible  representations  so 
made  to  him  that  he  could  copy  them ; 
others,  that  all  that  is  said  or  seen  was 
only  the  production  of  the  author’s  ima¬ 
gination.  The  latter  is  the  view  princi¬ 
pally  entertained  by  German  writers  on 
the  book.  All  that  would  seem  to  be 
apparent  on  the  face  of  the  book,  —  and 
that  is  all  that  we  can  judge  by  —  is, 
that  the  following  things  occurred : — (1) 
The  writer  was  in  a  devout  frame  of 
mind — a  state  of  holy  contemplation — 
when  the  scenes  were  represented  to 
him,  ch.  i.  10.  (2)  The  representations 
were  supernatural,  —  that  is,  they  were 
something  which  was  disclosed  to  him, 
in  that  state  of  mind,  beyond  any  na¬ 
tural  reach  of  his  faculties.  (3)  These 
things  were  so  made  to  pass  before  him 
that  they  had  the  aspect  of  reality,  and 
he  could  copy  and  describe  them  as  real. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  there 
was  any  representation  to  the  bodily 
eye ;  but  they  had,  to  his  mind,  such  a 
reality  that  he  could  describe  them  as 
pictures  or  symbols  —  and  his  office  was 
limited  to  that.  He  does  not  attempt  to 
explain  them — nor  does  he  intimate  that 
he  understood  them ;  but  his  office  per¬ 
tains  to  an  accurate  record — a  fair  tran¬ 
script — of  what  passed  before  his  mind. 
For  any  thing  that  appears,  he  may 
have  been  as  ignorant  of  their  signifioa- 


[A.  D.  96. 

tion  as  any  of  his  readers,  and  may  have 
subsequently  studied  them  with  the  same 
kind  of  attention  which  we  now  give  to 
them  (comp.  Notes  on  1  Pet.  i.  11,  12), 
and  may  have,  perhaps,  remained  igno¬ 
rant  of  their  signification  to  the  day  of 
his  death.  It  is  no  more  necessary  to 
suppose  that  he  understood  all  that  was 
implied  in  these  symbols,  than  it  is  that 
one  who  can  describe  a  beautiful  land¬ 
scape  understands  all  the  laws  of  the 
plants  and  flowers  in  the  landscape ;  or, 
that  one  who  copies  all  the  designs  and 
devices  of  armorial  bearings  in  heraldry 
should  understand  all  that  is  meant  by 
the  symbols  that  are  used;  or,  that  one 
who  should  copy  the  cuniform  inscrip¬ 
tions  of  Persepolis,  or  the  hieroglyphics 
of  Thebes,  should  understand  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  symbols.  All  that  is  demanded 
or  expected,  in  such  a  case,  is,  that  the 
copy  should  be  accurately  made ;  and, 
when  made,  this  copy  may  be  as  much 
an  object  of  study  to  him  who  made  it 
as  to  any  one  else.  (4)  Yet,  there  was 
a  sense  in  which  these  symbols  were 
real;  that  is,  they  were  a  real  and  pro¬ 
per  delineation  of  future  events.  They 
were  not  the  mere  workings  of  the  ima¬ 
gination.  He  who  saw  them  in  vision, 
though  there  may  have  been  no  repre¬ 
sentation  to  the  eye,  had  before  him 
what  was  a  real  and  appropriate  re¬ 
presentation  of  coming  events.  If  not, 
the  visions  are  as  worthless  as  dreams 
are. 

The  visions  open  (ch.  iv.)  with  a 
Theophany,  or  a  representation  of  God. 
John  is  permitted  to  look  into  hea¬ 
ven,  and  to  have  a  view  of  the  throne 
of  God,  and  of  the  worship  celebrated 
there.  A  door  ( dvpa )  or  opening  is  made 
into  heaven,  so  that  he,  as  it  were,  looks 
through  the  concave  above,  and  sees 
what  is  beyond.  He  sees  the  throne  of 
God,  and  him  who  sits  on  the  throne, 
and  the  worshippers  there ;  he  sees  the 
lightnings  play  around  the  throne,  and 
hears  the  thunder’s  roar;  he  sees  the 
rainbow  that  encompasses  the  throne, 
and  hears  the  songs  of  the  worshippers. 
In  reference  to  this  vision,  at  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  the  series  ©f  symbols 
which  he  was  about  to  describe,  and 
the  reaeon  why  this  was  vouchsafed 
to  him,  the  following  remarks  may  be 
suggested : — 

(1)  There  is,  in  some  respects,  a  striking 
resemblance  between  this  and  the  visions 


CHAPTER  IV. 


131 


A.  D.  96.] 

of  Isaiah  (ch.  vi.)  and  Ezekiel  (eh.  i.). 
As  those  prophets,  when  about  to  enter  on 
their  office,  were  solemnly  inaugurated 
by  being  permitted  to  have  a  vision  of 
the  Almighty,  so  John  was  inaugurated 
to  the  office  of  making  known  future 
things — the  last  prophet  of  the  world — 
by  a  similar  vision.  We  shall  see,  in¬ 
deed,  that  the  representation  made  to 
J ohn  was  not  precisely  the  same  as  that 
which  was  made  to  Isaiah,  or  that  which 
was  made  to  Ezekiel ;  but  the  most 
striking  symbols  are  retained,  and  that 
of  J  ohn  is  as  much  adapted  to  impress 
the  mind  as  either  of  the  others.  Each 
of  them  describes  the  throne,  and  the 
attending  circumstances  of  sublimity  and 
majesty;  each  of  them  speaks  of  one  on 
the  throne,  but  neither  of  them  has  at¬ 
tempted  any  description  of  the  Almighty. 
There  is  no  delineation  of  an  image,  or  a 
figure  representing  God,  but  every  thing 
respecting  him  is  veiled  in  such  obscu¬ 
rity  as  to  fill  the  mind  with  awe. 

(2)  The  representation  is  such  as  to 
produce  deep  solemnity  on  the  mind  of 
the  writer  and  the  reader.  Nothing 
could  have  been  better  adapted  to  pre¬ 
pare  the  mind  of  John  for  the  important 
communications  which  he  was  about  to 
make  than  to  be  permitted  to  look,  as  it 
were,  directly  into  heaven,  and  to  see 
the  throne  of  God.  And  nothing  is  better 
fitted  to  impress  the  mind  of  the  reader 
than  the  view  which  is  furnished,  in  the 
opening  vision,  of  the  majesty  and  glory 
of  God.  Brought,  as  it  were,  into  his 
very  presence ;  permitted  to  look  upon 
his  burning  throne ;  seeing  the  reverent 
and  profound  worship  of  the  inhabitants 
of  heaven,  we  feel  our  minds  awed,  and 
our  souls  subdued,  as  we  hear  the  God 
of  heaven  speak,  and  as  we  see  seal 
after  seal  opened,  and  hear  trumpet 
after  trumpet  utter  its  voice. 

(3)  The  form  of  the  manifestation — 
the  opening  vision  —  is  eminently  fitted 
to  show  us  that  the  communications  in 
this  book  proceed  from  heaven.  Look¬ 
ing  into  heaven,  and  seeing  the  vision 
of  the  Almighty,  we  are  prepared  to  feel 
that  what  follows  has  a  higher  than  any 
human  origin ;  that  it  has  come  direct 
from  the  throne  of  God.  And, 

(4)  There  was  a  propriety  that  the  vi¬ 
sions  should  open  with  a  manifestation 
of  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven,  or  with 
a  vision  of  heaven,  because  that  also  is 
the  Urminalion  of  the  whole ;  it  is  that 


to  which  all  the  visions  in  the  book 
tend.  It  begins  in  heaven,  as  seen  by 
the  exile  in  Patmos;  it  terminates  in 
heaven,  when  all  enemies  of  the  church 
are  subdued,  and  the  redeemed  reign 
triumphant  in  glory. 

The  substance  of  the  introductory 
vision  in  this  chapter  can  be  stated  in 
few  words  :  —  (a)  A  door  is  opened,  and 
John  is  permitted  to  look  into  heaven, 
and  to  see  what  is  passing  there,  vs.  1,  2. 
(b)  The  first  thing  that  strikes  him  is  a 
throne,  with  one  sitting  on  the  throne,  ver. 
2.  (c)  The  appearance  of  him  who  sits 

upon  the  throne  is  described,  ver.  3.  He 
is  like  “a  jasper  and  a  sardine-stone.” 
There  is  no  attempt  to  portray  his  form; 
there  is  no  description  from  which  an 
image  could  be  formed  that  could  become 
an  object  of  idolatrous  worship — for  who 
would  undertake  to  chisel  any  thing 
so  indefinite  as  that  which  is  merely 
“  like  a  jasper  or  a  sardine-stone  ?”  And 
yet,  the  description  is  distinct  enough  to 
fill  the  mind  with  emotions  of  awe  and 
sublimity,  and  to  leave  the  impression 
that  he  who  sat  on  the  throne  was  a 
pure  and  holy  God.  (d)  Round  about 
the  throne  there  was  a  bright  rainbow — • 
a  symbol  of  peace,  ver.  3.  (e)  Around 
the  throne  are  gathered  the  elders  of  the 
church,  having  on  their  heads  crowns 
of  gold :  —  symbols  of  the  ultimate  tri¬ 
umph  of  the  church,  ver.  4.  (/)  Thun¬ 
der  and  lightning,  as  at  Sinai,  announce 
the  presence  of  God,  and  seven  burning 
lamps  before  the  throne  represent  the 
Spirit  of  God,  in  his  diversified  opera¬ 
tions,  as  going  forth  through  the  world 
to  enlighten,  sanctify,  and  save,  ver.  5. 
(g)  Before  the  throne,  there  is  a  pellucid 
pavement,  as  of  crystal,  spread  out  like 
a  sea:  —  emblem  of  calmness,  majesty, 
peace,  and  wide  dominion,  ver.  6.  (h) 

The  throne  is  supported  by  four  living 
creatures,  full  of  eyes : — emblems  of  the 
all-seeing  power  of  him  that  sits  upon 
the  throne,  and  of  his  ever-watchful 
Providence,  ver.  (5.  (i)  To  each  one  of 
these  living  creatures  there  is  a  peculiar 
symbolic  face : — respectively  emblematic 
of  the  authority,  the  power,  the  wis¬ 
dom  of  God,  and  of  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  purposes  of  Providence  are 
executed,  ver.  7.  All  are  furnished  with 
wings : — emblematic  of  their  readiness  to 
do  the  will  of  God,  ver.  8,  but  each  one 
individually  with  a  peculiar  form,  (j) 
All  these  creatures  pay  ceaseless  homage 


132 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FTER  this  I  looked,  and,  be¬ 
hold,  a  door  was  opened  in 
heaven ;  and  the  first  voice  “  which 
a  c.  1. 10. 


to  God,  whose  throne  they  are  repre¬ 
sented  as  supporting : — emblematic  of  the 
fact  that  all  the  operations  of  the  divine 
government  do,  in  fact,  promote  his 
glory,  and,  as  it  were,  render  him  praise, 
vs.  8,  9.  ( k )  To  this  the  elders,  the  re¬ 

presentatives  of  the  church,  respond : — 
representing  the  fact  that  the  church 
acquiesces  in  all  the  arrangements  of 
Providence,  and  in  the  execution  of  all 
the  divine  purposes,  and  finds  in  them 
all  ground  for  adoration  and  thanks¬ 
giving,  vs.  10,  11. 

1.  After  this.  Gr.  “after  these  things;” 
that  is,  after  what  he  had  seen,  and  after 
what  he  had  been  directed  to  record  in 
the  preceding  chapters.  How  long  after 
these  things  this  occurred,  he  does  not 
say  —  whether  on  the  same  day,  or  at 
some  subsequent  time;  and  conjecture 
would  be  useless.  The  scene,  however, 
is  changed.  Instead  of  seeing  the  Sa¬ 
viour  standing  before  him  (ch.  i.),  the 
scene  is  transferred  to  heaven,  and  he  is 
permitted  to  look  in  upon  the  throne  of 
God,  and  upon  the  worshippers  there. 

I  looked.  Gr.  I  saw — ulov.  Our  word 
look  would  rather  indicate  'purpose  or 
attention,  as  if  he  had  designedly  directed 
his  attention  to  heaven,  to  see  what 
could  be  discovered  there.  The  mean¬ 
ing,  however,  is  simply  that  he  saw  a 
new  vision,  without  intimating  whether 
there  was  any  design  on  his  part,  and 
without  saying  how  his  thoughts  came 
to  be  directed  to  heaven,  A  door  was 
opened.  That  is,  there  was  apparently 
an  opening  in  the  sky,  like  a  door,  so 
that  he  could  look  into  heaven.  In 
heaven.  Or,  rather,  in  the  expanse 
above  —  in  the  visible  heavens  as  they 
appear  to  spread  out  over  the  earth.  So, 
Ezek.  i.  1,  “  The  heavens  were  opened, 
and  I  saw  visions  of  God.”  Tho  He¬ 
brews  spoke  of  the  sky  above  as  a  solid 
expanse;  or,  as  a  curtain  stretched  out; 
or,  as  an  extended  arch  above  the  earth 
■ — describing  it  as  it  appears  to  the  eye. 
In  that  expanse,  or  arch,  the  stars  are 
set  as  gems  (comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxiv. 
4) ;  through  apertures  or  windows  in 


I  heard  was  as  it  were  of  a  trum¬ 
pet  talking  with  me ;  which  said, 
Come  b  up  hither,  and  I  will  shew 
thee  things  which  must  he  hereafter. 

b  c.  11. 12. 


that  expanse  the  rain  comes  down,  Gen. 
vii.  11 ;  and  that  is  opened  when  a  hea¬ 
venly  messenger  comes  down  to  the 
earth,  Matt.  iii.  16.  Comp.  Luke  iii.  21 ; 
Acts  vii.  56 ;  x.  11.  Of  course,  all  this 
is  figurative,  but  it  is  such  language  as 
all  men  naturally  use.  The  simple  mean¬ 
ing  here  is,  that  John  had  a  vision  of 
what  is  in  heaven  as  if  there  had  been 
such  an  opening  made  through  the  sky, 
and  he  had  been  permitted  to  look  into 
the  world  above,  And  the  first  voice 
which  I  heard.  That  is,  the  first  sound 
which  he  heard  was  a  command  to  come 
up  and  see  the  glories  of  that  world. 
He  afterwards  heard  other  sounds — the 
sounds  of  praise ;  but  the  first  notes  that 
fell  on  his  ear  were  a  direction  to  come 
up  there  and  to  receive  a  revelation  re¬ 
specting  future  things.  This  does  not 
seem  to  me  to  mean,  as  Prof.  Stuart, 
Lord,  and  others,  suppose,  that  he  now 
recognized  the  voice  which  had  first,  or 
formerly,  spoken  to  him  (ch.  i.  10),  but 
that  this  was  the  first  in  contradistinc¬ 
tion  from  other  voices  which  he  after¬ 
wards  heard.  It  resembled  the  former 
“voice”  in  this  that  it  was  “like  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet,”  but  besides  that 
there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any 
thing  that  would  suggest  to  him  that  it 
came  from  the  same  source.  It  is  cer¬ 
tainly  possible  that  the  Greek  would 
admit  of  that  interpretation,  but  it  is  not 
the  most  obvious  or  probable,  f  Was  as 
it  were  of  a  trumpet.  It  resembled  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  ch.  i.  10.  Talking 
with  me.  As  of  a  trumpet  that  seemed 
to  speak  directly  to  me.  f  Which  said. 
That  is,  the  voice  said.  Gome  up 
hither.  To  the  place  whence  the  voice 
seemed  to  proceed  —  heaven.  And  1 
will  shew  thee  things  which  must  he  here¬ 
after.  Gr.  “  after  these  things.”  The 
reference  is  to  future  events;  and  the 
meaning  is,  that  there  would  be  dis¬ 
closed  to  him  eyents  that  were  to  ocour 
at  some  future  period.  There  is  no  inti¬ 
mation  here  tchen  they  would  occur,  or 
what  would  be  embraced  in  the  period 
referred  to.  All  that  the  words  would 


CHAPTER  IV. 


133 


A.  D.  96.] 

2  And  immediately  I  was  in  °  the 
Spirit ;  and,  behold,  a  throne  b  was 
set  in  heaven,  and  one  sat e  on  the 
throne. 

a  Ez.  3. 12-14 ;  c.  IT .  3 ;  21. 10.  b  Is.  6. 1 ; 

Je.  17. 12;  Ez.  1.26,28.  c  Da.  7.9;  Hc.6.1. 


properly  convey  would  be,  that  there 
would  be  a  disclosure  of  things  that 
were  to  occur  in  some  future  time. 

2.  And  immediately  I  was  in  the  Spirit. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  10.  He  does  not 
affirm  that  he  was  caught  up  into  hea¬ 
ven,  nor  does  he  say  what  an  impression 
was  on  his  own  mind,  if  any,  as  to  the 
place  where  he  was,  hut  he  was  at  once 
absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
visions  before  him.  He  was  doubtless 
still  in  Patmos,  and  these  things  were 
made  to  pass  before  his  mind  as  a 
reality;  that  is,  they  appeared  as  real 
to  him  as  if  he  saw  them,  and  they  were 
in  fact  a  real  symbolical  representation 
of  things  occurring  in  heaven.  And, 
behold,  a  throne  was  set  in  heaven.  That 
is,  a  throne  was  placed  there.  The  first 
thing  that  arrested  his  attention  was  a 
throne.  This  was  “in  heaven” — an  ex¬ 
pression  which  proves  that  the  scene  of 
the  vision  was  not  the  temple  in  Jeru¬ 
salem,  as  some  have  supposed.  There 
is  no  allusion  to  the  temple,  and  no 
imagery  drawn  from  the  temple.  Isaiah 
had  his  vision  (Isa.  vi.)  in  the  holy  of 
holies  of  the  temple;  Ezekiel  (ch.  i.  1), 
by  the  river  Chebar ;  but  John  looked 
directly  into  heaven,  and  saw  the  throne 
of  God,  and  the  encircling  worshippers 
there,  And  one  sat  on  the  throne.  It 
is  remarkable  that  John  gives  no  de¬ 
scription  of  him  who  sat  on  the  throne, 
nor  does  he  indicate  who  he  was  by 
name.  Neither  do  Isaiah  or  Ezekiel 
attempt  to  describe  the  appearance  of 
the  Deity,  nor  are  there  any  intimations 
of  that  appearance  given  from  which  a 
picture  or  an  image  could  be  formed. 
So  much  do  their  representations  accord 
with  what  is  demanded  by  correct  taste; 
and  so  sedulously  have  they  guarded 
against  any  encouragement  of  idolatry. 

3.  And  he  that  sat  was  to  look  upon. 
Was  in  appearance ;  or,  as  Hooked  upon 
him,  this  seemed  to  be  bis  appearance. 
He  does  not  describe  bis  form,  but  his 
splendor.  Like  a  jasper — iaanSi.  The 
jasper,  properly,  is  “an  opaque,  impure 
variety  of  quartz,  of  red,  yellow,  and 

12 


3  And  he  that  sat  was  to  look 
upon  like  a  jasper  and  a  sardine- 
stone:  and  there  was  a  rainbow 
round  about  the  throne,  in  sight 
like  unto  an  emerald. 


also  of  some  dull  colors,  breaking  with 
a  smooth  surface.  It  admits  of  a  high 
polish,  and  is  used  for  vases,  seals,  snuff¬ 
boxes,  &c.  When  the  colors  are  in 
stripes  or  bands,  it  is  called  striped  jas¬ 
per.” — Dana,  in  Webster’s  Die.  The  co¬ 
lor  here  is  not  designated,  whether  red 
or  yellow.  As  the  red  was,  however,  the 
common  color  worn  by  princes,  it  is 
probable  that  that  was  the  color  that 
appeared,  and  that  John  means  to  say 
that  he  appeared  like  a  prince  in  his 
royal  robes.  Comp.  Isa.  vi.  1.  And 
a  sardine-stone — aapSivip.  This  denotes 
a  precious  stone  of  a  blood-red,  or  some¬ 
times  of  a  flesh-color,  more  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  carnelian. — Rob. 
Lex.  Thus  it  corresponds  with  the  jas¬ 
per,  and  this  is  only  an  additional  cir¬ 
cumstance  to  convey  the  exact  idea  in 
the  mind  of  John,  that  the  appearance 
of  him  who  sat  on  the  throne  was  that 
of  a  prince  in  his  scarlet  robes.  This  is 
all  the  description  which  he  gives  of 
his  appearance ;  and  this  is  (a)  entirely 
appropriate,  as  it  suggests  the  idea  of  a 
prince  or  a  monarch ;  and  (b)  it  is  well 
adapted  to  impress  the  mind  with  a 
sense  of  the  majesty  of  him  who  cannot 
be  described,  and  of  whom  no  image 
should  be  attempted.  Comp.  Deut.  iv. 
12.  “Ye  heard  the  voice  of  his  words, 
but  saw  no  similitude.”  And  thero 
was  a  rainbow  round  about  the  throne. 
This  is  a  beautiful  image,  and  was  pro¬ 
bably  designed  to  be  emblematical  as 
well  as  beautiful.  The  previous  repre¬ 
sentation  is  that  of  majesty  and  splen¬ 
dor  ;  this  is  adapted  to  temper  the  ma¬ 
jesty  of  the  representation.  The  rain¬ 
bow  has  always,  from  its  own  nature, 
and  from  its  associations,  been  an  em¬ 
blem  of  peace.  It  appears  on  the  cloud 
as  the  storm  passes  away.  It  contrasts 
beautifully  with  the  tempest  that  has 
just  been  raging.  It  is  seen  as  the  rays 
of  the  sun  again  appear  clothing  all 
things  with  beauty — the  more  beautiful 
from  the  fact  that  the  storm  has  come, 
and  that  the  rain  has  fallen.  If  the  rain 
has  been  gentle,  nature  smiles  serenely, 


134  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


4  And  round  about  the  throne 
were  four  and  twenty  seats  :  “  and 
upon  the  seats  I  saw  four  and 
a  c.  11. 16. 


and  the  leaves  and  flowers  refreshed 
appear  clothed  with  new  beauty ;  if  the 
storm  has  raged  violently,  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  rainbow  is  a  pledge  that  the 
war  of  the  elements  has  ceased,  and  that 
God  smiles  again  upon  the  earth.  It 
reminds  us  too  of  the  “  covenant,”  when 
God  did  “  set  his  bow  in  the  cloud,”  and 
solemnly  promised  that  the  earth  should 
no  more  be  destroyed  by  a  flood.  Gen. 
ix.  9-16.  The  appearance  of  the  rain¬ 
bow,  therefore,  around  the  throne  was  a 
beautiful  emblem  of  the  mercy  of  God, 
and  of  the  peace  that  was  to  pervade  the 
world  as  the  result  of  the  events  that 
were  to  be  disclosed  to  the  vision  of 
John.  True,  there  were  lightnings  and 
thunderings  and  voices,  but  there  the 
bow  abode  calmly  above  them  all,  assur¬ 
ing  him  that  there  was  to  be  mercy  and 
peace.  In  sight  like  unto  an  emerald. 
The  emerald  is  green,  and  this  color  so 
predominated  in  the  bow  that  it  seemed 
to  be  made  of  this  species  of  precious 
stone.  The  modified  and  mild  color  of 
green  appears  to  every  one  to  predomi¬ 
nate  in  the  rainbow.  Ezekiel  (i.  28)  has 
introduced  the  image  of  the  rainbow  also 
in  his  description  of  the  vision  that  ap¬ 
peared  to  him,  though  not  as  calmly  en¬ 
circling  the  throne,  but  as  descriptive 
of  the  general  appearance  of  the  scene. 
“  As  is  the  appearance  of  the  bow  that 
is  on  the  cloud  in  the  day  of  rain,  so 
was  the  appearance  of  the  brightness 
round  about.”  Milton  also  has  intro¬ 
duced  it,  but  it  is  also  as  a  part  of  the 
coloring  of  the  throne  : — 

li  Over  their  heads  a  crystal  firmament, 

Whereon  a  sapphire  throne,  inlaid  with  pure 
Amber,  and  colors  of  the  showery  arch.” 

Par.  Lostj  B.  vii. 

4.  And  round  about  the  throne  were 
four  amd  twenty  seats ,  Or  rather 
thrones — $p6voi  —  the  same  word  being 
used  as  that  which  is  rendered  throne — 
Spivos.  The  word,  indeed,  properly  de¬ 
notes  a  seat,  but  it  came  to  be  employed 
to  denote  particularly  the  seat  on  which 
a  monarch  sat,  and  is  properly  translated 
thus  in  vs.  2,  3.  So  it  is  rendered  in 
Matt.  v.  34,  xix.  28,  xxiii.  22,  xxv.  31 ; 
Luke  i.  32,  and  uniformly  elsewhere  in 
the  Now  Testament  (fifty-three  places 


twenty  elders  sitting,  clothed  in 
white  b  raiment ;  and  they  had  on 
their  heads  crowns  c  of  gold. 
b  c.  3.  4,  5.  c  ver.  10. 


in  all),  except  in  Luke  i.  52 ;  Rom.  ii. 
13,  iv.  4,  xi.  16,  xvi.  10,  where  it  is  ren¬ 
dered  seat  and  seats.  It  should  have 
been  rendered  throne  here,  and  is  so 
translated  by  Prof.  Stuart.  Coverdale 
and  Tyndall  render  the  word  seat  in 
each  place  in  vs.  2,  3,  4,  5.  It  was  un¬ 
doubtedly  the  design  of  the  writer  to 
represent  those  who  sat  on  those  seats 
as,  in  some  sense,  kings,  for  they  have 
on  their  heads  crowns  of  gold,  and  that 
idea  should  have  been  retained  in  the 
translation  of  this  word,  And  upon 
the  seats  I  saw  four  and  twenty  elders 
sitting.  Very  various  opinions  have 
been  entertained  in  respect  to  those  who 
thus  appeared  sitting  around  the  throne, 
and  to  the  question  why  the  number 
twenty-four  is  mentioned.  Instead  of 
examining  those  opinions  at  length,  it 
will  be  better  to  present,  in  a  summary 
manner,  what  seems  to  be  probable  in 
regard  to  the  intended  reference.  The 
following  points,  then,  would  appear  to 
embrace  all  that  can  be  known  on  this 
subject :  (1)  These  elders  have  a  regal 
character,  or  are  of  a  kingly  order.  This 
is  apparent  (a)  because  they  are  repre¬ 
sented  as  sitting  on  “  thrones,”  and  (b) 
because  they  have  on  their  heads 
“  crowns  of  gold.”  (2)  They  are  em¬ 
blematic.  They  are  designed  to  sym¬ 
bolize  or  represent  some  class  of  per¬ 
sons.  This  is  clear  because  (a)  it  cannot 
be  supposed  that  so  small  a  number 
would  compose  the  whole  of  those  who 
are  in  fact  around  the  throne  of  God, 
and  (5)  because  there  are  other  symbols 
there  designed  to  represent  something 
pertaining  to  the  homage  rendered  to 
God,  as  the  four  living  creatures  and 
the  angels,  and  this  supposition  is  ne¬ 
cessary  in  order  to  complete  the  sym¬ 
metry  and  harmony  of  the  representa¬ 
tion.  (3)  They  are  human  beings,  and 
are  designed  to  have  some  relation  to 
the  race  of  man,  and  somehow  to  con¬ 
nect  the  human  race  with  the  worship 
of  heaven.  The  four  living  creatures 
have  another  design;  the  angels  (ch. 
v.)  have  another ;  but  these  are  mani¬ 
festly  of  our  race — persons  from  this 
world  before  the  throne.  (4)  They  are 


135 


A.  D.  96.1  CHAPTER  IV. 


5  And  out  of  the  throne  proceeded 


designed  in  some  way  to  be  symbolic 
of  the  church  as  redeemed.  Thus  they 
say  (ch.  v.  9),  “Thou  hast  redeemed  us 
to  God  by  thy  blood.”  (5)  They  are 
designed  to  represent  the  whole  church 
in  every  land  and  every  age  of  the  world. 
Thus  they  say  (ch.  v.  9),  “Thou  hast 
redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood,  out 
of  every  'kindred ,  and  longue,  and  people, 
and  nation.”  This  shows  further  that 
the  whole  representation  is  emblematic; 
for  otherwise  in  so  small  a  number  — 
twenty-four  —  there  could  not  be  are- 
presentation  out  of  every  nation.  (6) 
They  represent  the  church  triumphant; 
the  church  victorious.  Thus  they  have 
crowns  on  their  heads ;  they  have  harps 
in  their  hands  (ch.  v.  8) ;  they  say  that 
they  are  “kings  and  priests,”  and  that 
they  will  “  reign  on  the  earth”  (ch.  v.  10). 

(7)  The  design,  therefore,  is  to  represent 
the  church  triumphant  —  redeemed  — 
saved  —  as  rendering  praise  and  honor 
to  God;  as  uniting  with  the  hosts  of 
heaven  in  adoring  him  for  his  perfec¬ 
tions  and  for  the  wonders  of  his  grace. 
As  representatives  of  the  church  they 
are  admitted  near  to  him  ;  they  encircle 
his  throne ;  they  appear  victorious  over 
every  foe;  and  they  come,  in  unison 
with  the  living  creatures,  and  the  angels, 
and  the  whole  universe  (ch.  v.  13),  to 
ascribe  power  and  dominion  to  God. 

(8)  As  to  the  reason  why  the  number 
“twenty-four”  is  mentioned,  perhaps 
nothing  certain  can  be  determined. 
Ezekiel,  in  his  vision  (Ezek.  viii.  16,  xi. 
1),  saw  twenty-five  men  between  the 
porch  and  the  altar,  with  their  backs 
toward  the  temple,  and  their  faces  to¬ 
ward  the  earth  —  supposed  to  be  repre¬ 
sentations  of  the  twenty-four  “courses” 
into  which  the  body  of  priests  was  di¬ 
vided  (1  Chron.  xxiv.  3-19),  with  the 
high  priest  among  them,  making  up  the 
number  twenty-five.  It  is  possible  that 
John  in  this  vision  may  have  designed 
to  refer  to  the  church  considered  as  a 
priesthood  (comp.  Notes  on  1  Pet.  ii.  9), 
and  to  have  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the 
priesthood  under  the  Jewish  economy 
was  divided  into  twenty-four  courses, 
each  with  a  presiding  officer,  and  who 
was  a  representative  of  that  portion  of 
the  priesthood  over  which  he  presided. 
If  so,  then  the  ideas  which  enter  into 


lightnings  0  and  thunderings  and 

1C.  8.  6.16. 18. 

the  representation  are  these:  —  (a)  that 
the  whole  church  may  be  represented  as 
a  priesthood,  or  a  community  of  priests — 
an  idea  which  frequently  occurs  in  the 
New  Testament  (b)  That  the  church, 
as  such  a  community  of  priests,  is  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  praise  and  worship  of 
God  —  an  idea,  also,  which  finds  abun¬ 
dant  countenance  in  the  New  Testament 
(c)  That,  in  a  series  of  visions  having  a 
designed  reference  to  the  church,  it  was 
natural  to  introduce  some  symbol  or 
emblem  representing  the  church,  and 
representing  the  fact  that  this  is  its  of¬ 
fice  and  employment.  And  (d)  that  this 
would  be  well  expressed  by  an  allusion 
derived  from  the  ancient  dispensation — 
the  division  of  the  priesthood  into  classes, 
over  each  one  of  which  there  presided 
an  individual  who  might  be  considered 
as  the  representative  of  his  class.  It  is 
to  be  observed,  indeed,  that  in  one  re¬ 
spect  they  are  represented  as  “  kings  ” 
but  still  this  does  not  forbid  the  suppo¬ 
sition  that  there  might  have  been  inter¬ 
mingled  also  another  idea,  that  they 
were  also  “  priests.”  Thus,  the  two 
ideas  are  blended  by  these  same  elders 
in  ch.  v.  10  : — “And  hath  made  us  unto 
our  God  kings  and  priests.” — Thus  un¬ 
derstood,  the  vision  is  designed  to  denote 
the  fact  that  the  representatives  of  the 
church,  ultimately  to  be  triumphant, 
are  properly  engaged  in  ascribing  praise 
to  God.  The  word  elders  here  seems  to 
be  used  in  the  sense  of  aged  and  vene¬ 
rable  men,  rather  than  as  denoting  office. 
They  were  such  as  by  their  age  were 
qualified  to  preside  over  the  different 
divisions  of  the  priesthood.  Clothed 
in  while  raiment.  Emblem  of  purity, 
and  appropriate  therefore  to  the  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  sanctified  church. 
Comp.  ch.  iii.  4,  vi.  11,  vii.  9.  If  And 
they  had  on  their  heads  crowns  of  gold. 
Emblematic  of  the  fact  that  they  sus¬ 
tained  a  kingly  office.  There  was  blended 
in  the  representation  the  idea  that  they 
were  both  “kings  and  priests.”  Thus 
the  idea  is  expressed  by  Peter  (1  Pet. 
ii.  9),  “a  royal  priesthood” — BaciXaov 
hparevya. 

5.  And  out  of  the  throne  proceed¬ 
ed  lightnings  and  thunderings  and 
voices.  Expressive  of  the  majesty  and 
glory  of  him  that  sat  upon  it*  W e  are 


136 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


voices :  and  there  were  seven  lamps 
°  of  fire  burning  before  the  throne, 
which  are  the  seven  Spirits b  of  God. 
oGe.  15.  IT.  Ex.  37.  23.  Zee.  4.  2.  b  c.  1.  4. 


at  once  reminded  by  this  representation 
of  the  sublime  scene  that  occurred  at 
Sinai  (Ex.  xix.  16),  where  “thero  were 
thunders  and  lightnings,  and  a  thick 
cloud  upon  the  Mount,  and  the  voice  of 
the  trumpet  exceeding  loud.”  Comp. 
Ezek.  i.  13,  24.  So  Milton, 

11  Forth  rushed  with  whirlwind  sound 
The  chariot  of  Paternal  Deity, 

Flashing  thick  flames.” 

“And  from  about  him  fierce  effusion  rolled 
Of  smoke,  and  lightning  flame,  and  sparkles  dire.” 

Par .  Lost.  B.  vi. 

The  word  “voices”  here  connected  with 
“thunders”  perhaps  means  “voices  even 
thunders” — referring  to  the  sound  made 
by  the  thunder.  The  meaning  is,  that 
these  were  echoing  and  re-echoing 
sounds,  as  it  were  a  multitude  of  voices 
that  seemed  to  speak  on  every  side. 

And  there  were  seven  lamps  of  fire 
burning  before  the  throne.  Seven  burn¬ 
ing  lamps  that  constantly  shone  there, 
illuminating  the  whole  scene.  These 
steadily  burning  lamps  would  add  much 
to  the  beauty  of  the  vision,  f  Which 
are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God.  Which  re¬ 
present,  or  are  emblematic  of  the  seven 
Spirits  of  God.  On  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  “the  seven  Spirits  of  God,”  see 
Notes  on  ch.  i.  4.  If  these  lamps  are  de¬ 
signed  to  be  symbols  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
according  to  the  interpretation  proposed 
in  ch.  i.  4,  it  may  be  perhaps  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  respects: — (1)  They  may  repre¬ 
sent  the  manifold  influences  of  that 
Spirit  in  the  world — as  imparting  light; 
giving  consolation ;  creating  the  heart 
anew ;  sanctifying  the  soul,  &c.  They 
may  denote  that  all  the  operations  of 
that  Spirit  are  of  the  nature  of  light, 
dissipating  darkness,  and  vivifying  and 
animating  all  things.  (3)  Perhaps  their 
being  placed  here  before  the  throne,  in 
the  midst  of  thunder  and  lightning,  may 
be  designed  to  represent  the  idea  that 
amidst  all  the  scenes  of  magnificence 
and  grandeur;  all  the  storms,  agitations, 
and  tempests  on  the  earth ;  all  the  politi¬ 
cal  changes,  all  the  convulsions  of  empire 
under  the  providence  of  God,  and  all 
the  commotions  in  the  soul  of  man  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  thunders  of  the  law,  the 


6  And  before  the  throne  there 
was  a  sea  c  of  glass  like  unto  crys¬ 
tal  :  and  in  the  midst  of  the  throne, 
c  c.  15.  2. 


Spirit  of  God  beams  calmly  and  serenely 

—  shedding  a  steady  influence  over  all 

—  like  lamps  burning  in  the  very  midst 
of  lightnings,  and  thunderings,  and 
voices.  In  all  the  scenes  of  majesty  and 
commotion  that  occur  on  the  earth,  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  present,  shedding  a 
constant  light,  and  undisturbed  in  his 
influence  by  all  the  agitations  that  are 
abroad. 

6.  And  before  the  throne  there  was  a 
sea  of  glass.  An  expanse  spread  out 
like  a  sea  composed  of  glass : — that  is, 
that  was  pellucid  and  transparent  like 
glass.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  compare 
the  sea  with  glass.  See  numerous  ex¬ 
amples  in  Wetstein,  in  loc.  The  point 
of  the  comparison  here  seems  to  be 
its  transparent  appearance.  It  was 
perfectly  clear  —  apparently  stretch¬ 
ing  out  in  a  wide  expanse,  as  if  it 
were  a  sea.  Like  a  crystal.  The 
word  crystal  means  properly  any  thing 
congealed  and  pellucid,  as  ice ;  then 
any  thing  resembling  that,  particu¬ 
larly  a  certain  species  of  stone  dis¬ 
tinguished  for  its  clearness  —  as  the 
transparent  crystals  of  quartz ;  limpid 
and  colorless  quartz ;  rock  or  mountain 
quartz.  The  word  crystal  now,  in 
mineralogy,  means  an  inorganic  body 
which,  by  the  operation  of  affinity,  has 
assumed  the  form  of  a  regular  solid,  by 
a  certain  number  of  plane  and  smooth 
faces.  It  is  here  used  manifestly  in  its 
popular  sense  to  denote  any  thing  that 
is  perfectly  clear  like  ice.  The  com¬ 
parison,  in  the  representation  of  the 
expanse  spread  around  the  throne,  turns 
on  these  points  : — (a)  it  appeared  like  a 
sea  — stretching  afar;  ( b )  it  resembled, 
in  its  general  appearance,  glass,  and 
this  idea  is  strengthened  by  the  addition 
of  another  image  of  the  same  character 
— that  it  was  like  an  expanse  of  crystal, 
perfectly  clear  and  pellucid.  This  would 
seem  to  be  designed  to  represent  the 
floor  or  pavement  on  which  the  throne 
stood.  If  this  is  intended  to  be  em¬ 
blematical  it  may  denote  (a)  that  the 
empire  of  God  is  vast — as  if  it  were 
spread  out  like  the  sea; — or  (b)  it  may 
be  emblematic  of  the  calmtiess  —  the 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  IY.  137 


and  round  about  the  throne,  were 

a  Ezek.  1. 5,  &c.  10. 14. 

placidity  of  the  divine  administration — 
like  an  undisturbed  and  unruffled  ocean 
of  glass.  Perhaps,  however,  we  should 
not  press  such  circumstances  too  far  to 
find  a  symbolical  meaning.  And  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne.  ?v  piay  tov 
Spovou.  Not  occupying  the  throne,  but 
so  as  to  appear  to  be  intermingled  with 
the  throne,  or  “  in  the  midst”  of  it,  in 
the  sense  that  it  was  beneath  the  centre 
of  it.  The  meaning  would  seem  to  be, 
that  the  four  living  creatures  referred  to 
occupied  such  a  position  collectively 
that  they  at  the  same  time  appeared  to 
be  under  the  throne,  so  that  it  rested 
on  them,  and  around  it,  so  that  they 
could  be  seen  from  any  quarter.  This 
would  occur  if  their  bodies  were  under 
the  throne,  and  if  they  stood  so  that 
they  faced  outward.  To  one  approaching 
the  throne  they  would  seem  to  be  around 
it,  though  their  bodies  were  under, 
or  “  in  the  midst”  of  it  as  a  support. 
The  form  of  their  bodies  is  not  specified, 
but  it  is  not  improbable  that  though 
their  heads  were  different,  their  bodies, 
that  were  under  the  throne,  and  that 
sustained  it,  were  of  the  same  form. 

And  round  about  the  throne.  In  the 
sense  above  explained  —  that,  as  they 
stood,  they  would  be  seen  on  every  side 
of  the  throne.  Were  four  beasts.  This 
is  a  very  unhappy  translation,  as  the 
word  beasts  by  no  means  conveys  a 
correct  idea  of  the  original  word.  The 
Greek  word  —  £fi5ov  —  means  properly  a 
living  thing;  and  it  is  thus  indeed 
applied  to  animals,  or  to  the  living 
creation,  but  the  notion  of  their  being 
living  things,  or  living  creatures  should 
be  retained  in  the  translation.  Prof. 
Stuart  renders  it,  “  living  creatures.” 
Isaiah  (vi.),  in  his  vision  of  Jehovah,  saw 
two  Seraphim ;  Ezekiel,  whom  John 
more  nearly  resembles  in  his  descrip¬ 
tion,  saw  four  “  living  creatures” — 

niTt  (ch.  i.  5),  that  is,  living,  animated, 

moving  beings.  The  words  “  living 
beings”  would  better  convey  the  idea 
than  any  other  which  could  be  em¬ 
ployed.  They  are  evidently,  like  those 
which  Ezekiel  saw,  symbolical  beings; 
but  the  nature  and  purpose  of  the 
symbol  is  not  perfectly  apparent.  The 
“  four  and  twenty  elders”  are  evidently 
12* 


four  °  beasts,  full  of  eyes,  before 
and  behind. 


human  beings,  and  aro  representatives, 
as  above  explained,  of  the  church.  In 
ch.  v.  11,  angels  are  themselves  intro¬ 
duced  as  taking  an  important  part  in 
the  worship  of  heaven,  and  these  living 
beings,  therefore,  cannot  be  designed  to 
represent  either  angels  or  men.  In 
Ezekiel,  they  are  either  designed  as 
poetic  representations  of  the  majesty 
of  God,  or  of  his  providential  govern¬ 
ment,  showing  what  sustains  his  throne: 
—  symbols  denoting  intelligence,  vigi¬ 
lance,  the  rapidity  and  directness  with 
which  the  divine  commands  are  exe¬ 
cuted,  and  the  energy  and  firmness  with 
which  the  government  of  God  is  ad¬ 
ministered.  The  nature  of  the  case, 
and  the  similarity  to  the  representa¬ 
tion  in  Ezekiel,  would  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  the  same  idea  is  to  be  found  sub¬ 
stantially  in  John,  and  there  would  he 
no  difficulty  in  such  an  interpretation, 
were  it  not  that  these  “  living  creatures” 
are  apparently  represented  in  ch.  v.  8, 
9,  as  uniting  with  the  redeemed  from 
the  earth,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  imply 
that  they  were  themselves  redeemed. 
But  perhaps  the  language  in  ch.  v.  9, 
“And  they  sung  a  new  song,”  Ac., 
though  apparently  connected  with  the 
“four  beasts”  in  ver.  8,  is  not  designed 
to  be  so  connected.  John  may  intend 
there  merely  to  advert  to  the  fact 
that  a  new  song  was  sung,  without 
meaning  to  say  that  the  “four  living 
beings”  united  in  that  song.  For,  if  he 
designed  merely  to  say  that  the  “  four 
living  beings,"  and  the  “four  and  twenty 
elders”  fell  down  to  worship,  and  then 
that  a  song  was  heard,  though  in  fact 
sung  only  by  the  four  and  twenty  elders, 
he  might  have  employed  the  language 
which  he  actually  has  done.  If  this 
interpretation  be  admitted,  then  the 
most  natural  explanation  to  be  given 
of  the  “  four  living  beings”  is  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  they  are  symbolical  beings 
designed  to  furnish  some  representa¬ 
tion  of  the  government  of  God — to  illus¬ 
trate,  as  it  were,  that  on  which  the 
divine  government  rests,  or  which  con¬ 
stitutes  its  support  —  to  wit,  power, 
intelligence,  vigilance,  energy.  This 
is  apparent  (a)  because  it  was  not 
unusual  for  the  thrones  of  monarchs 
to  be  supported  by  carved  animals  of 


138 


REVELATION, 


various  forms,  which  were  designed  un¬ 
doubtedly  to  be  somehow  emblematic  of 
government — either  of  its  stability,  vigi¬ 
lance,  boldness,  or  firmness.  Thus  Solo¬ 
mon  had  twelve  lions  carved  on  each 
side  of  his  throne  —  no  improper  em¬ 
blems  of  government.  1  Kings  x.  19, 
20.  ( b )  These  living  beings  are  de¬ 

scribed  as  the  supports  of  the  throne 
of  God,  or  as  that  on  which  it  rests,  and 
would  be,  therefore,  no  improper  sym¬ 
bols  of  the  great  principles  or  truths 
which  give  support  or  stability  to  the 
divine  administration,  (c)  They  are,  in 
themselves,  well  adapted  to  be  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  great  principles  of  the 
divine  government,  or  of  the  divine 
providential  dealings,  as  we  shall  see  in 
the  more  particular  explanation  of  the 
symbol.  ( d )  Perhaps  it  might  be  added, 
that,  so  understood,  there  would  be  com¬ 
pleteness  in  the  vision.  The  “  elders” 
appear  there  as  representatives  of  the 
church  redeemed ;  the  angels  in  their 
own  proper  persons  render  praise  to 
God.  To  this  it  was  not  improper  to 
add,  and  the  completeness  of  the  repre¬ 
sentation  seems  to  make  it  necessary  to 
add,  that  all  the  doings  of  the  Almighty 
unite  in  his  praise ;  his  various  acts  in 
the  government  of  the  universe  har¬ 
monize  with  redeemed  and  unfallen  in¬ 
telligences  in  proclaiming  his  glory. 
The  vision  of  the  “  living  beings,” 
therefore,  is  not,  as  I  suppose,  a  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  attributes  of  God  as 
such,  but  an  emblematic  representa¬ 
tion  of  the  divine  government — of  the 
throne  of  Deity  resting  upon,  or  sus¬ 
tained  by,  those  things  of  which  these 
living  beings  are  emblems— intelligence, 
firmness,  energy,  &c.  This  supposition 
seems  to  combine  more  probabilities 
than  any  other  which  has  been  proposed, 
for  according  to  this  supposition  all  the 
acts,  and  ways,  and  creatures  of  God 
unite  in  his  praise.  It  is  proper  to  add, 
however,  that  expositors  are  by  no 
means  agreed  as  to  the  design  of  this 
representation.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes 
that  the  attributes  of  God  are  referred 
to;  Mr.  Elliott  (i.  93)  that  the  “twenty- 
four  elders  and  the  four  living  creatures 
symbolize  the  church,  or  the  collective 
body  of  the  saints  of  God ;  and  that  as 
there  are  two  grand  divisions  of  the 
church,  the  larger  one  that  of  the  de¬ 
parted  in  Paradise,  and  the  other  that 
militant  on  earth, .  the  former  is  depicted 


[A.  JD:  96. 

by  the  twenty-four  elders,  and  the  latter 
by  the  living  creatures;”  Mr.  Lord  (pp. 
53,  54;)  that  the  living  creatures  and  the 
elders  are  both  of  one  race,  the  former 
perhaps  denoting  those  like  Enoch  and 
Elijah,  who  were  translated,  and  those 
who  were  raised  by  the  Saviour  after  his 
resurrection,  or  those  who  have  been 
raised  to  special  eminence,  the  latter 
the  mass  of  the  redeemed;  Mr.  Mede 
that  the  living  creatures  are  symbols  of 
the  church  worshipping  on  earth ;  Mr. 
Daubuz  that  they  are  symbols  of  the 
ministers  of  the  church  on  earth ; 
Vitringa  that  they  are  symbols  of  emi¬ 
nent  ministers  and  teachers  in  every 
age;  Dr.  Hammond  regards  him  who 
sits  on  the  throne  as  the  Metropolitan 
Bishop  of  Judea,  the  representative  of 
God,  the  elders  as  diocesan  bishops  of 
Judea,  and  the  living  creatures  as  four 
apostles,  symbols  of  the  saints  who  are 
to  attend  the  Almighty  as  assessors  in 
judgment!  See  Lord  on  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse,  pp.  58,  59.  Full  of  eyes.* 
Denoting  omniscience.  The  ancients 
fabled  Argus  as  having  one  hundred 
eyes,  or  as  having  the  power  of  seeing 
in  any  direction.  The  emblem  here 
would  denote  an  ever-watchful  and  ob¬ 
serving  Providence ;  and  in  accordance 
with  the  explanation  proposed  above,  it 
means  that,  in  the  administration  of  the 
divine  government,  every  thing  is  dis¬ 
tinctly  contemplated ;  nothing  escapes 
observation ;  nothing  can  be  concealed. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  divine  govern¬ 
ment  could  not  be  administered  unless 
this  were  so ;  and  it  is  the  perfection  of 
the  government  of  God  that  all  things 
are  seen  just  as  they  are.  In  the  vision 
seen  by  Ezekiel  (ch.  i.  18),  the  “rings” 
of  the  wheels  on  which  the  living  crea¬ 
tures  moved,  are  represented  as  “  full  of 
eyes  round  about  them,”  emblematic  of 
the  same  thing.  So  Milton, 

“  As  with  stars  their  bodies  all, 

And  wings  were  set  with  eyes  ;  with  eyes  the  wheel* 
Of  beryl,  and  careening  fires  between.” 

f  Before.  In  front.  As  one  looked  on 
their  faces,  from  whatever  quarter  the 
throne  was  approached,  he  could  see  a 
multitude  of  eyes  looking  upon  him. 
f  And  behind.  On  the  parts  of  their 
bodies  which  were  under  the  throne. 
The  meaning  is,  that  there  is  universal 
vigilance  in  the  government  of  God. 
Whatever  is  the  form  of  the  divine  ad- 


139 


A.  D.  96.1  CHAPTER  IV. 


7  And  the  first  beast  was  like  a 


ministration ;  whatever  part  is  contem¬ 
plated;  however  it  is  manifested — whe¬ 
ther  as  activity,  energy,  power,  or  intelli¬ 
gence,  it  is  based  on  the  fact  that  all 
things  are  seen  from  every  direction. 
There  is  nothing  that  is  the  result  of 
blind  fate  or  of  chance. 

7.  And  the  first  beast  was  like  a  lion. 
A  general  description  has  been  given, 
applicable  to  all,  denoting  that  in  what¬ 
ever  form  the  divine  government  is  ad¬ 
ministered,  these  things  will  be  found;  a 
particular  description  now  follows,  con¬ 
templating  that  government  under  par¬ 
ticular  aspects,  as  symbolized  by  the 
living  beings  on  which  the  throne  rests. 
The  first  is  that  of  a  lion.  The  lion  is 
the  monarch  of  the  woods,  the  king  of 
beasts,  and  he  becomes  thus  the  emblem 
of  dominion,  of  authority,  of  govern¬ 
ment  in  general.  Comp.  Gen.  xlix,  9 ; 
Amos  iiL  8  ;  Joel  iii.  16 ;  Dan.  vii.  4. 
As  emblematic  of  the  divine  administra¬ 
tion,  this  would  signify  that  he  who  sits 
on  the  throne  is  the  ruler  over  all,  and 
that  his  dominion  is  absolute  and  entire. 
It  has  been  made  a  question  whether 
the  whole  body  had  the  form  of  a  lion, 
or  whether  it  had  the  appearance  of  a 
lion  only  as  to  its  face  or  front  part.  It 
would  seem  probable  that  the  latter  only 
is  intended,  for  it  is  expressly  said  of 
the  “  third  beast”  that  it  had  “  the  face 
of  a  man,”  implying  that  it  did  not  re¬ 
semble  a  man  in  other  respects,  and  it 
is  probable,  that,  as  these  living  crea¬ 
tures  were  the  supports  of  the  throne, 
they  had  the  same  form  in  all  other  par¬ 
ticulars  except  the  front  part.  The  wri¬ 
ter  has  not  informed  us  what  was  the 
appearance  of  these  living  creatures  in 
other  respects,  but  it  is  most  natural  to 
suppose  that  it  was  in  the  form  of  an  ox, 
as  being  adapted  to  sustain  a  burden. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the 
thing  supposed  to  be  symbolical  here  in 
the  government  of  God  —  his  absolute 
rule  —  actually  exists,  or  that  it  is  im¬ 
portant  that  this  should  be  fairly  exhi¬ 
bited  to  men.  And  the  second  beast 
was  like  a  calf.  Or,  more  properly,  a 
young  bullock,  for  so  the  word — g6a %os 
— means.  The  term  is  given  by  Hero¬ 
dotus  (ii.  41;  iii.  28)  to  the  Egyptian 
god  Apis,  that  is,  a  young  bullock. 
Such  an  emblem,  standing  under  a 
throne  as  one  of  its  supports,  would 


lion,  and  the  second  beast  like  a 


symbolize  firmness,  endurance,  strength 
(comp.  Prov.  xiv.  4) ;  and,  as  used  to 
represent  qualities  pertaining  to  him 
who  sat  on  the  throne,  would  denote 
stability,  firmness,  perseverance : — qua¬ 
lities  that  are  found  abundantly  in  the 
divine  administration.  There  was  clearly, 
in  the  apprehension  of  the  ancients,  some 
natural  fitness  or  propriety  in  such  an 
emblem.  A  young  bullock  was  worship¬ 
ped  in  Egypt  as  a  god.  Jeroboam  set 
up  two  idols  in  the  form  of  a  calf,  the 
one  in  Dan,  and  the  other  in  Bethel. 
1  Kings  xii.  28,  29.  A  similar  object  of 
worship  was  found  in  the  Indian,  Greek, 
and  Scandinavian  mythologies,  and  the 
image  appears  to  have  been  adopted 
early  and  extensively  to  represent  the 
divinity.  —  The  following  figure  is  a  re¬ 
presentation  of  a  calf-idol,  copied  from 
the  collection  made  by  the  artists  of  the 
French  Institute  at  Cairo.  It  is  recum¬ 
bent,  with  human  eyes,  the  skin  flesh- 
colored,  and  the  whole  afterparts  covered 
with  a  white  and  sky-blue  drapery  :  the 
horns  not  on  the  head,  but  above  it,  and 
containing  within  them  the  symbolical 
globe  surmounted  by  two  feathers.  The 
meaning  of  the  emblems  on  the  back  is 
not  known.  It  is  copied  here  merely  to 
show  that,  for  some  cause,  the  calf  was 
regarded  as  an  emblem  of  the  divinity. 


It  may  illustrate  this,  also,  to  remark 
that  among  the  sculptures  found  by  Mr. 
Layard,  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  were 
not  a  few  winged  bulls,  some  of  them  of 
large  structure,  and  probably  all  of  them 
emblematic.  One  of  these  was  removed 
with  great  difficulty,  to  be  deposited  in 


nr 


140 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


calf,  and  the  third  beast  had  a  face 


the  British  Museum.  See  Mr.  Layard’s 
“  Nineveh  and  its  Remains,”  vol.  ii.  pp. 
64-75.  Such  emblems  were  common  in 
the  East;  and, being  thus  common,  they 
would  be  readily  understood  in  the  time 
of  John.  And  the  third  beast  had  a 
face  as  a  man.  There  is  no  intimation 
as  to  what  was  the  form  of  the  remain¬ 
ing  portion  of  this  living  creature,  but 
as  the  beasts  were  “  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne,”  that  is,  under  it  as  a  support, 
it  may  be  presumed  that  they  had  such  a 
form  as  was  adapted  to  that  purpose — as 
supposed  above  perhaps  the  form  of  an 
ox.  To  this  living  creature  there  was 
attached  the  head  of  a  man,  and  that 
would  be  what  would  be  particularly 
visible  to  one  looking  on  the  throne. 
The  aspect  of  a  man  here  would  denote 
intelligence — for  it  is  this  which  distin¬ 
guishes  man  from  the  creation  beneath 
him  ;  and,  if  the  explanation  of  the  sym¬ 
bol  above  given  be  correct,  then  the 
meaning  of  this  emblem  is,  that  the  ope¬ 
rations  of  the  government  of  God  are 
conducted  with  intelligence  and  wisdom. 
That  is,  the  divine  administration  is  not 
the  result  of  blind  fate  or  chance ;  it  is 
founded  on  a  clear  knowledge  of  things, 
on  what  is  best  to  be  done,  on  what  will 


as  a  man,  and  the  fourth  beast  was 
like  a  flying  eagle. 

most  conduce  to  the  common  good.  Of 
the  truth  of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt; 
and  there  was  a  propriety  that  in  a  vi¬ 
sion  designed  to  give  to  man  a  view  of 
the  government  of  the  Almighty,  this 
should  be  appropriately  symbolized.  It 
may  illustrate  this  to  observe,  that  in 
ancient  sculptures  it  was  common  to 
unite  the  head  of  a  man  with  the  figure 
of  an  animal,  as  combining  symbols. 
Among  the  most  remarkable  figures  dis¬ 
covered  by  Mr.  Layard,  in  the  ruins  of 
Nineveh,  were  winged,  human -headed 
lions.  These  lions  are  thus  described 
by  Mr.  Layard  :  —  “  They  were  about 
twelve  feet  in  height,  and  the  same  num¬ 
ber  in  length.  The  body  and  limbs  were 
admirably  portrayed;  the  muscles  and 
bones,  although  strongly  developed,  to 
display  the  strength  of  the  animal, 
showed,  at  the  same  time,  a  correct 
knowledge  of  its  anatomy  and  form. 
Expanded  wings  sprung  from  the  shoul¬ 
der  and  spread  over  the  back ;  a  knotted 
girdle,  ending  in  tassels,  encircled  the 
loins.  These  sculptures,  forming  an  en¬ 
trance,  were  partly  in  full,  and  partly  in 
relief.  The  head  and  forepart,  facing 
the  chambers,  were  in  full;  but  only 
one  side  of  the  rest  of  the  slab  was  sculp- 


k 


CHAPTER  IV. 


141 


A.  D.  96.] 

tured,  the  back  being  placed  against  the 
wall  of  sun-dried  bricks.” — Nineveh  and 
its  Remains,  toI.  i.  p.  75.  The  preceding 
cut  will  give  an  idea  of  one  of  these  hu¬ 
man-headed  animals,  and  will  serve  to 
illustrate  the  passage  before  us  —  alike 
in  reference  to  the  head, — indicating  in¬ 
telligence,  and  the  icings,  denoting  ra¬ 
pidity.  On  the  use  of  these  figures, 
found  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  Mr.  La- 
yard  makes  the  following  sensible  re¬ 
marks — remarks  admirably  illustrating 
the  view  which  I  take  of  the  symbols 
before  us  :  —  “I  used  to  contemplate  for 
hours  these  mysterious  emblems,  and 
muse  over  their  intent  and  history. 
What  more  noble  forms  could  have  ush¬ 
ered  the  people  into  the  temple  of  their 
gods  ?  What  more  sublime  images  could 
have  been  borrowed  from  nature  by  men 
who  sought,  unaided  by  the  light  of  re¬ 
vealed  religion,  to  embody  their  concep¬ 
tions  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and  ubiquity 
of  a  Supreme  Being  ?  They  could  find 
no  better  type  of  intellect  and  knowledge 
than  the  head  of  a  man ;  of  strength, 
than  the  body  of  the  lion ;  of  rapidity 
of  motion,  than  the  wings  of  a  bird. 
These  winged,  human-headed  lions  were 
not  idle  creations,  the  offspring  of  mere 
fancy  ;  their  meaning  was  written  upon 
them.  They  had  awed  and  instructed 
races  which  flourished  3000  years  ago. 
Through  the  portals  which  they  guarded, 
kings,  priests,  and  warriors  had  borne 
sacrifices  to  their  altars,  long  before  the 
wisdom  of  the  East  had  penetrated  into 
Greece,  and  had  furnished  its  mythology 
with  symbols  long  recognized  by  the  As¬ 
syrian  votaries.”  —  Nineveh  and  its  Re¬ 
mains,  i.  75,  76.  And  the  fourth  beast 
was  like  a  flying  eagle.  All  birds,  in¬ 
deed,  fly ;  but  the  epithet  flying  is  here 
employed  to  add  intensity  to  the  de¬ 
scription.  The  eagle  is  distinguished, 
among  the  feathered  race,  for  the  rapi¬ 
dity,  the  power,  and  the  elevation  of  its 
flight.  No  other  bird  is  supposed  to  fly 
so  high;  none  ascends  with  so  much 
power ;  none  is  so  majestic  and  grand  in 
his  ascent  towards  the  sun.  That  which 
would  be  properly  symbolized  by  this 
would  be  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
commands  of  God  are  executed;  or  .this 
characteristic  of  the  divine  government, 
that  the  purposes  of  God  aro  carried  into 
prompt  execution.  There  is,  as  it  were, 
a  vigorous,  powerful,  and  rapid  flight 
towards  tho  accomplishment  of  the  de¬ 


signs  of  God  —  as  the  eagle  ascends  un¬ 
molested  towards  the  sun.  Or,  it  may 
be  that  this  symbolizes  protecting  care, 
or  is  an  emblem  of  that  protection  which 
God  by  his  Providence  extends  over 
those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  Thus 
in  Ez.  xix.  4:  “Ye  have  seen  how  I 
bore  you  on  eagles’  wings.”  Ps.  xvii. 
8 :  “  Hide  me  under  the  shadow  of  thy 
wings.”  Ps.  lxiii.  7:  “In  the  shadow 
of  thy  wings  will  I  rejoice.”  Deut.  xxxii. 
11,12:  “  As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest, 
fluttereth  over  her  young,  spreadeth 
abroad  her  wings,  taketh  them,  beareth 
them  on  her  wings,  so  the  Lord  alone  did 
lead  him,”  &c.  As  in  the  case  of  the  other 
living  beings,  so  it  is  to  be  remarked  of 
the  fourth  living  creature,  also,  that  the 
form  of  the  body  is  unknown.  There  is 
no  impropriety  in  supposing  that  it  is 
only  its  front  aspect  that  John  here 
speaks  of,  for  that  was  sufficient  for  the 
symbol.  The  remaining  portion  “  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne,”  may  have  corre¬ 
sponded  with  that  of  the  other  living 
beings,  as  being  adapted  to  a  support. 
In  further  illustration  of  this  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  symbols  of  this  descrip¬ 
tion  were  common  in  the  Oriental  world. 
Figures  in  the  human  form,  or  in  the 
form  of  animals,  with  the  head  of  an 
eagle  or  a  vulture,  are  found  in  the  ruins 
of  Nineveh,  and  were  undoubtedly  de¬ 
signed  to  be  symbolic.  “  On  the  earliest 
Assyrian  monuments,”  says  Mr.  Layard 
( Nineveh  and  its  Ruins,  ii.  348,  349), 
“  one  of  the  most  prominent  sacred  types 
is  the  eagle-headed,  or  the  vulture¬ 
headed,  human  figure.  Not  only  is  it 
found  in  colossal  proportions  on  the 
walls,  or  guarding  the  portals  of  the 
chambers,  but  it  is  also  constantly  re¬ 
presented  in  the  groups  on  the  embroi¬ 
dered  robes.  When  thus  introduced,  it 
is  generally  seen  contending  with  other 
mythic  animals,  —  such  as  the  human¬ 
headed  lion  or  bull ;  and  in  these  con¬ 
tests  it  is  always  the  conqueror.  It  may 
hence  be  inferred  that  it  was  a  type  of 
the  Supreme  Deity,  or  of  one  of  his  prin¬ 
cipal  attributes.  A  fragment  of  the  Zo- 
roastrian  oracles,  preserved  by  Eusebius, 
declares  that  ‘  God  is  he  that  has  the 
head  of  a  hawk.  He  is  the  first,  inde¬ 
structible,  eternal,  unbegotten,  indivi¬ 
sible,  dissimilar;  the  dispenser  of  all 
good ;  incorruptible ;  the  best  of  the 
good,  the  wisest  of  the  wise ;  he  is  the 
father  of  equity  and  justice,  self-taught, 


142 


[A.  D.  96, 


REVELATION, 


8  And  the  four  beasts  had  each 
of  them  six  °  wings  about  Mm; 
a  Is.  6.  2,  &c. 

physical  and  perfect,  and  wise,  and  the 
only  inventor  of  the  sacred  philosophy.' 
Sometimes  the  head  of  this  bird  is  added 
to  the  body  of  a  lion.  Under  this  form 
of  the  Egyptian  hieraco-sphinx  it  is  the 
conqueror  in  combats  with  other  sym¬ 
bolical  figures,  and  is  frequently  repre¬ 
sented  as  striking  down  a  gazelle  or  wild 
goat.  It  also  clearly  resembles  the 
gryphon  of  the  Greek  mythology,  avow¬ 
edly  an  eastern  symbol,  and  connected 
with  Apollo,  or  with  the  sun,  of  which 
the  Assyrian  form  was  probably  an 
emblem.”  The  following  figure  found 
in  Nimroud,  or  ancient  Nineveh,  may 
furnish  an  illustration  of  one  of  the 
usual  forms. 


If  these  views  of  the  meaning  of 
these  symbols  are  correct,  then  the 
idea  which  would  be  conveyed  to  the 
mind  of  John,  and  the  idea,  therefore, 
which  should  be  conveyed  to  our  minds, 
is,  that  the  government  of  God  is 
energetic,  firm,  intelligent,  and  that  in 
the  execution  of  its  purposes  it  is  rapid 
like  the  unobstructed  flight  of  an  eagle, 
or  protective  like  the  care  of  the  eagle 
for  its  young.  When,  in  the  subsequent 
parts  of  the  vision,  these  living  creatures 
are  represented  as  offering  praise  and 
adoration  to  Him  that  sits  on  the  throne 
(ver.  8.  ch.  v.  8,  14),  the  meaning  would 
be,  in  accordance  with  this  representa¬ 
tion,  that  all  the  acts  of  divine  govern¬ 
ment  do,  as  if  they  were  personified, 
unite  in  ^ne  praise  which  the  redeemed 
and  the  angels  ascribe  to  God.  All 
living  things,  and  all  acts  of  the  Al¬ 


and  they  were  full  of  eyes  within : 
and  they  b  rest  not  day  and  night, 

S  have  no  rest. 


mighty,  conspire  to  proclaim  his  glory. 
The  church  by  her  representatives  the 
“four  and  twenty  elders”  honor  God; 
the  angels  without  number,  unite  in  the 
praise ;  all  creatures  in  heaven,  in  earth, 
under  the  earth,  and  in  the  sea  (ch.  v. 
13)  join  in  the  song,-  and  all  the  acts 
and  ways  of  God  declare  also  his 
majesty  and  glory: — for  around  his 
throne,  and  beneath  his  throne,  are  ex¬ 
pressive  symbols  of  the  firmness,  en¬ 
ergy,  intelligence  and  power  with  which 
his  government  is  administered. 

8.  And  the  four  beasts  had  each  of  them, 
six  wings  about  him.  An  emblem  com¬ 
mon  to  them  all,  denoting  that,  in  refe¬ 
rence  to  each  and  all  the  things  here 
symbolized,  there  was  one  common  cha¬ 
racteristic — that  in  heaven  there  is  the 
utmost  promptness  in  executing  the 
divine  commands.  Comp.  Isa.  vi.  2 ; 
Ps.  xviii.  10,  civ.  3;  Jer.  xlviii.  40.  No 
mention  is  made  of  the  manner  in  which 
these  wings  were  arranged,  and  conjec¬ 
ture  in  regard  to  that  is  vain.  The 
Seraphim,  as  seen  by  Isaiah,  had  each 
one  six  wings,  with  two  of  which  the 
face  was  covered,  to  denote  profound 
reverence ;  with  two  the  feet,  or  lower 
parts — emblematic  of  modesty ;  and  with 
two  they  flew — emblematic  of  their  cele¬ 
rity  in  executing  the  commands  of  God, 
Isa.  vi.  2.  Perhaps  without  impropriety 
we  may  suppose  that  in  regard  to  these 
living  beings  seen  by  John,  two  of  the 
wings  of  each  were  employed,  as  in 
Isaiah,  to  cover  the  face  —  token  of  pro¬ 
found  reverence;  and  that  the  remainder 
were  employed  in  flight — denoting  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  divine  com¬ 
mands  are  executed.  Mercury,  the 
messenger  of  Jupiter  among  the  hea¬ 
then,  was  represented  with  wings,  and 
nothing  is  more  common  in  the  paint¬ 
ings  and  bas-reliefs  of  antiquity  than  such 
representations.  And  they  were  full  of 
eyes  within.  Prof.  Stuart  more  correctly 
renders  this — “  around  and  within  are 
full  of  eyes,-” — connecting  the  word 
“  around,”  not  with  the  wings,  as  in  our 
version,  but  with  the  eyes.  The  mean¬ 
ing  is,  that  the  portions  of  the  beasts 
that  were  visible  from  the  outside  of  the 
throne,  and  the  portions  under  or  within 


CHAPTER  IV. 


143 


A.  D.  96.] 

saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God 
Almighty,  which  was,  and  is,  and 
is  to  come. 

9  And  when  those  beasts  give 
glory,  and  honor,  and  thanks  to 
him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  who 
°  liveth  for  ever  and  ever, 
a  c.  5.  it. 


the  throne,  were  covered  with  eyes.  The 
obvious  design  of  this  is  to  mark  the 
universal  vigilance  of  divine  providence. 

And  they  rest  not.  Marg.  have  no 
rest.  That  is,  they  are  constantly  em¬ 
ployed  ;  there  is  no  intermission.  The 
meaning,  as  above  explained,  is,  that 
the  works  and  ways  of  God  are  con¬ 
stantly  bringing  praise  to  him.  Day 
and  night.  Continually.  They  who 
are  employed  day  and  night  fill  up  the 
whole  time — for  this  is  all.  Saying, 
Holy,  holy,  holy.  For  the  meaning  of 
this,  see  Notes  on  Isa.  vi.  3.  Lord 
God  Almighty.  Isaiah  (vi.  3)  expresses 
it,  “Jehovah  of  hosts.”  The  reference 
is  to  the  true  God,  and  the  epithet 
Almighty  is  one  that  is  often  given  him. 
It  is  peculiarly  appropriate  here,  as  there 
were  to  be,  as  the  sequel  shows,  remark¬ 
able  exhibitions  of  power  in  executing 
the  purposes  described  in  this  book. 
If  Which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come. 
Who  is  eternal — existing  in  all  past 
time ;  existing  now ;  and  to  continue  to 
exist  forever.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  4. 

9.  And  when  those  beasts  give  glo¬ 
ry,  &c.  As  often  as  those  living  beings 
ascribe  glory  to  God.  They  did  this 
continually  (ver.  8),  and,  if  the  above 
explanation  be  correct,  then  the  idea 
is,  that  the  ways  and  acts  of  God 
in  his  providential  government  are 
continually  of  such  a  nature  as  to  honor 
him. 

10.  The  four  and  twenty  elders  fall 
down  before  him,  &o.  The  representa¬ 
tives  of  the  redeemed  church  in  heaven 
(Notes,  ver.  4)  also  unite  in  the  praise. 
The  meaning,  if  the  explanation  of  the 
symbol  be  correct,  is,  that  the  church 
universal  unites  in  praise  to  God  for  all 
that  characterizes  his  administration. 
In  the  connexion  in  which  this  stands 
here,  the  sense  would  be,  that  as  often 
as  there  is  any  new  manifestation  of  the 
principles  of  the  divine  government,  the 
church  ascribes  new  praiso  to  God. 


10  The  four  and  twenty  elders 
fall  down  before  him  that  sat  on 
the  throne,  and  worship  him  that 
liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  and  cast 
their  crowns  4  before  the  throne, 
saying, 

11  Thou  art  worthy,  e  0  Lord, 

b  ver.  4.  e  c.  5. 12. 


AVhatever  may  be  thought  of  this  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  meaning  of  the  sym¬ 
bols,  of  the  fact  here  stated  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  The  church  of  God  always 
rejoices  when  there  is  any  new  mani¬ 
festation  of  the  principles  of  the  divine 
administration.  As  all  these  acts,  in 
reality  bring  glory  and  honor  to  God, 
the  church  as  often  as  there  is  any  new 
manifestation  of  the  divine  character 
and  purposes,  renders  praise  anew. 
Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  view 
here  taken  is  one  that  is  every  way  ap¬ 
propriate  to  the  general  character  of  this 
book.  The  great  design  was  to  disclose 
what  God  was  to  do  in  future  times,  in 
the  various  revolutions  that  were  to  take 
place'  on  the  earth,  until  his  govern¬ 
ment  should  be  firmly  established,  and 
the  principles  of  his  administration 
should  everywhere  prevail;  and  there 
was  a  propriety,  therefore,  in  describing 
the  representatives  of  the  church  as 
taking  part  in  this  universal  praise,  and 
as  casting  every  crown  at  the  feet  of 
him  who  sits  upon  the  throne.  And 
cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne. 
They  are  described  as  “crowned”  (ver. 
4),  that  is  as  triumphant,  and  as  kings 
(comp.  ch.  v.  10),  and  they  are  here 
represented  as  casting  their  crowns  at 
his  feet  in  token  that  they  owe  their 
triumph  to  him.  To  his  providential 
dealings,  to  his  wise  and  merciful  go¬ 
vernment,  they  owe  it  that  they  are 
crowned  at  all,  and  there  is,  therefore,  a 
propriety  that  they  should  acknowledge 
this  in  a  proper  manner  by  placing  their 
crowns  at  his  feet. 

11.  Thou  art  worthy,  0  Lord.  In 
thy  character,  perfections,  and  govern¬ 
ment  there  is  that  which  makes  it 
proper  that  universal  praise  should  be 
rendered.  The  feeling  of  all  true  wor¬ 
shippers  is,  that  God  is  worthy  of  the 
praise  that  is  ascribed  to  him.  No  man 
worships  him  aright  who  does  not  feel 
that  there  is  that  in  his  nature  and 


144 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


to  receive  glory  and  honor  and 
power  '•  °  for  thou  hast  created  all 

a  Col.  1. 16. 

his  doings  which  makes  it  proper  that  he 
should  receive  universal  adoration.  1 \To 
receive  glory.  To  have  praise  or  glory 
ascribed  to  thee,  f  And  honor.  To  be 
honored : — that  is,  to  be  approached  and 
adored  as  worthy  of  honor,  And  power. 
To  have  power  ascribed  to  thee,  or  to  be 
regarded  as  having  infinite  power.  Man 
can  confer  no  power  on  God,  but  he  may 
acknowledge  that  which  he  has,  and 
adore  him  for  its  exertion  in  his  behalf 
and  in  the  government  of  the  world. 

For  thou  hast  created  all  things.  Thus 
laying  the  foundation  for  praise.  No 
one  can  contemplate  this  vast  and  won¬ 
derful  universe  without  seeing  that  he 
who  has  made  it  is  worthy  to  “receive 
glory  and  honor  and  power.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Job  xxxviii.  7.  And  for  thy 
pleasure  they  are.  They  exist  by  thy 
will — iia  rb  StXripa.  The  meaning  is, 
that  they  owe  their  existence  to  the  will 
of  God,  and  therefore  their  creation  lays 
the  foundation  for  praise.  “He  spake, 
and  it  was  done ;  he  commanded,  and  it 
stood  fast.”  “  He  said,  Let  there  be 
light,  and  there  was  light.”  There  is  no 
other  reason  why  the  universe  exists  at 
all  than  that  such  was  the  will  of  God ; 
there  is  nothing  else  that  is  to  be  ad¬ 
duced  as  explaining  the  fact  that  any¬ 
thing  has  no  w  a  being.  The  putting  forth 
of  that  will  explains  all;  and  consequently 
whatever  wisdom,  power,  goodness  is 
manifested  in  the  universe,  is  to  be 
traced  to  God,  and  is  the  expression  of 
what  was  in  him  from  eternity.  It  is 
proper,  then,  to  “  look  up  through  nature 
to  nature’s  God,”  and  wherever  we  see 
greatness  or  goodness  in  the  works  of 
creation  to  regard  them  as  the  faint  ex¬ 
pression  of  what  exists  essentially  in  the 
Creator.  And  were  created.  Bring¬ 
ing  more  distinctly  into  notice  the  fact 
that  they  owe  their  existence  to  his  will. 
They  are  not  eternal;  they  are  not 
self-existent;  they  were  formed  from 
nothing. 

This  concludes  the  magnificent  intro¬ 
duction  to  the  principal  visions  in  this 
book.  It  is  beautifully  appropriate  to 
the  solemn  disclosures  which  are  to  be 
made  in  the  following  portions  of  the 
book,  and  as  in  the  case  of  Isaiah  and 


things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they 
are  and  were  created. 


Ezekiel,  was  eminently  adapted  to  im¬ 
press  the  mind  of  the  holy  seer  with 
awe.  Heaven  is  opened  to  his  view ;  the 
throne  of  God  is  seen  ;  there  is  a  vision 
of  Him  who  sits  upon  that  throne ;  thun¬ 
ders  and  voices  are  heard  around  the 
throne ;  the  lightnings  play,  and  a  rain¬ 
bow,  symbol  of  peace,  encircles  all ;  the 
representatives  of  the  redeemed  church, 
occupying  subordinate  thrones,  and  in 
robes  of  victory,  and  with  crowns  on 
their  heads,  are  there ;  a  vast  smooth  ex¬ 
panse  like  the  sea  is  spread  out  before 
the  throne ;  and  the  emblems  of  the 
wisdom,  the  power,  the  vigilance,  the 
energy,  the  strength  of  the  divine  ad¬ 
ministration  are  there,  represented  as  in 
the  act  of  bringing  honor  to  God,  and 
proclaiming  his  praise.  The  mind  of 
John  was  doubtless  prepared  by  these 
august  visions  for  the  disclosures  which 
follow ;  and  the  mind  of  the  reader  should 
in  like  manner  be  deeply  and  solemnly 
impressed  when  he  contemplates  them, 
as  if  he  looked  into  heaven,  and  saw  the 
impressive  grandeur  of  the  worship  there. 
Let  us  fancy  ourselves,  therefore,  with 
the  holy  seer  looking  into  heaven,  and 
listen  with  reverence  to  what  the  Great 
God  discloses  respecting  the  various 
changes  that  are  to  occur  until  every 
foe  of  the  church  shall  be  subdued,  and 
the  earth  shall  acknowledge  his  sway, 
and  the  whole  scene  shall  close  in  the 
triumphs  and  joys  of  heaven. 

CHAPTER  V. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  introduces  the  disclo¬ 
sure  of  future  events.  It  is  done  in  a 
manner  eminently  fitted  to  impress  the 
mind  with  a  sense  of  the  importance  of 
the  revelations  about  to  be  made.  The 
proper  state  of  mind  for  appreciating 
this  chapter  is  that  when  we  look  on  the 
future  and  are  sensible  that  important 
events  are  about  to  occur;  when  we 
feel  that  that  future  is  wholly  impene¬ 
trable  to  us ;  and  when  the  efforts  of 
the  highest  created  minds  fail  to  lift 
the  mysterious  veil  which  hides  those 
events  from  our  view.  It  is  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  our  nature  that  the 


CHAPTER  V. 


145 


A.  D.  96.] 

mind  should  he  impressed  with  solemn 
awe  on  such  circumstances;  it  is  not  a 
violation  of  the  laws  of  our  nature  that 
one  who  had  an  earnest  desire  to  pene¬ 
trate  that  future,  and  who  saw  the 
volume  before  him  which  contained  the 
mysterious  revelation,  and  who  yet  felt 
that  there  was  no  one  in  heaven  or 
earth  who  could  break  the  seals,  and 
disclose  what  was  to  come,  should  weep. 
Comp.  ver.  4.  The  design  of  the  whole 
chapter  is,  evidently,  to  honor  the  Lamb 
of  God,  by  showing  that  the  power  was 
entrusted  to  him  which  was  confided  to 
no  one  else  in  heaven  or  earth,  of  dis¬ 
closing  what  is  to  come.  Nothing  else 
would  better  illustrate  this  than  the  fact 
that  he  alone  could  break  the  mysterious 
seal  which  barred  out  the  knowledge  of 
the  future  from  all  created  eyes ;  and 
nothing  would  be  better  adapted  to  im¬ 
press  this  on  the  mind  than  the  repre¬ 
sentation  in  this  chapter — the  exhibition 
of  a  mysterious  book  in  the  hand  of 
God;  the  proclamation  of  the  angel, 
calling  on  any  who  could  do  it  to  open 
the  book ;  the  fact  that  no  one  in  hea¬ 
ven  or  earth  could  do  it ;  the  tears  shed 
by  John  when  it  was  found  that  no  one 
could  do  it;  the  assurance  of  one  of  the 
elders  that  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  had  power  to  do  it ;  and  the  pro¬ 
found  adoration  of  all  in  heaven  and 
in  earth  and  under  the  earth,  in  view  of 
the  power  entrusted  to  him  of  breaking 
these  mysterious  seals. 

The  main  points  in  the  chapter  are 
these: — (1)  Having  in  ch.  iv.  described 
God  as  sitting  on  a  throne,  John  here 
(ver.  1)  represents  himself  as  seeing  in 
his  right  hand  a  mysterious  volume — 
written  all  over  on  the  inside  and  the 
outside,  yet  sealed  with  seven  seals — a 
volume  manifestly  referring  to  the  fu¬ 
ture,  and  containing  important  disclo¬ 
sures  respecting  coming  events.  (2)  A 
mighty  angel  is  introduced  making  a 
proclamation,  and  asking  who  is  worthy 
to  open  that  book,  and  to  break  those 
6eals  —  evidently  implying  that  none 
unless  of  exalted  rank  could  do  it,  ver.  2. 
(3)  There  is  a  pause : — no  one  in  hea¬ 
ven,  or  in  earth,  or  under  the  earth, 
approaches  to  do  it,  or  claims  the  right 
to  do  it,  ver.  3.  (4)  John,  giving  way 

to  the  expressions  of  natural  emotion — 
indicative  of  the  longing  and  intense 
desire  in  the  human  soul  to  be  made 
acquainted  with  the  secrets  of  the  fu- 
13 


ture — pours  forth  a  flood  of  tears  because 
no  one  is  found  who  is  worthy  to  open 
the  seals  of  this  mysterious  book,  or  to 
read  what  was  recorded  there,  ver.  4. 
(5)  In  his  state  of  suspense  and  of  grief, 
one  of  the  elders — the  representatives  of 
that  church  for  whose  benefit  these  re¬ 
velations  of  the  future  were  to  be  made 
(Note  on  ch.  iv.  4) — approaches  him  and 
says  that  there  is  one  who  is  able  to 
open  the  book ;  one  who  has  the  power 
to  loose  its  seals,  ver.  5.  This  is  the 
Messiah — the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
the  Root  of  David — coming  now  to  make 
the  disclosure  for  which  the  whole  book 
was  given,  ch.  i.  1.  (6)  Immediately 

the  attention  of  John  is  attracted  by  the 
Messiah,  appearing  as  a  Lamb  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne — with  horns,  the 
symbols  of  strength,  and  eyes,  the  sym¬ 
bols  of  all-pervading  intelligence.  He 
approaches  and  takes  the  hook  from  the 
hand  of  him  that  sits  on  the  throne — 
symbolical  of  the  fact  that  it  is  the  pro¬ 
vince  of  the  Messiah  to  make  known  to 
the  church  and  the  world  the  events 
which  are  to  occur,  vs.  6,  7.  He  ap¬ 
pears  here  in  a  different  form  from  that 
in  which  he  manifested  himself  in  oh.  i., 
for  the  purpose  is  different.  There  he 
appears  clothed  in  majesty,  to  impress 
the  mind  with  a  sense  of  his  essential 
glory.  Here  he  appears  in  a  form  that 
recalls  the  memory  of  his  sacrifice ; — to 
denote  perhaps  that  it  is  in  virtue  of  his 
atonement  that  the  future  is  to  be  dis¬ 
closed;  and  that  therefore  there  is  a 
special  propriety  that  he  should  appear 
and  do  what  no  other  one  in  heaven  or 
earth  could  do.  (7)  The  approach  of 
the  Messiah  to  unfold  the  mysteries  in 
the  book ;  the  fact  that  he  had  “  pre¬ 
vailed”  to  accomplish  what  there  was  so 
strong  a  desire  should  be  accomplished, 
furnishes  an  occasion  for  exalted  thanks¬ 
giving  and  praise,  vs.  8-10.  This  as¬ 
cription  of  praise  in  heaven  is  instantly 
responded  to,  and  echoed  back,  from  all 
parts  of  the  universe — all  joining  in  ac¬ 
knowledging  the  Lamb  as  worthy  of  the 
exalted  office  to  which  he  was  raised, 
vs.  11-13.  The  angels  around  the 
throne  —  amounting  to  thousands  of 
myriads  —  unite  with  the  living  crea¬ 
tures  and  the  elders;  and  to  these 
are  joined  the  voices  of  every  crea¬ 
ture  in  heaven,  on  the  earth,  under 
the  earth,  and  in  the  sea,  ascribing  to 
him  that  sits  upon  the  throne  and  the 


146 


REVELATION, 


A.  D.  96. 


CHAPTER  V. 

AND  I  saw  in  the  right  hand  of 
him  that  sat  on  the  throne  a 


Lamb  universal  praise.  (9)  To  this  loud 
ascription  of  praise  from  far-distant 
worlds,  the  living  creatures  respond  a 
hearty  Amen,  and  the  elders  fall  down 
and  worship  him  that  lives  forever  and 
ever,  ver.  14.  The  universe  is  held  in 
wondering  expectation  of  the  disclosures 
which  are  to  be  made,  and  from  all 
parts  of  the  universe  there  is  an  ac¬ 
knowledgment  that  the  Lamb  of  God 
alone  has  the  right  to  break  the  mys¬ 
terious  seals.  The  importance  of  the 
developments  justifies  the  magnificence 
of  this  representation;  and  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  imagine  a  more 
sublime  introduction  to  these  great 
events. 

1.  And  I  saw  in  the  right  hand  of 
him  that  sat  on  the  throne.  Of  God. 
Ch.  iv.  3,  4.  His  form  is  not  described 
there,  nor  is  there  any  intimation  of  it 
here  except  the  mention  of  his  “right 
hand.”  The  book  or  roll  seems  to  have 
been  so  held  in  his  hand  that  John 
could  see  its  shape,  and  see  distinctly 
how  it  was  written  and  sealed.  A 
book  (fiiPXiov).  This  word  is  properly  a 
diminutive  of  the  word  commonly  ren¬ 
dered  book  (/3i/3Aoj),  and  would  strictly 
mean  a  small  book,  or  a  book  of  diminu¬ 
tive  size — a  tablet,  or  a  letter.  Liddell 
and  Scott,  Lex.  It  is  used,  however,  to 
denote  a  book  of  any  size — a  roll,  scroll, 
or  volume ;  and  is  thus  used  (a)  to  de¬ 
note  the  Pentateuch,  or  the  Mosaic 
law,  Heb.  ix.  19,  x.  7;  ( b )  the  book 
of  life,  Rev.  xvii.  8,  xx.  12,  xxi.  27; 
(c)  epistles,  which  were  also  rolled  up, 
Rev.  i.  11 ;  (d)  documents,  as  a  bill  of 
divorce,  Matt.  xix.  7,  Mark  x.  4.  When 
it  is  the  express  design  to  speak  of 
a  small  book,  another  word  is  used 
((3c(l\apiSlov),  Rev.  x.  2,  8,  9,  10.  The 
book  or  roll  referred  to  here  was  that 
which  contained  the  revelation  in  the 
subsequent  chapters,  to  the  end  of  the 
description  of  the  opening  of  the  seventh 
seal — for  the  communication  that  was  to 
bo  made  was  all  included  in  the  seven 
seals;  and  tt>  conceive  of  the  size  of  the 
book,  therefore,  we  are  only  to  reflect  on 
the  amount  of  parchment  that  would 
naturally  be  written  over  by  the  com¬ 
munications  here  made.  The  form  of 


book  a  written  within  and  on  the 
back  side, b  sealed  with  seven  seals. 
a  Eze.  2.  9, 10.  S  Is.  29. 11. 

the  book  was  undoubtedly  that  of  a 
scroll  or  roll;  for  that  was  the  usual 
form  of  books  among  the  ancients,  and 
such  a  volume  could  be  more  easily 
sealed  with  a  number  of  seals,  in  the 
manner  here  described,  than  a  volume  in 
the  form  in  which  books  are  made  now. 
On  the  ancient  form  of  books,  see  Notes 
on  Luke  iv.  17.  The  following  cut  will 
furnish  an  additional  illustration  of  their 


usual  form.  TVritten  within  and  on 
the  back  side.  Gr.  ‘  Within  and  behind.’ 
It  was  customary  to  write  only  on  one 
side  of  the  paper  or  vellum,  for  the  sake 
of  convenience  in  reading  the  volume  as 
it  was  unrolled.  If,  as  sometimes  was 
the  case,  the  book  was  in  the  same  form 
as  books  are  now  —  of  leaves  bound 
together — then  it  was  usual  to  write  on 
both  sides  of  the  leaf,  as  both  sides  of  a 
page  are  printed  now.  Butin  the  other 
form  it  was  a  very  uncommon  thing  to 
write  on  both  sides  of  the  parchment, 
and  was  never  done  unless  there  was  a 
scarcity  of  writing  material;  or  unless 
there  was  an  amount  of  matter  beyond 
what  was  anticipated ;  or  unless  some¬ 
thing  had  been  omitted.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  suppose  that  John  saw 
both  sides  of  the  parchment  as  it  was 
held  in  the  hand  of  him  that  sat  on  the 
throne.  That  it  was  written  on  the 
back  side  he  would  naturally  see,  and,  as 
the  book  was  sealed  he  would  infer  that 
it  was  written  in  the  usual  manner  on 
the  inside,  Sealed  with  seven  seals. 


CHAPTER  V. 


147 


A.  D.  96.1 


2  And  I  saw  a  strong  angel  pro¬ 
claiming  with  a  loud  voice,  Who  is 
worthy  to  open  the  book,  and  to 
loose  the  seals  thereof? 


On  the  ancient  manner  of  sealing,  see 
Notes  on  Matt,  xxvii.  66;  comp.  Notes 
on  Job  xxxviii.  14.  The  fact  that  there 
were  seven  seals — an  unusual  number  in 
fastening  a  volume  —  would  naturally 
attract  the  attention  of  John,  though  it 
might  not  occur  to  him  at  once  that 
there  was  any  thing  significant  in  the 
number.  It  is  not  stated  in  what  man¬ 
ner  the  seals  were  attached  to  the 
volume,  but  it  is  clear  that  they  were  so 
attached  that  each  seal  closed  one  part 
of  the  volume,  and  that  when  one  was 
broken  and  the  portion  which  that  was 
designed  to  fasten  was  unrolled,  a  second 
would  be  come  to,  which  it  would  be 
necessary  to  break  in  order  to  read  the 
next  portion.  The  outer  seal  would  in¬ 
deed  bind  the  whole ;  but  when  that  was 
broken  it  would  not  give  access  to  the 
whole  volume  unless  each  successive 
seal  were  broken.  May  it  not  have 
been  intended  by  this  arrangement  to 
suggest  the  idea  that  the  whole  future  is 
unknown  to  us,  and  that  the  disclosure 
of  any  one  portion,  though  necessary  if 
the  whole  would  be  known,  does  not 
disclose  all,  but  leaves  seal  after  seal 
still  unbroken,  and  that  they  are  all  to 
be  broken  one  after  another  if  we  would 
know  all?  How  these  were  arranged, 
John  does  not  say.  All  that  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  be  supposed  is,  that  the  seven 
seals  were  put  successively  upon  the 
margin  of  the  volume  as  it  was  rolled 
up,  so  that  each  opening  would  extend 
only  as  far  as  the  next  seal,  when 
the  unrolling  would  be  arrested.  Any 
one  by  rolling  up  a  sheet  of  paper  could 
so  fasten  it  with  pins,  or  with  a  suc¬ 
cession  of  seals,  as  to  represent  this  with 
sufficient  accuracy. 

2.  And  I  saw  a  strong  angel.  An 
angel  endowed  with  great  strength,  as 
if  such  strength  was  necessary  to  enable 
him  to  give  utterance  to  the  loud  voice 
of  the  enquiry.  “  Homer  represents 
his  heralds  as  powerful,  robust  men,  in 
order  consistently  to  attribute  to  them 
deep-toned  and  powerful  voices.”  Prof. 
Stuart.  The  enquiry  to  be  made  was 
one  of  vast  importance ;  it  was  to  be 
made  of  all  in  heaven,  all  on  the  earth, 


3  And  no  man  in  heaven,  nor  in 
earth,  neither  under  the  earth,  was 
able  to  open  the  book,  neither  to 
look  thereon. 


and  all  under  the  earth,  and  hence  an 
angel  is  introduced  so  mighty  that  his 
voice  could  be  heard  in  all  those  distant 
worlds.  Proclaiming  with  a  loud 
voice.  That  is,  as  a  herald  or  crier. 
He  is  rather  introduced  here  as  appoint¬ 
ed  to  this  office  than  as  self-moved.  The 
design  undoubtedly  is  to  impress  the 
mind  with  a  sense  of  the  importance  of 
the  disclosures  about  to  be  made,  and  at 
the  same  time  with  a  sense  of  the  impos¬ 
sibility  of  penetrating  the  future  by  any 
created  power.  That  one  of  the  highest 
angels  should  make  such  a  proclama¬ 
tion  would  sufficiently  show  its  impor¬ 
tance  ;  that  suoh  an  one,  by  the  mere 
act  of  making  such  a  proclamation, 
should  practically  confess  his  own  ina¬ 
bility,  and  consequently  the  inability  of 
all  of  similar  rank,  to  make  the  dis¬ 
closures,  would  show  that  the  revela¬ 
tions  of  the  future  were  beyond  mere 
created  power.  Who  is  worthy  to 
open  the  book,  <fcc.  That  is,  who  is 
“  worthy”  in  the  sense  of  having  a  rank 
so  exalted,  and  attributes  so  compre¬ 
hensive,  as  to  authorize  and  enable  him 
to  do  it.  In  other  words,  Who  has  the 
requisite  endowments  of  all  kinds  to 
enable  him  to  do  it  ?  It  would  require 
moral  qualities  of  an  exalted  character 
to  justify  him  in  approaching  the  seat  of 
the  holy  God  to  take  the  book  from  his 
hands;  it  would  require  an  ability  be¬ 
yond  that  of  any  created  being  to  pene¬ 
trate  the  future,  and  disolose  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  symbols  which  were  employed. 
The  fact  that  the  book  was  held  in  the 
hand  of  him  that  was  on  the  throne,  and 
sealed  in  this  manner,  was  in  itself  a 
sufficient  proof  that  it  was  not  his  pur¬ 
pose  to  make  the  disclosure  directly,  and 
the  natural  enquiry  arose  whether  thero 
was  any  one  in  the  wide  universe  who, 
by  rank,  or  character,  or  office,  would 
be  empowered  to  open  the  mysterious 
volume. 

3.  And  no  man  in  heaven.  No  one — 
dvbus.  There  is  no  limitation  in  the 
original  to  man.  The  idea  is,  that  thero 
was  no  one  in  heaven — evidently  allud¬ 
ing  to  the  created  beings  there  —  who 
could  open  the  volume.  Is  it  not  taught 


148 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96 


4  And  I  wept  much,  because  no 
man  was  found  worthy  to  open  and 
to  read  the  book,  neither  to  look 
thereon. 


here  that  angels  cannot  penetrate  the 
future,  and  disclose  what  is  to  come? 
Are  not  their  faculties  limited  in  this 
respect  like  those  of  man  ?  Nor  in 
earth.  Among  all  classes  of  men  — 
sages,  divines,  prophets,  philosophers, 
who  among  those  have  ever  been  able 
to  penetrate  the  future,  and  disclose 
what  is  to  come  ?  Neither  under  the 
earth.  These  divisions  compose,  in  com¬ 
mon  language,  the  universe  :  —  what  is 
in  heaven  above ;  what  is  on  the  earth ; 
and  whatever  there  is  under  the  earth — 
the  abodes  of  the  dead.  May  there  not 
be  an  allusion  here  to  the  supposed 
science  of  necromancy,  and  an  assertion 
that  even  the  dead  cannot  penetrate  the 
future,  and  disclose  what  is  to  come  ? 
Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  viii.  19.  In  all 
these  great  realms  no  one  advanced  who 
was  qualified  to  undertake  the  office  of 
making  a  disclosure  of  what  the  mys¬ 
terious  scroll  might  contain.  Was 
able  to  open  the  book.  Had  ability — 
htivvaro — to  do  it.  It  was  a  task  beyond 
their  power.  Even  if  any  one  had  been 
found  who  had  a  rank  and  a  moral  cha¬ 
racter  which  might  have  seemed  to 
justify  the  effort,  there  was  no  one 
who  had  the  power  of  reading  what 
was  recorded  respecting  coming  events, 
f  Neither  to  look  thereon.  That  is,  so 
to  open  the  seals  as  to  have  a  view  of 
what  was  written  therein.  That  it  was 
not  beyond  their  power  merely  to  see  the 
book,  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  John 
himself  saw  it  in  the  hand  of  him  that 
sat  on  the  throne,  and  it  is  evident  also 
(ver.  5),  that  in  that  sense  the  elders 
saw  it.  But  no  one  could  prevail  to 
inspect  the  contents,  or  so  have  access 
to  the  interior  of  the  volume  as  to  be 
able  to  see  what  was  written  there.  It 
could  be  seen,  indeed,  (ver.  1)  that  it  was 
written  on  both  sides  of  the  parchment, 
but  what  the  writing  was  no  one  could 
know. 

4.  And  I  wept  much,  because  no  man 
was  found  worthy,  &c.  Gr.,  as  in  ver.  3, 
no  one.  It  would  seem  as  if  there  was  a 
pause  to  see  if  there  were  any  response 
to  the  proclamation  of  the  angel.  There 
being  nono,  John  gave  way  to  his  deep 


5  And  one  of  the  elders  saith 
unto  me,  "Weep  not:  behold,  the 
Lion  °  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,  the 

a  Ge.  49. 9, 10.  Nu.  24.9.  He.  7. 14. 


emotions  in  a  flood  of  tears.  The  tears 
of  the  apostle  here  may  be  regarded  as 
an  illustration  of  two  things  which  are 
occurring  constantly  in  the  minds  of 
men: — (1.)  The  strong  desire  to  pene¬ 
trate  the  future ;  to  lift  the  mysterious 
veil  which  shrouds  that  which  is  to 
come;  to  find  some  way  to  pierce  the 
dark  wall  which  seems  to  stand  up 
before  us,  and  which  shuts  from  our 
view  that  which  is  to  be  hereafter. 
There  have  been  no  more  earnest  efforts 
made  by  men  than  those  which  have 
been  made  to  read  the  sealed  volume 
which  contains  the  record  of  what  is 
yet  to  come.  By  dreams,  and  omens, 
and  auguries,  and  astrology,  and  the 
flight  of  birds,  and  necromancy,  men  have 
sought  anxiously  to  ascertain  what  is  to 
be  hereafter.  Compare,  for  an  expression 
of  that  intense  desire,  Foster’s  Life  and 
Correspondence,  vol.  i.  p.  Ill,  and  vol. 
ii.  pp.  237,  238.  (2.)  The  weeping  of  the 
apostle  may  be  regarded  as  an  instance 
of  the  deep  grief  which  men  often 
experience  when  all  efforts  to  pene¬ 
trate  the  future  fail,  and  they  feel  that 
after  all  they  are  left  completely  in  the 
dark.  Often  is  the  soul  overpowered 
with  grief,  and  often  are  the  eyes  filled 
with  sadness  at  the  reflection  that  there 
is  an  absolute  limit  to  the  human  powers ; 
that  all  that  man  can  arrive  at  by  his 
own  efforts  is  uncertain  conjecture;  and 
that  there  is  no  way  possible  by  which 
he  can  make  nature  speak  out  and  dis¬ 
close  what  is  to  come.  No  where  does 
man  find  himself  more  fettered  and 
limited  in  his  powers  than  here ;  no¬ 
where  does  he  feel  that  there  is  such  an 
intense  disproportion  between  his  desires 
and  his  attainments.  In  nothing  do  we 
feel  that  we  are  more  absolutely  in  need 
of  divine  help  than  in  our  attempts  to 
unveil  the  future,  and  were  it  not  for 
revelation  man  might  weep  in  despair. 

5.  And  one  of  the  elders  saith  unto 
me.  See  Notes  on  eh.  iv.  4.  No  par¬ 
ticular  reason  is  assigned  why  this  mes¬ 
sage  was  delivered  by  one  of  the  elders 
rather  than  by  an  angel.  If  the  elders 
were,  however,  (See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  4) 
the  representatives  of  the  church,  there 


CHAPTER  V 


149 


A.  D.  96.] 


Root  a  of  David,  hath  prevailed  to 
open  the  hook,  and  to  loose  the 
seven  seals  thereof. 

6  And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  in  the 

a  Is.  11. 1,10.  c.  22. 16. 


was  a  propriety  that  they  should  address 
John  in  his  trouble.  Though  they  were 
in  heaven,  they  were  deeply  interested  in 
all  that  pertained  to  the  welfare  of  the 
church,  and  they  had  been  permitted  to 
understand  what  as  yet  was  unknown  to 
him,  that  the  power  of  opening  the  mys¬ 
terious  volume  which  contained  the 
revelation  of  the  future,  was  entrusted 
particularly  to  the  Messiah.  Having 
this  knowledge  they  were  prepared  to 
comfort  him  with  the  hope  that  what 
was  so  mysterious  would  be  made 
known.  Weep  not.  That  is,  there  is 
no  occasion  for  tears.  The  object  which 
you  so  much  desire  can  be  obtained. 
There  is  one  who  can  break  those  seals, 
and  who  can  unroll  that  volume  and 
read  what  is  recorded  there.  Behold , 

the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda.  This  un¬ 
doubtedly  refers  to  the  Lord  Jesus ; 
and  the  points  needful  to  be  explained 
are,  why  he  is  called  a  Lion,  and  why 
he  is  spoken  of  as  the  Lion  of  the  tribe 
of  Juda.  (a)  As  to  the  first: — This  ap¬ 
pellation  is  not  elsewhere  given  to  the 
Messiah,  but  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  its 
propriety  as  used  in  this  place.  The 
lion  is  the  king  of  beasts,  the  monarch 
of  the  forest,  and  thus  becomes  an  em¬ 
blem  of  one  of  kingly  authority  and  of 
power  (see  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  7),  and  as 
such  the  appellation  is  used  in  this 
place.  It  is  because  Christ  has  power  to 
open  the  seals  —  as  if  he  ruled  over  the 
universe,  and  all  events  were  under  his 
control,  as  the  lion  rules  in  the  forest — 
that  the  name  is  here  given  to  him. 
(b)  As  to  the  other  point : — He  is  called 
the  “Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,”  doubt¬ 
less  with  reference  to  the  prophecy  in 
Gen.  xlix.  9,  “Judah  is  a  lion’s  whelp ; 
from  the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone 
up :  he  stooped  down,  he  couched  as  a 
lion,  and  as  an  old  lion ;”  and  from  the 
fact  that  the  Messiah  was  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah.  Comp.  Gen.  xlix.  10.  This  use 
of  the  term  would  connect  him  in  the 
apprehension  of  John  with  the  prophecy, 
and  would  suggest  to  him  the  idea  of 
his  being  a  ruler,  or  having  dominion. 
As  such,  therefore,  it  would  be  appro- 
13* 


midst  of  the  throne  and  of  the  four 
beasts,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
elders,  stood  a  Lamb,  4  as  it  had 
been  slain,  having  seven  horns 
6  Is.  63.  7.  Jno.  1.  29,  36. 


priate  that  the  power  of  breaking  these 
seals  should  be  committed  to  him. 
If  The  Boot  of  David.  Not  the  Root  of 
David  in  the  sense  that  David  sprung 
from  him  as  a  tree  does  from  a  root,  but 
in  the  sense  that  he  himself  was  a  “  root- 
shoot”  or  sprout  from  David,  and  had 
sprung  from  him  as  a  shoot  or  sprout 
springs  up  from  a  decayed  and  fallen 
tree.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xi.  1.  This  ex¬ 
pression  would  connect  him  directly  with 
David,  the  great  and  glorious  monarch 
of  Israel,  and  as  having  a  right  to  occupy 
his  throne.  As  one  thus  ruling  over  the 
people  of  God,  there  was  a  propriety  that 
to  him  should  be  entrusted  the  task  of 
opening  these  seals.  Hath  prevailed. 
That  is,  he  has  acquired  this  power  as 
the  result  of  a  conflict  or  struggle.  The 
word  used  here, — evisricrcv — refers  to  such 
a  conflict  or  struggle,  properly  meaning 
to  come  off  victor;  to  overcome ;  to  con¬ 
quer  ;  to  subdue ;  and  the  idea  here  is 
that  his  power  to  do  this,  or  the  reason 
why  he  does  this,  is  the  result  of  a  con¬ 
flict  in  which  he  was  a  victor.  As  the 
series  of  events  to  be  disclosed,  resulting 
in  the  final  triumph  of  religion,  was  the 
effect  of  his  conflicts  with  the  powers  of 
evil,  there  was  a  special  propriety  that 
the  disclosure  should  be  made  by  him. 
The  truths  taught  in  this  verse  are, 
(1)  That  the  power  of  making  disclo¬ 
sures  in  regard  to  the  future  is  entrusted 
to  the  Messiah;  and  (2)  that  this,  so  far 
as  he  is  concerned,  is  the  result  of  a 
conflict  or  struggle  on  his  part. 

6.  And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne.  We  are  not  to  suppose 
that  he  was  in  the  centre  of  the  throne 
itself,  but  ho  was  a  conspicuous  object 
when  the  throne  and  the  elders  and  the 
living  beings  were  seen.  He  was  so 
placed  as  to  seem  to  be  in  the  midst  of 
the  group  made  up  of  the  throne,  the 
living  beings,  and  tne  elders,  And  of 
the  four  beasts.  See  Notes,  ch.  iv.  6. 

Stood  a  Lamb.  An  appellation  often 
given  to  the  Messiah,  for  two  reasons : 
(1)  because  the  lamb  was  an  emblem 
of  innocence;  and  (2)  because  a  lamb 
was  offered  commonly  in  saorifice.  Comp. 


150 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


and  seven  eyes,  °  which  are  the 
seven  Spirits  of  God  sent  forth 
into  all  the  earth. 

a  Zee.  4.  10. 


Notes  on  John  i.  29.  As  it  had  been 
slain.  That  is,  in  some  way  having  the 
appearance  of  having  been  slain  ;  having 
some  marks  or  indications  about  it  that 
it  had  been  slain.  What  those  were,  the 
writer  does  not  specify.  If  it  were 
covered  with  blood,  or  there  were  marks 
of  mortal  wounds,  it  would  be  all  that 
the  representation  demands.  The  great 
work  which  the  Redeemer  performed — 
that  of  making  an  atonement  for  sin — 
was  thus  represented  to  John  in  such  a 
way  that  he  at  once  recognized  him, 
and  saw  the  reason  why  the  office  of 
breaking  the  seals  was  entrusted  to  him. 
It  should  be  remarked  that  this  repre¬ 
sentation  is  merely  symbolic,  and  we  aro 
not  to  suppose  that  the  Redeemer  really 
assumed  this  form,  or  that  he  appears  in 
this  form  in  heaven.  We  should  no 
more  suppose  that  the  Redeemer  ap¬ 
pears  literally  as  a  lamb  in  heaven  with 
numerous  eyes  and  horns,  than  that 
there  is  a  literal  throne  and  a  sea  of 
glass  there;  that  there  are  “seats”  there 
and  “  elders,”  and  “  crowns  of  gold.” 
If  Having  seven  horns.  Emblems  of 
authority  and  power  —  for  the  horn  is 
a  symbol  of  power  and  dominion. 
Comp.  Deut.  xxxiii.  17 ;  1  Kings  xxii. 
11 ;  Jer.  xlviii.  25 ;  Zech.  i.  18 ;  Dan. 
vii.  24.  The  propriety  of  this  symbol  is 
laid  in  the  fact  that  the  strength  of  an 
animal  is  in  the  horn,  and  that  it  is  by 
this  that  he  obtains  a  victory  over 
other  animals.  The  number  seven  here 
seems  to  be  designed,  as  in  'other  places, 
to  denote  completeness.  See  Notes  on 
eh.  i.  4.  The  meaning  is,  that  he  had  so 
large  a  number  as  to  denote  complete 
dominion.  And  seven  eyes.  Symbols 
of  intelligence.  The  number  seven  here 
also  denotes  completeness,  and  the  idea 
is,  that  "he  is  ahle  to  survey  all  things. 
John  does  not  say  any  thing  as  to  the 
relative  arrangement  of  the  horns  and 
eyes  on  the  “  Lamb,”  and  it  is  vain  to 
attempt  to  conjecture  how  it  was.  The 
whole  representation  is  symbolical,  and 
we  may  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
symbol  without  being  able  to  form  an 
exact  conception  of  the  figure  as  it  ap¬ 


7  And  he  came  and  took  the 
hook  out  of  the  right  hand  of  him 
that  sat  upon  the  throne. 


peared  to  him.  Which  are  the  seven 
Spirits  of  God  sent  forth  into  all  the 
earth.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  4.  That  is, 
which  represent  the  seven  Spirits  of 
God;  or  the  manifold  operations  of  the 
one  divine  Spirit.  As  the  eye  is  the 
symbol  of  intelligence — outward  objects 
being  made  visible  to  us  by  that  —  so  it 
may  well  represent  an  all-pervading 
spirit  that  surveys  and  sees  all  things. 
The  eye,  in  this  view,  among  the  Egyp¬ 
tians  was  an  emblem  of  the  Deity.  By 
the  “  Seven  Spirits  ”  here  the  same  thing 
is  doubtless  intended  as  in  ch.  i.  4;  and 
if,  as  there  supposed,  the  reference  is  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  considered  with  respect 
to  his  manifold  operations,  the  meaning 
here  is,  that  the  operations  of  that  Spirit 
are  to  be  regarded  as  connected  with  the 
work  of  the  Redeemer.  Thus,  all  the 
operations  of  the  Spirit  are  connected 
with,  and  are  a  part  of,  the  work  of  re¬ 
demption.  The  expression  “sent  forth 
into  all  the  earth,”  refers  to  the  fact 
that  that  Spirit  pervades  all  things. 
The  Spirit  of  God  is  often  represented 
as  sent  or  poured  out;  and  the  meaning 
here  is,  that  his  operations  are  as  if  he  was 
sent  out  to  survey  all  things  and  to  ope¬ 
rate  everywhere.  Comp.  1  Cor.  xii.6-11. 

7.  And  he  came  and  took  the  book  out 
of  the  right  hand,  &c.  As  if  it  pertained 
to  him  by  virtue  of  rank  or  office.  There 
is  a  difficulty  here  arising  from  the 
incongruity  of  what  is  said  of  a  lamb, 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  solve.  The  diffi¬ 
culty  js  in  conceiving  how  a  lamb  could 
take  the  book  from  the  hand  of  him  who 
held  it.  To  meet  this  several  solutions 
have  been  proposed.  (1)  Vitringa  sup¬ 
poses  that  the  Messiah  appeared  as  a 
lamb  only  in  some  such  sense  as  the  four 
living  beings  (ch.  iv.  7)  resembled  a  lion, 
a  calf,  and  an  eagle ;  that  is,  that  they 
bore  this  resemblance  only  in  respect  to 
the  head,  while  the  body  was  that  of  a 
man.  He  thus  supposes  that,  though  in 
respect  to  the  upper  part,  the  Saviour 
resembled  a  lamb,  yet  that  to  the  front 
part  of  the  body  hands  were  attached 
by  which  he  could  take  the  book.  But 
thero  are  great  difficulties  in  this  suppo- 


CHAPTER  V. 


151 


A.  D.  96.] 

sition.  Besides  that  nothing  of  this 
kind  is  intimated  by  John,  it  is  contrary 
to  every  appearance  of  probability  that 
the  Redeemer  would  be  represented  as  a 
monster.  In  his  being  represented  as  a 
lamb  there  is  nothing  that  strikes  the 
mind  as  inappropriate  or  unpleasant, 
for  he  is  often  spoken  of  in  this  man¬ 
ner,  and  the  image  is  one  that  is 
agreeable  to  the  mind.  But  all  this 
beauty  and  fitness  of  representation  is 
destroyed,  if  we  think  of  him  as  having 
human  hands  proceeding  from  his  breast 
or  sides,  or  as  blending  the  form  of  a 
man  and  an  animal  together.  The  re¬ 
presentation  of  having  an  unusual  num¬ 
ber  of  horns  and  eyes  does  not  strike 
us  as  being  incongruous  in  the  same 
sense ;  for,  though  the  number  is  increas¬ 
ed,  they  are  such  as  pertain  properly  to 
the  animal  to  which  they  are  attached. 
(2)  Another  supposition  is  that  sug¬ 
gested  by  Prof.  Stuart,  that  the  form 
was  changed,  and  a  human  form  resumed 
when  the  Saviour  advanced  to  take  the 
book  and  open  it.  This  would  relieve 
the  whole  difficulty,  and  the  only  ob¬ 
jection  to  it  is,  that  John  has  not  given 
any  express  notice  of  such  a  change 
in  the  form ;  and  the  only  question  can 
be  whether  it  is  right  to  suppose  it  in 
order  to  meet  the  difficulty  in  the  case. 
In  support  of  this  it  is  said  that  all  is 
symbol ;  that  the  Saviour  is  represented 
in  the  book  in  various  forms ;  that  as  his 
appearing  as  a  lamb  was  designed  to 
represent  in  a  striking  manner  the  fact 
that  he  was  slain,  and  that  all  that  he 
did  was  based  on  the  atonement,  so 
there  would  be  no  impropriety  in  sup¬ 
posing  that  when  an  action  was  at¬ 
tributed  to  him  he  assumed  the  form  in 
which  that  act  would  be  naturally  or  is 
usually  done.  And  as  in  taking  a  book 
from  the  hand  of  another  it  is  wholly 
incongruous  to  think  of  its  being  done  by 
a  lamb,  is  it  not  most  natural  to  suppose 
that  the  usual  form  in  which  the  Saviour 
is  represented  as  appearing  would  be 
resumed,  and  that  he  would  appear 
again  as  a  man  ? — But,  is  it  absolutely 
certain  that  he  appeared  in  the  form  of 
a  lamb  at  all  ?  May  not  all  that  is  meant 
be,  that  John  saw  him  near  the  throne, 
and  among  the  elders,  and  was  struck 
at  once  with  his  appearance  of  meekness 
and  innocence,  and  with  the  marks  of 
his  having  been  slain  as  a  sacrifice,  and 


spoke  of  him  in  strong  figurative  lan¬ 
guage  as  a  lamb  ?  And  where  his  “seven 
horns”  and  “seven  eyes”  are  spoken  of, 
is  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  there  was 
any  real  assumption  of  such  horns  and 
eyes  ?  May  not  all  that  is  meant  be 
that  John  was  struck  with  that  in  the 
appearance  of  the  Redeemer  of  which 
these  would  be  the  appropriate  symbols, 
and  described  him  as  if  these  had  been 
visible  ?  When  John  the  Baptist  saw 
the  Lord  Jesus  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan,  and  said,  “  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world”  (John  i.  29),  is  it  necessary  to 
suppose  that  he  actually  appeared  in  the 
form  of  a  lamb  ?  Do  not  all  at  once  un¬ 
derstand  him  as  referring  to  traits  in  his 
character,  and  to  the  work  which  he  was 
to  accomplish,  which  made  it  proper  to 
speak  of  him  as  a  lamb  ?  And  why,  there¬ 
fore,  may  we  not  suppose  that  John  in  the 
Apocalypse  designed  to  use  language  in 
the  same  way,  and  that  he  did  not 
intend  to  present  so  incongruous  a 
description  as  that  of  a  lamb  approach¬ 
ing  a  throne  and  taking  a  book  from  the 
hand  of  him  that  sat  on  it,  and  a  lamb 
too  with  many  horns  and  eyes  ?  If  this 
supposition  is  correct,  then  all  that  is 
meant  in  this  passage  would  be  ex¬ 
pressed  in  some  such  language  as  the 
following  :  ‘  And  I  looked,  and  lo  there 
was  one  in  the  midst  of  the  space  occu¬ 
pied  by  the  throne,  by  the  living  crea¬ 
tures,  and  by  the  elders,  who,  in  aspect, 
and  in  the  emblems  that  represented  his 
work  on  the  earth,  was  spotless,  meek, 
and  innocent  as  a  lamb ;  —  one  with 
marks  on  his  person  which  brought  to 
remembrance  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
slain  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  yet 
one  who  had  most  striking  symbols  of 
power  and  intelligence,  and  who  was 
therefore  worthy  to  approach  and  take 
the  book  from  the  hand  of  him  that  sat 
on  the  throne/  It  may  do  something  to 
confirm  this  view  to  recollect  that  when 
we  use  the  term  “Lamb  of  God”  now, 
as  is  often  done  in  preaching  and  in 
prayer,  it  never  suggests  to  the  mind  the 
idea  of  a  lamb.  We  think  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer  as  resembling  a  lamb  in  his 
moral  attributes  and  in  his  sacrifice,  but 
never  as  to  form.  This  supposition 
relieves  the  passage  of  all  that  is  incon¬ 
gruous  and  unpleasant,  and  may  be  all 
that  John  meant. 


152 


REVELATION,  I  A.  D.  96. 


8  And  when  he  had  taken  the 
book,  the  four  °  beasts  and  four 
and  twenty  elders,  fell  down  before 
the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of 
a  c.  4.  4,  8, 10. 

8.  And  when  he  had  taken  the  book, 
the  four  beasts,  &c.  The  acts  of  adora¬ 
tion  here  described  as  rendered  by  the 
four  living  creatures  and  the  elders,  are, 
according  to  the  explanation  given  in 
ch.  iv.  4r-7,  emblematic  of  the  honor 
done  to  the  Redeemer  by  the  church 
and  by  the  course  of  providential  events 
in  the  government  of  the  world,  Fall 
down  before  the  Lamb.  The  usual  pos¬ 
ture  of  profound  worship.  Usually  in 
such  worship  there  was  entire  prostra¬ 
tion  on  the  earth.  See  Notes  on  Matt, 
ii.  2 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  25.  Having  every 
one  of  them  harps.  That  is,  as  the  con¬ 
struction,  and  the  propriety  of  the  case 
would  seem  to  demand,  the  elders  had 
each  one  of  them  harps.  The  whole 
prostrated  themselves  with  profound 
reverence ;  the  elders  had  harps  and 
censers,  and  broke  out  into  a  song  of 
praise  for  redemption.  This  construc¬ 
tion  is  demanded,  because  (a)  the  Greek 
word  —  e^ovres  —  more  properly  agrees 
with  the  word  elders — trptopvrcpoi —  and 
not  with  the  word  beasts — £wa ;  ( b )  there 
is  an  incongruity  in  the  representa¬ 
tion  that  the  living  creatures  —  in  the 
form  of  a  lion,  a  calf,  an  eagle,  should 
have  harps  and  censers ;  and  (c)  the  song 
of  praise  that  is  sung  (ver.  9)  is  one  that 
properly  applies  to  the  elders  as  the  re¬ 
presentatives  of  the  church,  and  not  to 
the  living  creatures,  “Thou  hast  re¬ 
deemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood.”  The 
harp  was  a  well-known  instrument  used 
in  the  service  of  God.  Josephus  describes 
it  as  having  ten  strings,  and  as  struck 
with  a  key.  Ant.  7.  12.  3.  See  Notes 
on  Isa.  v.  12.  And  golden  vials.  The 
word  vial  with  us,  denoting  a  small 
slender  bottle  with  a  narrow  neck,  evi¬ 
dently  does  not  express  the  idea  here. 
The  article  here  referred  to  was  used  for 
offering  incense,  and  must  have  been  a 
vessel  with  a  large  open  mouth.  The 
word  bowl  or  goblet  would  better  ex¬ 
press  the  idea,  and  it  is  so  explained  by 
Prof.  Robinson,  Lex.,  and  by  Prof. 
Stuart,  in  loc.  The  Greek  word — <pia\rj 
—  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  only  in 
Revelation  (v.  8,  xv.  7,  xvi.  1,  2,  3,  4, 


them  harps, b  and  golden  vials  full 
of  c  odors,  which  are  the  prayers d 
of  saints. 

b  c.  15.  2.  e  Or,  incense.  d  Ps.  141.  2. 


8,  10,  12, 17,  xvii.  1,  xxi.  ,9),  and  is  uni¬ 
formly  rendered  vial  and  vials,  though 
the  idea  is  always  that  of  a  bowl  or  gob¬ 
let.  <[  Full  of  odors.  Or  rather,  as  in 
the  margin,  full  of  incense  —  Svyiarav. 
See  Notes  on  Luke  i.  9.  Which  are 
the  prayers  of  saints.  Which  represent 
or  denote  the  prayers  of  saints.  Comp. 
Ps.  cxli.  2,  “  Let  my  prayer  be  set  forth 
before  thee  as  incense.”  The  meaning 
is,  that  incense  was  a  proper  emblem  of 
prayer.  This  seems  to  have  been  in 
two  respects :  (a)  as  being  acceptable  to 
God— as  incense  produced  an  agreeable 
fragrance ;  and  ( b )  in  its  being  wafted 
towards  heaven — ascending  towards  the 
eternal  throne.  In  ch.  viii.  3,  an  angel 
is  represented  as  having  a  golden  censer ; 
“And  there  was  given  unto  him  much 
incense,  that  he  should  offer  it  with  the 
prayers  of  all  saints  upon  the  golden 
altar  which  was  before  the  throne.” 
The  representation  there,  undoubtedly 
is,  that  the  angel  is  employed  in  pre¬ 
senting  the  prayers  of  the  saints  which 
were  offered  on  earth  before  the  throne. 
See  Notes  on  that  passage.  It  is  most 
natural  to  interpret  the  passage  before 
us  in  the  same  way.  The  allusion  is 
clearly  to  the  temple  service,  and  to  the 
fact  that  incense  was  offered  by  the 
priest  in  the  temple  itself  at  the  time 
that  prayer  was  offered  by  the  people  in 
tho  courts  of  the  temple.  See  Luke  i. 

9,  10.  The  idea  here  is,  therefore,  that 
the  representatives  of  the  church  in  hea¬ 
ven — the  elders — spoken  of  as  “  priests” 
(ver.  10),  are  described  as  officiating  in 
the  temple  above  in  behalf  of  the  church 
still  below,  and  as  offering  incense  while 
the  church  is  engaged  in  prayer.  It  is 
not  said  that  they  offer  the  prayers 
themselves,  but  that  they  offer  incense  as 
representing  the  prayers  of  the  saints. 
If  this  be  the  correct  interpretation,  as 
it  seems  to  be  the  obvious  one,  then  the 
passage  lays  no  foundation  for  the  opinion 
expressed  by  Prof.  Stuart,  as  derived 
from  this  passage  (in  loc.),  that  prayer 
is  offered  by  the  redeemed  in  heaven. 
Whatever  may  be  the  truth  on  that 
point  —  on  which  the  Bible  seems  to  be 


CHAPTER  V. 


153 


A.  D  96.] 


9  And  they  sung  a  new  °  song, 
saying,  Thou  art  worthy  to  take 

a  c.  14.  3. 

silent  —  it  will  find  no  support  from  the 
passage  before  us.  Adoration,  praise, 
thanksgiving,  are  represented  as  the  em¬ 
ployment  of  the  saints  in  heaven;  the 
only  representation  respecting  prayer 
as  pertaining  to  that  world  is,  that  there 
are  emblems  there  which  symbolize  its 
ascent  before  the  throne,  and  which 
show  that  it  is  acceptable  to  God.  It  is 
an  interesting  and  beautiful  representa¬ 
tion  that  there  are  in  heaven  appro¬ 
priate  symbols  of  ascending  prayer,  and 
that  while  in  the  outer  courts  here 
below  we  offer  prayer,  incense,  emble¬ 
matic  of  it,  ascends  in  tho  holy  of 
holies  above.  The  impression  which 
this  should  leave  on  our  minds  ought  to 
be,  that  our  prayers  are  wafted  before 
the  throne,  and  are  acceptable  to  God. 

9.  And  they  sung  a  new  song.  Comp, 
ch.  xiv.  3.  New  in  the  sense  that  it  is 
a  song  consequent  on  redemption,  and 
distinguished  therefore  from  the  songs 
sung  in  heaven  before  the  work  of  re¬ 
demption  was  consummated.  We  may 
suppose  that  songs  of  adoration  have 
always  been  sung  in  heaven ;  we  know 
that  the  praises  of  God  were  celebrated 
by  the  angelic  choirs  when  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  the  earth  were  laid  (Job  xxxyiii. 
7) ;  but  the  song  of  redemption  was  a 
different  song,  and  is  one  that  would 
never  have  been  sung  there  if  man  had 
not  fallen,  and  if  the  Redeemer  had  not 
died.  This  song  strikes  notes  which  the 
other  songs  do  not  strike,  and  refers  to 
glories  of  the  divine  character,  which 
but  for  the  work  of  redemption  would 
not  have  been  brought  into  view.  In 
this  sense  the  song  was  new;  it  will 
continue  to  be  new  in  the  sense  that  it 
will  be  sung  afresh  as  redeemed  millions 
continue  to  ascend  to  heaven.  Comp. 
Ps.  xl.  3,  xevi.  1,  cxliv.  9 ;  Isa.  xlii.  10. 
*]'  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the  hook,  &c. 
This  was  the  occasion  or  ground  of  the 
“new  song,”  that  by  his  coming  and 
death  he  had  acquired  a  right  to  ap¬ 
proach  where  no  other  one  could  ap¬ 
proach,  and  to  do  what  no  other  one 
could  do.  For  thou  wast  slain.  The 
language  here  is  such  as  would  be  ap¬ 
propriate  to  a  lamb  slain  as  a  sacrifice ; 
the  idea  is,  that  the  faot  that  he  was  thus 


the  hook,  and  to  open  the  seals 
thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 


slain  constituted  the  ground  of  his 
worthiness  to  open  the  book.  It  could  not 
be  meant  that  there  was  in  him  no  other 
ground  of  worthiness,  but  that  this  was 
that  which  was  most  conspicuous.  It  is 
just  the  outburst  of  the  grateful  feeling 
resulting  from  redemption,  that  ho  who 
has  died  to  save  the  soul  is  worthy  of 
all  honor,  and  is  fitted  to  accomplish 
what  no  other  being  in  the  universe  can 
do.  However  this  may  appear  to  the 
inhabitants  of  other  worlds  ;  or  however 
it  may  appear  to  the  dwellers  on  the 
earth  who  have  no  interest  in  the  work 
of  redemption,  yet  all  who  are  redeemed 
will  agree  in  the  sentiment  that  he  who 
has  ransomed  them  with  his  blood  has 
performed  a  work  to  do  which  every 
other  being  was  incompetent;  and  that 
now  all  honor  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
may  appropriately  be  conferred  on  him. 

And  hast  redeemed  us.  The  word 
here  used — ayopafa— means  properly  to 
purchase,  to  buy,  and  is  thus  employed 
to  denote  redemption,  because  redemp¬ 
tion  was  accomplished  by  the  payment 
of  a  price.  On  the  meaning  of  the 
word,  see  Notes  on  2  Peter  ii.  1.  f  To 
God.  That  is,  so  that  we  become  his, 
and  are  to  be  henceforward  regarded  as 
such ;  or  so,  that  he  might  possess  us 
as  his  own.  See  Notes  on  2  Cor.  v.  15. 
This  is  the  true  nature  of  redemption, 
that  by  the  prico  paid  we  are  rescued 
from  the  servitude  of  Satan,  and  are 
henceforth  to  regard  ourselves  as  be¬ 
longing  unto  God.  By  thy  blood.  See 
Notes  on  Acts  xx.  28.  This  is  such 
language  as  they  use  who  believe  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  atonement ;  and  is  such  as 
would  be  used  by  them  alone.  It  would 
not  be  employed  by  those  who  believe 
that  Christ  was  a  mere  martyr,  or  that 
he  lived  and  died  merely  as  a  teacher  of 
morality.  If  he  was  truly  an  atoning 
sacrifice,  the  language  is  full  of  mean¬ 
ing;  if  not,  it  has  no  significance,  and 
could  not  be  understood,  Out  of 
every  kindred.  Literally,  ‘  of  every 
tribe’  —  tpvkrjs.  The  word  tribe  means 
properly  a  comparatively  small  division 
or  class  of  people  associated  together. 
Prof.  Stuart.  It  refers  to  a  family,  or 
race,  having  a  common  ancestor,  and 


154 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


blood,  •  out  of  every  b  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and  nation ; 

a  Ac.  20.  28.  Ep.  1.  7.  He.  9. 12.  1  Pe. 

1. 18, 19.  b  c.  7.  9. 


usually  associated  or  banded  together — 
as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel ;  a  tribe  of 
Indians ;  a  tribe  of  plants ;  a  tribe  of 
animals,  Ac.  This  is  such  language  as 
a  Jew  would  use,  denoting  one  of  the 
smaller  divisions  that  made  up  a  nation 
of  people ;  and  the  meaning  would  seem 
to  be,  that  it  will  be  found  ultimately  to 
be  true  that  the  redeemed  will  have  been 
taken  from  all  such  minor  divisions  of 
the  human  family  —  not  only  from  the 
different  nations  but  from  the  smaller 
divisions  of  those  nations.  This  can 
only  bo  true  from  the  fact  that  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  religion  will  yet 
be  diffused  among  all  those  smaller  por¬ 
tions  of  the  human  race ;  that  is,  that 
its  diffusion  will  be  universal,  And 
tongue.  People  speaking  all  languages. 
The  word  here  used  would  seem  to 
denote  a  division  of  the  human  family 
larger  than  a  tribe  but  smaller  than  a 
nation.  It  was  formerly  a  fact  that  a 
nation  might  be  made  up  of  those  who 
spoke  many  different  languages — as,  for 
example,  the  Assyrian,  the  Babylonian, 
or  the  Roman  nations.  Comp.  Dan.  iii. 
29,  iv.  1.  The  meaning  here  is,  that  no 
matter  what  language  the  component 
parts  of  the  nations  speak,  the  gospel 
will  be  conveyed  to  them,  and  in  their 
own  tongue  they  will  learn  the  wonder¬ 
ful  works  of  God.  Comp.  Acts  ii.  8-11. 

And  ■people.  The  word  here  used — 
\a6i  —  properly  denotes  a  people  con¬ 
sidered  as  a  mass,  made  up  of  smaller 
divisions  —  as  an  association  of  smaller 
bodies, — or  as  a  multitude  of  such  bodies 
united  together.  It  is  distinguished 
from  another  word  commonly  applied  to 
a  people — Sfjpos — for  that  is  applied  to  a 
community  of  free  citizens,  considered  as 
on  a  level,  or  without  reference  to  any 
minor  divisions  or  distinctions.  The 
words  here  used  would  apply  to  an 
army,  considered  as  made  up  of  regi¬ 
ments,  battalions,  or  tribes ;  to  a  mass¬ 
meeting,  made  up  of  societies  of  different 
trades  or  professions ;  to  a  nation,  made 
up  of  different  associated  communities, 
Ac.  It  denotes  a  larger  body  of  people 
than  the  previous  words,  and  the  idea 


10  And  hast  made  us  unto  our 
God  kings  c  and  priests :  and  we 
shall  d  reign  on  the  earth. 

c  c.  1.  6.  d  c.  22.  5. 


is,  that  no  matter  of  what  people  or 
nation,  considered  as  made  up  of  such 
separate  portions,  one  may  be,  he  will 
not  be  excluded  from  the  blessings  of 
redemption.  The  sense  would  be  well 
expressed  by  saying,  for  instance,  that 
there  will  be  found  there  those  of 
the  Gaelic  race,  the  Celtic,  the  Anglo- 
Saxon,  the  Mongolian,  the  African,  Ac. 

And  nation.  kJvos.  A  word  of  still 
larger  signification ;  the  people  in  a  still 
wider  sense ;  a  people  or  nation  con¬ 
sidered  as  distinct  from  all  others.  The 
word  would  embrace  all  who  come 
under  one  sovereignty  or  rule — as,  for 
example,  the  British  nation,  however 
many  minor  tribes  there  may  be;  how¬ 
ever  many  different  languages  may  be 
spoken;  and  however  many  separate 
people  there  may  be  —  as  the  Anglo- 
Saxon,  the  Scottish,  the  Irish,  the  people 
of  Hindustan,  of  Labrador,  of  New  South 
Wales,  &c.  The  words  here  used  by 
John  would  together  denote  nations  of 
every  kind,  great  and  small;  and  the 
sense  is,  that  the  blessings  of  redemp¬ 
tion  will  be  extended  to  all  parts  of  the 
earth. 

10.  And  hast  made  us  unto  our  God 
kings  and  priests.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i. 
6.  And  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth. 
The  redeemed,  of  whom  we  are  the 
representatives.  The  idea  clearly  is,  in 
accordance  with  what  is  so  frequently 
said  in  the  Scriptures,  that  the  dominion 
on  the  earth  will  be  given  to  the 
saints ;  that  is,  that  there  will  be  such  a 
prevalence  of  true  religion,  and  the  re¬ 
deemed  will  be  so  much  in  the  ascend¬ 
ency,  that  the  affairs  of  the  nations  will 
be  in  their  hands.  Righteous  men  will 
hold  the  offices ;  will  fill  places  of  trust 
and  responsibility ;  will  have  a  con¬ 
trolling  voice  in  all  that  pertains  to 
human  affairs.  See  Notes  on  Dan.  vii. 
27,  and  Rev.  xx.  1-6.  To  such  a  pre¬ 
valence  of  religion  all  things  are  tend¬ 
ing  ;  and  to  this,  in  all  the  disorder  and 
sin  which  now  exist,  are  we  permitted  to 
look  forward.  It  is  not  said  that  this 
will  be  a  reign  under  the  Saviour  in  a 
literal  kingdom  on  the  earth ;  nor  is  it 


CHAPTER  V. 


155 


A.  D.  96.] 


11  And  I  beheld,  and  I  heard 
the  voice  of  many  angels  round 
about  the  throne  and  the  beasts 
and  the  elders :  and  the  “  number 
of  them  was  ten  thousand  times 
a  Da.  7. 10.  He.  12.  22. 


6aid  that  the  saints  will  descend  from 
heaven,  and  occupy  thrones  of  power 
under  Christ  as  a  visible  king.  The 
simple  affirmation  is,  that  they  will 
reign  on  the  earth ;  and  as  this  seems 
to  be  spoken  in  the  name  of  the  re¬ 
deemed,  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  un¬ 
derstood  is,  that  there  will  be  such  a 
prevalence  of  true  religion  on  the  earth 
that  it  will  become  a  vast  kingdom  of 
holiness,  and  that,  instead  of  being  in 
the  minority,  the  saints  will  everywhere 
have  the  ascendency. 

11.  And  I  beheld.  And  I  looked 
again.  And  I  heard  the  voice  of  many 
angels.  The  inhabitants  of  heaven 
uniting  with  the  representatives  of  the 
redeemed  church,  in  ascribing  honor  to 
the  Lamb  of  God.  The  design  is  to 
show  that  there  is  universal  sympathy 
and  harmony  in  heaven,  and  that  all 
worlds  will  unite  in  ascribing  honor  to 
the  Lamb  of  God.  Hound  about  the 
throne  and  the  beasts  and  the  elders.  In 
a  circle  or  area  beyond  that  which  was 
occupied  by  the  throne,  the  living  crea¬ 
tures,  and  the  elders.  They  occupied 
the  centre  as  it  appeared  to  John,  and 
this  innumerable  company  of  angels  sur¬ 
rounded  them.  The  angels  are  repre¬ 
sented  here,  as  they  are  everywhere  in: 
the  Scriptures,  as  taking  a  deep  interest 
in  all  that  pertains  to  the  redemption  of 
men,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  they 
are  hero  described  as  uniting  with  the 
representatives  of  the  church  in  ren¬ 
dering  honor  to  the  Lamb  of  God.  Comp. 
Notes  on  1  Pet.  i.  12.  And  the  mem¬ 
ber  of  them  was  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand.  One  hundred  millions — a 
general  term  to  denote  either  a  count¬ 
less  number,  or  an  exceedingly  great 
number.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  it 
is  to  be  taken  literally,  And  thou¬ 
sands  of  thousands.  Implying  that  the 
number  before  specified  was  not  large 
enough  to  comprehend  all.  Besides  the 
“ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand” 
there  was  a  vast,  uncounted  host  which 
one  could  not  attempt  to  enumerate. 


ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of 
thousands ; 

12  Saying  with  a  loud  voice. 
Worthy  b  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
b  c.  4. 11. 


The  language  here  would  seem  to  be 
taken  from  Dan.  vii.  10 :  “  Thousand 
thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  stood  be* 
fore  him.”  Comp.  Ps.  lxviii.  17  :  “The 
chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand, 
even  thousands  of  angels.”  See  also 
Deut.  xxxiii.  2 ;  1  Kings  xxii.  19. 

12.  Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Worthy 
is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  See  Notes 
on  vs.  2,  9.  The  idea  here  is,  that  the 
fact  that  he  was  slain,  or  was  made  a 
sacrifice  for  sin,  was  the  ground  or 
reason  for  what  is  here  ascribed  to  him. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ver.  5.  To  receive 
•power.  Power  or  authority  to  rule  over 
all  things.  Comp.  Notes  on  Matt, 
xxviii.  18.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
he  was  worthy  that  these  things  should 
he  ascribed  to  him,  or  to  be  addressed 
and  acknowledged  as  possessing  them. 
A  part  of  these  things  were  his  in  virtue 
of  his  very  nature  —  as  wisdom,  glory, 
riches ;  a  part  were  conferred  on  him  as 
the  result  of  his  work  —  as  the  media¬ 
torial  dominion  over  the  universe,  tho 
honor  resulting  from  his  work,  &c.  In 
view  of  all  that  he  was,  and  of  all  that 
he  has  done,  he  is  here  spoken  of  as 
“  worthy”  of  all  these  things.  And 
riches.  Abundance.  That  is,  he  is 
worthy  that  whatever  contributes  to 
honor,  and  glory,  and  happiness,  should 
be  conferred  on  him  in  abundance. 
Himself  the  original  proprietor  of  all 
things,  it  is  fit  that  he  should  be  recog¬ 
nized  as  such ;  and  having  performed 
the  work  which  he  has,  it  is  proper  that 
whatever  may  be  made  to  contribute  to 
his  honor  should  be  regarded  as  his. 

And  wisdom.  That  he  should  be 
esteemed  as  eminently  wise,"  that  is, 
that  as  the  result  of  the  work  which 
he  has  accomplished,  he  should  be  re¬ 
garded  as  having  ability  to  choose  the 
best  ends,  and  the  best  means  to  accom¬ 
plish  them.  The  feeling  here  referred 
to  is  that  which  arises  from  the  contem¬ 
plation  of  the  work  of  salvation  by  the 
Redeemer,  as  a  work  eminently  charao- 


156 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and 
honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing. 

13  And  °  every  creature  which 
is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and 
under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in 
the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them, 
a  Ph.  2. 10. 

terized  by  wisdom  —  ■wisdom  manifested 
in  meeting  the  evils  of  the  fall;  in  hon¬ 
oring  the  law  ;  in  showing  that  mercy  is 
consistent  with  justice;  and  in  adapting 
the  whole  plan  to  the  character  and 
wants  of  man.  If  wisdom  was  any 
where  demanded,  it  was  in  reconciling 
a  lost  world  to  God ;  if  it  has  been  any 
where  displayed,  it  has  been  in  the 
arrangements  for  that  work,  and  in  its 
execution  by  the  Redeemer.  See  Notes 
on  1  Cor.  i.  24;  comp.  Matt.  xiii.  54; 
Luke  ii.  40,  52 ;  1  Cor.  i.  20,  21,  30  ; 
Eph.  i.  8,  iii.  10.  And  strength. 
Ability  to  accomplish  his  purposes. 
That  is,  it  is  meet  that  he  should  be 
regarded  as  having  such  ability.  This 
strength  or  power  was  manifested  in 
overcoming  the  great  enemy  of  man ;  in 
his  control  of  winds,  and  storms,  and 
diseases  and  devils;  in  triumphing  over 
death;  in  saving  his  people,  f  And 
honor.  He  should  be  esteemed  and 
treated  with  honor  for  what  he  has 
done,  And  glory.  This  word  refers 
to  a  higher  ascription  of  praise  than  the 
word  honor.  Perhaps  that  might  refer 
to  the  honor  which  we  feel  in  our 
hearts ;  this  to  the  expression  of  that  by 
the  language  of  praise.  ^  And  blessing. 
Every  thing  which  would  express  the 
desire  that  he  might  be  happy,  honored, 
adored.  To  bless  one  is  to  desire  that 
he  may  have  happiness  and  prosperity ; 
that  he  may  be  successful,  respected 
and  honored.  To  bless  God,  or  to  as¬ 
cribe  blessing  to  him,  is  that  state  where 
the  heart  is  full  of  love  and  gratitude, 
and  where  it  desires  that  he  may  be 
every  where  honored,  loved,  and  obeyed 
as  he  should  be.  The  words  here  ex¬ 
press  the  wish  that  the  universe  would 
ascribe  to  the  Redeemer  all  honor,  and 
that  he  might  be  every  where  loved  and 
adored. 

13.  And  every  creature  which  is  in 
heaven.  The  meaning  of  this  verse  is, 
that  all  created  things  seemed  to  unite 
In  rendering  honor  to  him  who  sat  on 
he  throne  and  to  the  Lamb.  In  the 


heard  I  saying,  Blessing,  6  and 
honor,  and  glory,  and  power,  be 
unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  for 
ever  and  ever. 

b  1  Ch.  29. 11.  1  Ti.  6. 16.  1  Pe.  4. 11. 


previous  verse,  a  certain  number — a  vast 
host  —  of  angels  are  designated  as  ren¬ 
dering  praise  as  they  stood  round  the 
area  occupied  by  the  throne,  the  elders, 
and  the  living  creatures;  here  it  is 
added  that  all  who  were  in  heaven 
united  in  this  ascription  of  praise. 

And  on  the  earth.  All  the  universe 
was  heard  by  John  ascribing  praise  to 
God.  A  voice  was  heard  from  the  hea¬ 
vens,  from  all  parts  of  the  earth,  from 
under  the  earth,  and  from  the  depths  of 
the  sea,  as  if  the  entire  universe  joined 
in  the  adoration.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  press  the  language  literally,  and  still 
less  is  it  necessary  to  understand  by  it, 
as  Prof.  Stuart  does,  that  the  angels 
who  presided  over  the  earth,  over  the 
under-world,  and  over  the  sea,  are  in¬ 
tended  ;  it  is  evidently  popular  language, 
and  the  sense  is  that  John  heard  a  uni¬ 
versal  ascription  of  praise.  All  worlds 
seemed  to  join  in  it;  all  the  dwellers  on 
the  earth  and  under  the  earth  and  in 
the  sea  partook  of  the  spirit  of  heaven 
in  rendering  honor  to  the  Redeemer. 

Under  the  earth.  Supposed  to  be 
inhabited  by  the  shades  of  the  dead. 
See  Notes  on  Job  x.  21,  22;  Isa.  xiv.  9. 

And  such  as  are  in  the  sea.  All  that 
dwell  in  the  ocean.  In  Ps.  cxlviii.  7- 
10,  “Dragons  and  all  deeps;  beasts  and 
all  cattle ;  creeping  things,  and  flying 
fowl,”  are  called  on  to  praise  the  Lord; 
and  there  is  no  more  incongruity  or  im¬ 
propriety  in  one  description  than  in  the 
other.  In  the  Psalm,  the  universe  is 
called  on  to  render  praise ;  in  the  pas¬ 
sage  before  us  it  is  described  as  actually 
doing  it.  The  hills,  the  streams,  the 
floods ;  the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  dwellers 
in  the  deep,  and  the  beasts  that  roam 
over  the  earth ;  the  songsters  in  the 
grove,  and  the  insects  that  play  in  the 
sunbeam,  in  fact  declare  the  glory  of 
their  Creator,  and  it  requires  no  very 
strong  effort  of  the  fancy  to  imagine  the 
universe  as  sending  up  a  constant  voice 
of  thanksgiving.  Blessing  and  honor , 
<fcc.  There  is  a  slight  change  here  from 


CHAPTER  V. 


157 


A.  D.  96.] 


14  And  °  the  four  beasts  said, 
Amen.  And  the  four  and  twenty 
a  c.  19.  4. 

ver.  12,  but  it  is  the  same  thing  sub¬ 
stantially.  It  is  an  ascription  of  all 
glory  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb. 

14.  And  the  four  beasts  said,  Amen. 
The  voice  of  universal  praise  came  to 
them  from  abroad,  and  they  accorded 
with  it,  and  ascribed  honor  to  God. 

And  the  four  and  twenty  elders  fell 
down,  &c.  The  living  creatures  and  the 
elders  began  the  work  of  praise  (ver.  8), 
and  it  was  proper  that  it  should  con¬ 
clude  with  them  ;  that  is,  they  give  the 
last  and  final  response.  Prof.  Stuart. 
The  whole  universe,  therefore,  is  sub¬ 
limely  represented  as  in  a  state  of 
profound  adoration,  waiting  for  the 
developments  to  follow  on  the  opening 
of  the  mysterious  volume.  All  feel  an 
interest  in  it;  all  feel  that  the  secret  is 
with  God ;  all  feel  that  there  is  but  one 
who  can  open  this  volume;  and  all  gather 
around,  in  the  most  reverential  posture, 
awaiting  the  disclosure  of  the  great 
mystery. 

The  truths  taught  in  this  chapter  are 
the  following : — 

1.  The  knowledge  of  the  future  is  with 
God,  ver.  1.  It  is  as  in  a  book  held  in 
his  hand,  fully  written  over,  yet  sealed 
with  seven  seals. 

2.  It  is  impossible  for  man  or  angel 
to  penetrate  the  future,  vs.  2,  3.  It 
seems  to  be  a  law  of  created  being, 
that  the  ability  to  penetrate  the  future 
is  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  any 
of  the  faculties  by  which  a  creature  is 
endowed.  Of  the  past  we  have  a  record 
and  we  can  remember  it;  but  no  created 
being  seems  to  have  been  formed  with  a 
power  in  reference  to  the  future  cor¬ 
responding  with  that  in  reference  to  the 
past:  —  with  no  faculty  of  foresight  cor¬ 
responding  to  memory. 

3.  It  is  natural  that  the  mind  should 
be  deeply  affected  by  the  fact  that  we 
cannot  penetrate  the  future,  ver.  4. 
John  wcj)t  in  view  of  this;  and  how 
often  is  the  mind  borne  down  with  heavi¬ 
ness  in  view  of  that  fact.  What  things 
there  axe,  there  must  be,  in  that  future 
of  interest  to  us  !  What  changes  there 
may  be  for  us  to  experience ;  what  trials 
to  pass  through;  what  happiness  to 
enjoy;  what  scenes  of  glory  to  witness  ! 
What  progress  may  we  make  in  know- 

14 


elders  fell  down  and  worshipped 
him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever. 


ledge;  what  new  friendships  may  we 
form;  what  new  displays  of  the  divine 
perfections  may  we  witness !  All  our 
great  interests  are  in  the  future ;  in  that 
which  is  to  us  now  unknown.  There  is 
to  be  all  the  happiness  which  we  are  to 
enjoy,  all  the  pain  that  we  are  to  suffer; 
all  that  we  hope,  all  that  we  fear.  All 
the  friends  that  we  are  to  have  are  to  be 
there  ;  all  the  sorrows  that  we  are  to  ex¬ 
perience  are  to  be  there.  Yet  an  im¬ 
penetrable  veil  is  set  up  to  hide  all 
that  from  our  view.  We  cannot  re¬ 
move  it;  we  cannot  penetrate  it.  There 
it  stands  to  mock  all  our  efforts,  and  in 
all  our  attempts  to  look  into  the  future, 
we  soon  come  to  the  barrier,  and  are 
repelled  and  driven  back.  Who  has  not 
felt  his  heart  sad  that  he  cannot  look 
into  that  which  is  to  come ! 

4.  The  power  of  laying  open  the 
future  to  mortals  has  been  entrusted  to 
the  Redeemer,  vs.  5-7.  It  is  a  part  of 
the  work  which  was  committed  to  him  to 
make  known  to  men  as  much  as  it  was 
proper  to  be  known.  Hence  he  is  at 
once  a  prophet,  and  is  the  inspirer  of  the 
prophets.  Hence  he  came  to  teach  men 
what  is  to  be  in  the  future  pertaining 
to  them,  and  hence  he  has  caused  to 
be  recorded  by  the  sacred  writers  all 
that  is  to  be  known  of  what  is  to 
come  until  it  is  slowly  unfolded  as 
events  develop  themselves.  The  Saviour 
alone  takes  the  mysterious  book  and 
opens  the  seals ;  he  only  unrols  the 
volume  and  discloses  to  man  what  is 
to  come. 

5.  The  fact  that  he  does  this  is  the 
foundation  of  joy  and  gratitude  for  the 
church,  vs.  8-10.  It  is  impossible  that 
the  church  should  contemplate  what  the 
Saviour  has  revealed  of  the  future  with¬ 
out  gratitude  and  joy;  and  how  often  in 
times  of  persecution  and  trouble  has  the 
church  joyfully  turned  to  the  develop¬ 
ments  made  by  the  Saviour  of  what  is 
to  be  when  the  gospel  shall  spread  over 
the  world,  and  when  truth  and  righteous¬ 
ness  shall  be  triumphant. 

6.  This  fact  is  of  interest  to  the  an¬ 
gelic  beings,  and  for  them  also  it  lays 
the  foundation  of  praise,  vs.  11-12.  This 
may  arise  from  these  causes  : — (a)  from 
the  interest  which  they  tako  in  the 


158 


REVELATION, 


church,  and  the  happiness  -which  they 
have  from  any  thing  that  increases  its 
numbers  or  augments  its  joy;  (6)  from 
tho  fact  that  in  the  disclosures  of  the 
future  made  by  the  Redeemer,  there  may 
be  much  that  is  new,  and  of  interest 
to  them  (comp.  Notes  on  1  Pet.  i.  12) ; 
and  (c)  from  the  fact  that  they  cannot 
but  rejoice  in  the  revelations  which  are 
made  of  the  final  triumphs  of  truth  in 
the  universe. 

7.  The  universe  at  large  has  an  in¬ 
terest  in  these  disclosures,  and  the  fact 
that  they  are  to  be  made  by  the  Re¬ 
deemer  lays  the  foundation  for  universal 
joy,  vs.  13,  14.  These  events  pertain  to 
all  worlds,  and  it  is  proper  that  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  universe  should  join 
in  the  expressions  of  adoration  and 
thanksgiving.  The  universe  is  one ;  and 
what  affects  one  portion  of  it  really  per¬ 
tains  to  every  part  of  it.  Angels  and 
men  have  one  and  the  same  God  and 
Father,  and  may  unite  in  the  same  ex¬ 
pressions  of  praise. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  contains  an  account  of  the 
opening  of  six  of  the  seven  seals.  It  need 
hardly  be  said  to  any  one  who  is  at  all 
familiar  with  the  numerous  —  not  to  say 
numberless  —  expositions  of  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse,  that  it  is  at  this  point  that  inter¬ 
preters  begin  to  differ,  and  that  here 
commences  the  divergence  towards  those 
various,  discordant,  and  many  of  them 
wild  and  fantastic  theories,  which  have 
been  proposed  in  the  exposition  of  this 
wonderful  book.  Up  to  this  point, 
though  there  may  be  unimportant  diver¬ 
sities  in  the  exposition  of  words  and 
phrases,  there  is  no  material  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  the  general  meaning  of 
the  writer.  In  the  epistles  to  the  seven 
churches,  and  in  the  introductory  scenes 
to  the  main  visions,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  in  the  main,  as  to  what  the 
writer  had  in  view,  and  what  he  meant 
to  describe.  He  addressed  churches 
then  existing  (chs.  i.-iii.),  and  set  before 
them  their  sins  and  their  duties ;  and  he 
described  scenes  passing  before  his  eyes 
as  then  present  (chs.  iv.,  v.),  which 
were  merely  designed  to  impress  his 
own  mind  with  the  importance  of  what 
was  to  be  disclosed,  and  to  bring  the 
great  actors  on  the  stage,  and  in  refe¬ 
rence  to  which  there  could  bo  little 


[A.  D.  96 

ground  for  diversity  in  the  interpre¬ 
tation.  Here,  however,  the  scene  opens 
into  the  future,  comprehending  all  the 
unknown  period  until  there  shall  be 
a  final  triumph  of  Christianity,  and  all 
its  foes  shall  be  prostrate.  The  actors 
are  the  Son  of  God,  angels,  men,  Satan, 
—  storms,  tempests,  earthquakes,  —  the 
pestilence  and  fire ;  the  scene  is  heaven, 
earth,  hell.  There  is  no  certain  desig¬ 
nation  of  places ;  there  are  no  mention 
of  names  —  as  there  is  in  Isaiah  (xlv. 
1),  of  Cyrus,  or  as  there  is  in  Daniel 
(viii.  21,  x.  20,  xi.  2),  of  the  “king  of 
Grecia;”  there  is  no  designation  of  time 
that  is  necessarily  unambiguous ;  and 
there  are  no  characteristics  of  the  sym¬ 
bols  used  that  make  it  antecedently 
certain  that  they  could  be  applied  only 
to  one  class  of  events.  In  the  boundless 
future  that  was  to  succeed  the  times  of 
John  there  would  be,  of  necessity,  many 
events  to  which  these  symbols  might  be 
applied,  and  the  result  has  shown  that 
it  has  required  but  a  moderate  share  of 
pious  ingenuity  to  apply  them,  by  dif¬ 
ferent  expositors,  to  events  differing 
widely  from  each  other  in  their  charac¬ 
ter,  and  in  the  times  when  they  would 
occur.  It  would  be  too  long  to  glance 
even  at  the  various  theories  which  have 
been  proposed  and  maintained  tn  regard 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  subsequent 
portions  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  wholly 
impossible  to  attempt  to  examine  those 
theories.  Time,  in  its  developments, 
lias  already  exploded  many  of  them ; 
and  time,  in  its  future  developments, 
will  doubtless  explode  many  more,  and 
each  one  must  stand  or  fall  as  in  the  dis¬ 
closures  of  the  future  it  shall  be  found  to 
be '  true  or  false.  It  would'  be  folly  to 
add  another  to  those  numerous  theories, 
even  if  I  had  any  such  theory  (see  the 
Preface),  and  perhaps  equal  folly  to  pro¬ 
nounce  with  certainty  on  any  one  of 
those  which  have  been  advanced.  Yet 
this  seems  to  be  an  appropriate  place  to 
state,  in  few  words,  what  principles  it  is 
designed  to  pursue  in  the  interpretation 
of  the  remainder  of  the  book. 

1.  It  may  be  assumed  that  large  por¬ 
tions  of  the  book  relate  to  the  future  ; 
that  is,  to  that  which  was  future  when 
John  wrote.  In  this  all  expositors  are 
agreed,  and  this  is  manifest  indeed  on 
the  very  face  of  the  representation.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  attempt  an  inter¬ 
pretation  on  any  other  supposition,  and 


CHAPTER  VI. 


159 


A.  D.  96.] 

somewhere  in  that  vast  future  the  events 
are  to  be  found  to  which  the  symbols 
here  used  had  reference.  This  is  as¬ 
sumed,  indeed,  on  the  supposition  that 
the  book  is  inspired: — a  fact  which  is 
assumed  all  along  in  this  exposition,  and 
which  should  be  allowed  to  control  our 
interpretation.  But  assuming  that  the 
book  relates  to  the  future,  though  that 
supposition  will  do  something  to  deter¬ 
mine  the  true  method  of  interpretation, 
yet  it  leaves  many  questions  still  un¬ 
solved.  Whether  it  refers  to  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Jerusalem,  on  the  supposition 
that  the  work  was  written  before  that 
event,  or  to  the  history  of  the  church 
subsequent  to  thai;  whether  it  is  de¬ 
signed  to  describe  events  minutely, 
or  only  in  the  most  general  manner; 
whether  it  is  intended  to  furnish  a 
syllabus  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  his¬ 
tory,  or  only  a  very  general  outline  of 
future  events ;  whether  the  times  are  so 
designated  that  we  can  fix  them  with 
entire  certainty ;  or  whether  it  was  in¬ 
tended  to  furnish  any  certain  indication 
of  the  periods  of  the  world  when  these 
things  should  occur ;  all  these  are  still 
open  questions,  and  it  need  not  be  said 
that  on  these  the  opinions  of  expositors 
have  been  greatly  divided. 

2.  It  may  be  assumed  that  there  is 
meaning  in  these  symbols,  and  that  they 
were  not  used  without  an  intention  to 
convey  some  important  ideas  to  the 
mind  of  John  and  to  the  minds  of  his 
readers — to  the  church  then,  and  to  the 
church  in  future  times.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ch.  i.  3.  The  book  is  indeed  sur¬ 
passingly  sublime.  It  abounds  with  the 
highest  flights  of  poetic  language.  It  is 
Oriental  in  its  character,  and  exhibits 
everywhere  the  proofs  of  a  most  glowing 
imagination  in  the  writer.  But  it  is  also 
to  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  is  an  inspired 
book,  and  this  fact  is  to  determine  the 
character  of  the  exposition.  If  inspired, 
it  is  to  be  assumed  that  there  is  a  mean¬ 
ing  in  these  symbols;  an  idea  in  each 
one  of  them,  and  in  all  combined,  of 
importance  to  the  church  and  the  world. 
Whether  we  can  ascertain  the  meaning 
is  another  question ;  but  it  is  never  to  be 
doubted  by  an  expositor  of  the  Bible  that 
there  is  a  meaning  in  the  words  and 
images  employed,  and  that  to  find  out 
that  meaning  is  worthy  of  earnest  study 
and  prayer. 

8.  Predictions  respecting  the  future 


are  often  necessarily  obscure  to  man. 
It  cannot  be  doubted,  indeed,  that  God 
could  have  foretold  future  events  in  the 
most  clear  and  unambiguous  language. 
He  who  knows  all  that  is  to  come  as 
intimately  as  he  does  all  the  past,  could 
have  caused  a  record  to  have  been  made, 
disclosing  names,  and  dates,  and  places, 
so  that  the  most  minute  statements  of 
what  is  to  oqcur  might  have  been  in  the 
possession  of  man  as  clearly  as  the  re¬ 
cords  of  the  past  now  are.  But,  there 
were  obvious  reasons  why  this  should 
not  occur,  and  in  the  prophecies  it  is 
rare  that  there  is  any  such  specification. 
To  have  done  this  might  have  been  to 
defeat  the  very  end  in  view ;  for  it  would 
have  given  to  man,  a  free  agent,  the 
power  of  embarrassing  or  frustrating  the 
divine  plans.  But  if  this  course  is  not 
adopted,  then  prophecy  must,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  be  obscure.  The 
knowledge  of  any  one  particular  fact  in 
the  future  is  so  connected  with  many 
other  facts,  and  often  implies  so  much 
knowledge  of  other  things,  that  without 
that  other  knowledge  it  could  not  be  un¬ 
derstood.  Suppose  that  it  had  been 
predicted,  in  the  time  of  John,  that  at 
some  future  period,  some  contrivance 
should  be  found  out  by  which  what  was 
doing  in  one  part  of  the  world  could  be. 
instantaneously  known  in  another  re¬ 
mote  part  of  the  world,  and  spread 
abroad  by  thousands  of  copies  in  an 
hour  to  be  read  by  a  nation.  Suppose, 
for  instance,  that  there  had  been  some 
symbol  or  emblem  representing  what 
actually  occurs  now,  when  in  a  morning 
newspaper  we  read  what  occurred  last 
evening  at  St.  Louis,  Dubuque,  Galena, 
Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Charleston,  New 
Orleans.  It  is  clear  that  at  a  time  when 
the  magnetic  telegraph  and  the  printing- 
press  were  unknown,  any  symbol  or 
language  describing  it  that  could  be 
employed  must  be  obscure,  and  the  im¬ 
pression  must  have  been  that  this  could 
be  accomplished  only  by  miracle  —  and 
it  would  not  be  difficult  for  one  who  was 
disposed  to  scepticism  to  make  out  an 
argument  to  prove  that  this  could  not 
occur.  It  would  be  impossible  to  explain 
any  symbol  that  could  be  employed  to 
represent  this  until  these  wonderful 
descriptions  should  become  reality,  and 
in  the  mean  time  the  book  in  which  the 
symbols  were  found  might  be  regarded 
as  made  up  of  mere  riddles  and  enigmas; 


160 


REVELATION, 


but  when  these  inventions  should  be 
actually  found  out,  however  much  ridi¬ 
cule  or  contempt  had  been  poured  on 
the  book  before,  it  might  be  per¬ 
fectly  evident  that  the  symbol  was  the 
most  appropriate  that  could  be  used, 
and  no  ono  could  doubt  that  it  was  a 
divine  communication  of  what  was  to  be 
in  the  future.  Something  of  the  same 
kind  may  have  occurred  in  the  symbols 
used  by  the  writer  of  the  book  be¬ 
fore  us. 

4.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that 
a  prophecy  will  be  understood  in  all  its 
details  until  the  prediction  is  accom¬ 
plished.  In  the  case  just  referred  to, 
though  the  fact  of  the  rapid  spread  of 
intelligence  might  be  clear,  yet  nothing 
would  convey  any  idea  of  the  mode,  or 
of  the  actual  meaning  of  the  symbols 
used,  unless  the  inventions  were  them¬ 
selves  anticipated  by  a  direct  revelation. 
The  trial  of  faith  in  the  case  would  be 
the  belief  that  the  fact  would  occur, 
but  would  not  relate  the  mode  in 
which  it  was  to  be  accomplished,  or 
to  the  language  employed  to  describe 
it.  There  might  be  great  obscurity  in 
regard  to  the  symbols  and  language, 
and  yet  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  be  per¬ 
fectly  plain.  When,  however,  the  fact 
should  occur  as  predicted,  all  would  be 
clear.  So  it  is,  in  respect  to  prophecy. 
Many  recorded  predictions  that  are  now 
clear  as  noon-day,  were  once  as  am¬ 
biguous  and  uncertain  in  respect  to 
their  meaning  as  in  the  supposed  case  of 
the  press  and  the  telegraph.  Time  has 
made  them  plain ;  for  the  event  to  which 
they  referred  has  so  entirely  correspond¬ 
ed  with  the  symbol  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
in  regard  to  the  meaning.  Thus  many 
of  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  Messiah 
were  obscure  at  the  time  when  they  were 
uttered,-  were  apparently  so  contradic¬ 
tory  that  they  could  not  be  reconciled ; 
were  so  unlike  any  thing  that  then  ex¬ 
isted,  that  the  fulfilment  seemed  to  be 
impossible;  and  were  so  enigmatical  in 
the  symbols  employed,  that  it  seemed  in 
vain  to  attempt  to  disclose  their  mean¬ 
ing.  The  advent  of  the  long-promised 
Messiah,  however,  removed  the  obscu¬ 
rity,  and  now  they  are  read  with  no 
uncertainty  as  to  their  meaning,  and 
with  no  doubt  that  those  predictions, 
once  so  obscure,  had  a  divine  origin. 

The  view  just  suggested  may  lead  us 
to  some  just  conceptions  of  what  is 


[A.  D.  96. 

necessary  to  be  done  in  attempting  to 
explain  the  prophecies.  Suppose  then, 
first,  that  there  had  been,  say  in  the 
dark  ages,  some  predictions  that  claimed 
to  be  of  divine  origin,  of  the  invention 
of  the  art  of  printing  and  of  the  magnetic 
telegraph.  The  proper  business  of  an 
interpreter,  if  he  regarded  this  as  a 
divine  communication,  would  have  con¬ 
sisted  in  four  things  : — (1)  to  explain,  as 
well  as  he  could,  the  fair  meaning  of  the 
symbols  employed,  and  the  language 
used;  (2)  to  admit  the  fact  referred  to, 
and  implied  in  the  fair  interpretation 
of  the  language  employed,  of  the  rapid 
spread  of  intelligence  in  that  future 
period,  though  he  could  not  explain  how 
it  was  to  be  done;  (3)  in  the  mean  time 
it  would  be  a  perfectly  legitimate  object 
for  him  to  inquire  whether  there  were 
any  events  occurring  in  the  world,  or 
whether  there  had  been  any,  to  which 
these  symbols  were  applicable,  or  which 
would  meet  all  the  circumstances  in¬ 
volved  in  them ;  (4)  if  there  were,  then 
his  duty  would  be  ended;  if  there 
were  not,  then  the  symbols,  with  such 
explanation  as  could  be  furnished  of 
their  meaning,  should  be  handed  on  to 
future  times  to  be  applied  when  the  pre¬ 
dicted  events  should  actually  occur. 
Suppose,  then,  secondly,  the  case  of  the 
predictions  respecting  the  Messiah,  scat¬ 
tered  along  through  many  books,  and 
given  in  various  forms,  and  by  various 
symbols.  The  proper  business  of  .an 
interpreter  would  have  been,  as  in  the 
other  case,  (1)  to  explain  the  fair  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  language  used,  and  to  bring 
together  all  the  circumstances  in  one 
connected  whole,  that  a  distinct  con¬ 
ception  of  the  predicted  Messiah  might 
be  before  the  mind;  (2)  to  admit  the 
facts  referred  to,  and  thus  predicted, 
however  incomprehensible  and  appa¬ 
rently  contradictory  they  might  appear 
to  be;  (3)  to  enquire  whether  any  one 
bad  appeared  who  combined  within 
himself  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
description ;  and  (4)  if  no  one  had  thus 
appeared,  to  send  on  the  prophecies, 
with  such  explanations  of  words  and 
symbols  as  could  be  ascertained  to  be 
correct,  to  future  times,  to  have  their 
full  meaning  developed  when  the  object 
of  all  the  predictions  should  be  accom¬ 
plished,  and  the  Messiah  should  appear. 
Then  the  meaning  of  all  would  be  plain; 
and  then  the  argument  from  prophecy 


CHAPTEE  VI. 


161 


A.  D.  96.] 

would  be  complete.  This  is  obviously 
now  the  proper  state  of  the  mind  in 
regard  to  the  predictions  in  the  Bible, 
and  these  are  the  principles  which 
should  be  applied  in  examining  the 
book  of  Revelation. 

5.  It  may  be  assumed  that  new  light 
will  be  thrown  upon  the  prophecies  by 
time,  and  by  the  progress  of  events.  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  the  investiga¬ 
tions  of  the  meaning  of  the  prophetic 
symbols  will  all  be  in  vain.  Diffi¬ 
culties,  it  is  reasonable  to  hope,  may  be 
cleared  up;  errors  may  be  detected  in 
regard  to  the  application  of  the  prophe¬ 
cies  to  particular  events;  and  juster 
views  on  the  prophecies,  as  on  all  other 
subjects,  will  prevail  as  the  world  grows 
older.  We  become  wiser  by  seeing  the 
errors  of  those  who  have  gone  before  us, 
and  an  examination  of  the  causes  which 
led  them  astray  may  enable  us  to  avoid 
such  errors  in  the  future.  Especially 
may  it  be  supposed  that  light  will  be 
thrown  on  the  prophecies  as  they  shall 
be  in  part,  or  wholly  fulfilled.  The  pro¬ 
phecies  respecting  the  destruction  of 
Babylon,  of  Petra,  of  Tyre,  of  Jeru¬ 
salem,  are  now  fully  understood;  the 
prophecies  respecting  the  advent  of  the 
Messiah,  and  his  character  and  work, 
once  so  obscure,  are  now  perfectly 
clear.  So,  we  have  reason  to  suppose, 
it  will  be  with  all  prophecy  in  the  pro¬ 
gress  of  events,  and  sooner  or  later  the 
world  will  settle  down  into  some  uniform 
belief  in  regard  to  the  design  and  mean¬ 
ing  of  these  portions  of  the  sacred 
writings.  Whether  the  time  has  yet 
come  for  this,  or  whether  numerous 
other  failures  are  to  be  added  to  the 
melancholy  catalogue  of  past  failures  on 
this  subject,  is  another  question;  but 
ultimately  all  the  now  unfulfilled  pro¬ 
phecies  will  be  as  clear  as  to  their 
meaning  as  are  those  which  have  been 
already  fulfilled. 

6.  The  plan,  therefore,  which  I  pro¬ 
pose  in  the  examination  of  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  Apocalypse,  is  the  follow¬ 
ing: — (1)  To  explain  the  meaning  of  the 
symbols ;  that  is,  to  show,  as  clearly  as 
possible,  what  those  symbols  properly 
express,  independently  of  any  attempt 
to  apply  them.  This  opens,  of  itself, 
an  interesting  field  of  investigation,  and 
one  where  essential  service  may  be  done, 
even  if  nothing  further  is  intended. 
Without  any  reference  to  the  applica¬ 
nt 


tion  of  those  symbols,  this,  of  itself,  is 
an  important  work  of  criticism,  and,  if 
successfully  done,  would  be  rendering  a 
valuable  service  to  the  readers  of  the 
sacred  volume.  (2)  To  state,  as  briefly 
as  possible,  what  others  who  have  written 
on  this  book,  and  who  have  brought 
eminent  learning  and  talent  to  bear  on 
its  interpretation,  have  supposed  to  be 
the  true  interpretation  of  the  symbols 
employed  by  John,  and  in  regard  to  the 
times  in  which  the  events  referred  to 
would  oocur.  It  is  in  this  way  only  that 
we  can  be  made  acquainted  with  tho 
real  progress  made  in  interpreting  this 
book,  and  it  will  bo  useful  at  least  to 
know  how  the  subject  has  struck  other 
minds,  and  how,  and  why  they  have 
failed  to  perceive  the  truth.  I  propose, 
therefore,  to  state  as  I  go  along,  some 
of  the  theories  which  have  been  held  as 
to  the  meaning  of  the  Apocalypse,  and 
as  to  the  events  which  have  been  sup¬ 
posed  by  others  to  be  referred  to.  My 
limits  require,  however,  that  this  should 
be  briefly  done,  and  forbid  my  attempt¬ 
ing  to  examine  those  opinions  at  length. 
(3)  To  state,  in  as  brief  and  clear  a 
manner  as  possible,  tho  view  which  I 
have  been  led  to  entertain  as  to  the 
proper  application  of  the  symbols  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  book,  with  such  historical 
references  as  shall  seem  to  me  to  confirm 
the  interpretation  proposed.  (4)  Where 
I  cannot  form  an  opinion  as  to  the 
meaning,  to  confess  my  ignorance.  He 
does  no  service  in  a  professed  interpre¬ 
tation  of  the  Bible,  who  passes  over  a  diffi¬ 
culty  without  attempting  to  remove  it, 
or  who,  to  save  his  own  reputation,  con¬ 
ceals  the  fact  that  there  is  a  real  diffi¬ 
culty  ;  and  he  does  as  little  service  who 
is  unwilling  to  confess  his  ignorance  on 
many  points,  or  who  attempts  an  ex¬ 
planation  where  he  has  no  clear  and 
settled  views.  As  his  opinion  can  be  of 
no  value  to  any  one  else  unless  it  is 
based  on  reasons  in  his  own  mind  that 
will  hear  examination,  so  it  can  usually 
be  of  little  value  unless  those  reasons 
are  stated.  It  is  as  important  for  his 
readers  to  have  those  reasons  before 
their  own  minds  as  it  is  for  him,  and 
unless  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  state 
reasons  for  what  he  advances,  his 
opinions  can  bo  worth  nothing  to  the 
world.  He  who  lays  down  this  rule  of 
interpretation  may  expect  to  have  ample 
opportunity  in  interpreting  suoh  a  book 


162 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ND  I  saw  when  the  Lamb  open¬ 
ed  one  of  the  seals;  °  and  I 
a  c.  5.  5. 

as  the  Apocalypse  to  confess  his  igno¬ 
rance  ;  but  he  who  interprets  a  book 
which  he  believes  to  be  inspired,  may 
console  himself  with  the  thought  that 
what  is  now  obscure  will  be  clear  here¬ 
after,  and  that  he  performs  the  best 
service  which  he  can,  if  he  endeavors  to 
explain  the  book  up  to  the  time  in  which 
he  lives.  There  will  be  developments 
hereafter  which  will  make  that  clear 
which  is  now  obscure ;  developments 
which  will  make  this  hook,  in  all  past 
ages  apparently  so  enigmatical,  as  clear 
as  any  other  portion  of  the  inspired 
volume,  as  it  is  now,  even  with  the 
imperfect  view  which  we  may  have  of 
its  meaning,  beyond  all  question  one  of 
the  most  sublime  books  that  has  ever 
been  written. 

This  chapter  describes  the  opening  of 
the  first  six  seals. 

1.  The  first  discloses  a  white  horse 
with  a  rider  armed  with  a  bow.  A 
crown  is  given  to  him,  symbolical  of 
triumph  and  prosperity,  and  he  goes 
forth  to  conquer,  vs.  1,  2. 

2.  The  second  discloses  a  red-colored 
horse  with  a  rider.  The  emblem  is  that 
of  blood — of  sanguinary  war.  Power  is 
given  him  to  take  peace  from  the  earth, 
and  a  sword  is  given  him  —  emblem  of 
war,  but  not  of  certain  victory.  Triumph 
and  prosperity  are  denoted  by  the  former 
symbol ;  war,  discord,  bloodshed  by  this, 
vs.  3,  4. 

3.  The  third  discloses  a  black  horse 
with  a  rider.  He  has  a  pair  of  balances 
in  his  hand,  as  if  there  were  scarcity  in 
the  earth,  and  he  announces  the  price 
of  grain  in  the  times  of  this  calamity, 
and  a  command  is  given  not  to  hurt  the 
oil  and  the  wine,  vs.  5,  6.  The  emblem  is 
that  of  scarcity  —  as  if  there  were  op¬ 
pression,  or  as  a  consequence  of  war  or 
discord,  while  at  the  same  time  there  is 
care  bestowed  to  preserve  certain  portions 
of  the  produce  of  the  earth  from  injury. 

4.  The  fourth  discloses  a  pale  horse 
with  a  rider.  The  name  of  this  rider  is 
Death,  and  Hell,  or  Hades,  follows  him 
— as  if  the  hosts  of  the  dead  came  again 
on  the  earth.  Power  is  given  to  the 
rider  over  the  fourth  part  of  the  earth, 
to  kill  with  sword,  with  hunger,  with 


heard,  as  it  were  the  noise  of  thun¬ 
der,  one  of  the  four  beasts,  saying, 
Come,  and  see. 


death,  and  with  wild  beasts.  This  em¬ 
blem  would  seem  to  denote  war,  wide- 
wasting  pestilence,  famine,  and  desola¬ 
tion — as  if  wild  beasts  were  suffered  to 
roam  over  lands  that  had  been  inha¬ 
bited  :  —  something  of  which  paleness 
would  be  an  emblem.  Here  ends  the 
array  of  horses — and  it  is  evidently  in¬ 
tended  by  these  four  symbols  to  refer  to 
a  series  of  events  that  have  a  general 
resemblance  —  something  that  could  be 
made  to  stand  by  themselves,  and  that 
could  be  grouped  together. 

5.  The  fifth  seal  opens  a  new  scene. 
The  horse  and  the  rider  no  longer  ap¬ 
pear.  It  is  not  a  scene  of  war,  and  of 
the  consequences  of  war,  but  a  scene  of 
persecution.  The  souls  of  those  who 
were  slain  for  the  word  of  God  and  the 
testimony  which  they  held,  are  seen 
under  the  altar,  praying  to  God  that  he 
would  avenge  their  blood.  White  robes 
are  given  them  —  tokens  of  the  divine 
favor,  and  emblems  of  their  ultimate 
triumph  —  and  they  are  commanded  to 
“  rest  for  a  little  season,  till  their  fellow- 
servants  and  their  brethren  that  should 
be  killed  as  they  were,  should  be  ful¬ 
filled;” —  that  is,  that  they  should  be 
patient  until  the  number  of  the  martyrs 
was  filled  up.  In  other  words,  there  was 
(a)  the  assurance  of  the  divine  favor 
towards  them;  (b)  vengeance,  or  the 
punishment  of  those  who  had  perse¬ 
cuted  them,  would  not  be  immediate ; 
but  (c)  there  was  the  implied  assurance 
that  just  punishment  would  be  inflicted 
on  their  persecutors,  and  that  the  cause 
for  which  they  had  suffered  would  ulti¬ 
mately  triumph,  vs.  9-11. 

6.  The  opening  of  the  sixth  seal,  vs. 
12-17.  There  was  an  earthquake,  and 
the  sun  became  dark,  and  the  moon 
was  turned  to  blood,  and  the  stars 
fell,  and  all  kings  and  people  were 
filled  with  consternation.  This  symbol 
properly  denotes  a  time  of  public  com¬ 
motion,  of  revolution,  of  calamity;  and 
it  was  evidently  to  be  fulfilled  by  some 
great  changes  on  the  earth,  or  by  the 
overturning  of  the  seats  of  power,  and 
by  such  sudden  revolutions  as  would  fill 
the  nations  with  alarm. 

1.  And  I  saw.  Or,  I  looked.  He 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  VI.  163 


2  And  I  saw,  and  behold  a 


fixed  his  eye  attentively  on  what  was 
passing,  as  promising  important  dis¬ 
closures.  No  one  had  been  found  in  the 
universe  who  could  open  the  seals  but 
the  Lamb  of  God  (ch.  v.  2-4),  and  it 
was  natural  for  J ohn,  therefore,  to  look 
upon  the  transaction  with  profound 
interest.  When  the  Lamb  opened  one 
of  the  seals.  See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  1/  5. 
This  was  the  first  or  outermost  of  the 
seals,  and  its  being  broken  would  per¬ 
mit,  a  certain  portion  of  the  volume  to 
be  unrolled  and  read.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
v.  1.  The  representation  in  this  place 
is,  therefore,  that  of  a  volume  with  a 
small  portion  unrolled,  and  written  on 
both  sides  of  the  parchment.  ^  And  I 
heard,  as  it  were,  the  noise  of  thunder. 
One  of  the  four  living  creatures  speak¬ 
ing  as  with  a  voice  of  thunder,  or  with 
a  loud  voice.  One  of  the  four  beasts. 
Notes  ch.  iv.  6,  7.  The  particular  one 
is  not  mentioned,  though  what  is  said 
in  the  subsequent  verses  leaves  no  doubt 
that  it  was  the  first  in  order  as  seen  by 
John — the  one  like  a  lion,  ch.  iv.  7.  In 
the  opening  of  the  three  following  seals, 
it  is  expressly  said  that  it  was  the 
second,  the  third,  and  the  fourth  of  the 
living  creatures  that  drew  near,  and 
*  hence  the  conclusion  is  certain  that  the 
one  here  referred  to  was  the  first.  If 
the  four  living  creatures  be  understood 
to  be  emblematic  of  the  divine  provi¬ 
dential  administration,  then  there  was  a 
propriety  that  they  should  be  repre¬ 
sented  as  summoning  John  to  witness 
what  was  to  be  disclosed.  These  events 
pertained  to  the  developments  of  the 
divine  purposes,  and  these  emblematic 
beings  would  therefore  be  interested  in 
'  what  was  occurring.  Come  and  see. 
Addressed  evidently  to  John.  He  was 
requested  to  approach  and  see  with  his 
own  eyes  what  was  disclosed  in  the 
portion  of  the  volume  now  unrolled. 
He  had  wept  much  (ch.  v.  4)  that  no 
one  was  found  who  was  worthy  to  open 
that  book,  but  ho  was  now  called  on  to 
approach  and  see  for  himself.  Some 
have  supposed  (Lord,  in  loc.)  that  the 
address  here  was  not  to  John,  but  to  the 
horse  and  his  rider,  and  that  the  com¬ 
mand  to  them  was  not  to  “come  and 
see,”  but  to  come  forth,  and  appear  on 
the  stage,  and  that  the  act  of  the  Re- 


white  °  horse,  and  he  that  sat  on 

a  Zee.  6.  3,  &c. 

deemer  in  breaking  the  seal,  and  un¬ 
rolling  the  scroll,  was  nothing  more  than 
an  emblem  signifying  that  it  was  by  his 
act  that  the  divine  purposes  were  to  bo 
unfolded.  But,  in  order  to  this  inter¬ 
pretation,  it  would  be  necessary  to  omit 
from  the  received  text  the  words  xai 
/JAfVc — “and  see.”  This  is  done  indeed 
by  Hahn  and  Tittmann,  and  this  reading 
is  followed  by  Prof.  Stuart,  though  he 
says  that  the  received  text  has  “  proba¬ 
bility”  in  its  favor,  and  is  followed  by 
some  of  the  critical  editions.  The  most 
natural  interpretation,  however,  is  that 
the  words  were  addressed  to  John. 
John  saw  the  Lamb  open  the  seal;  he 
heard  the  loud  voice;  he  looked  and 
beheld  a  whitehorse;  that  is,  evidently, 
he  looked  on  the  unfolding  volume  and 
saw  the  representation  of  a  horse  and 
his  rider.  That  the  voice  was  addressed 
to  John  is  the  common  interpretation ; 
is  the  most  natural ;  and  is  liable  to  no 
real  objection. 

2.  And  I  saw,  and  behold.  A  ques¬ 
tion  has  arisen  as  to  the  mode  of  repre¬ 
sentation  here ;  whether  what  John 
saw  in  these  visions  was  a  series  of 
pictures,  drawn  on  successive  portions 
of  the  volume  as  one  seal  was  broken 
after  another ;  or  whether  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  horses  and  of  the  events  was 
written  on  the  volume,  so  that  John 
read  it  himself  or  heard  it  read  by 
another;  or  whether  the  opening  of  the 
seal  was  merely  the  occasion  of  a  scenic 
representation,  in  which  a  succession  of 
horses  was  introduced,  with  a  written 
statement  of  the  events  which  are  re¬ 
ferred  to.  Nothing  is  indeed  said  by 
which  this  can  he  determined  with  cer¬ 
tainty;  but  the  most  probable  suppo¬ 
sition  would  seem  to  be  that  there  was 
some  pictorial  representation  in  form 
and  appearance,  such  as  he  describes  in 
the  opening  of  the  six  seals.  In  favor 
of  this  it  may  be  observed  (1)  That,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  interpretation  of  ver.  1,  it 
was  something  in  or  on  the  volume — 
since  he  was  invited  to  draw  nearer,  in 
order  that  he  might  contemplate  it. 
(2)  Each  one  of  the  things  under  the 
five  first  seals  where  John  uses  the  wTord 
“saw,”  is  capable  of  being  represented 
by  a  picture  or  painting.  (3)  The  lan¬ 
guage  used  is  not  such  as  would  haro 


164 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


him  had  a  bow ;  and  a  crown  was 

a  Ps.  45.  3-5. 


been  employed  if  he  had  merely  read 
the  description,  or  had  heard  it  read. 
(4)  The  supposition  that  the  pictorial 
representation  was  not  in  the  volume, 
hut  that  the  opening  of  the  seal  was  the 
occasion  merely  of  causing  a  scenic  re¬ 
presentation  to  pass  before  his  mind,  is 
unnatural  and  forced.  What  would  be 
the  use  of  a  sealed  volume  in  that  case  ? 
What  the  use  of  the  writing  within  and 
without?  On  this  supposition  the  re¬ 
presentation  would  be  that,  as  the  suc¬ 
cessive  seals  were  broken,  nothing  was 
disclosed  in  the  volume  but  a  succession 
of  blank  portions,  and  that  the  mystery 
or  the  difficulty  was  not  in  any  thing  in 
the  volume,  but  in  the  want  of  ability  to 
summon  forth  these  successive  scenic 
representations.  The  most  obvious  in¬ 
terpretation  is,  undoubtedly,  that  what 
John  proceeds  to  describe  was  in  some 
way  represented  in  the  volume ;  and  the 
idea  of  a  succession  of  pictures  or  draw¬ 
ings,  better  accords  with  the .  whole 
representation  than  the  idea  that  it  was 
a  mere  written  description.  In  fact  these 
successive  scenes  could  be  well  repre¬ 
sented  now  in  a  pictorial  form  on  a 
scroll.  And  behold  a  white  horse.  In 
order  to  any  definite  understanding  of 
what  was  denoted  by  these  symbols,  it 
is  proper  to  form  in  our  minds,  in  the 
first  place,  a  clear  conception  of  what 
the  symbol  properly  represents,  or  an 
idea  of  what  it  would  naturally  convey. 
It  may  be  assumed  that  the  symbol  was 
significant,  and  that  there  was  some 
reason  why  that  was  used  rather  than 
another;  why,  for  instance,  a,  horse  was 
employed  rather  than  an  eagle  or  a 
lion ;  why  a  white  horse  was  employed 
in  one  case,  and  a  red  one,  a  black  one, 
a  pale  one  in  the  others ;  why  in  this 
case  a  bow  was  in  the  hand  of  the 
rider,  and  a  crown  was  placed  on  his 
head.  Each  one  of  these  particulars 
enters  into  the  constitution  of  the  sym¬ 
bol  ;  and  we  must  find  something  in 
the  event  which  fairly  corresponds  with 
each  —  for  the  symbol  is  made  up  of 
all  these  things  grouped  together.  It 
may  be  farther  observed,  that  where 
the  general  symbol  is  the  same  —  as 
in  the  opening  of  the  first  four  seals  — 
it  may  be  assumed  that  the  same 


given  unto  him :  and  he  went  forth 
conquering  °  and  to  conquer. 


object  or  class  of  objects  is  referred 
to;  and  the  particular  things  denoted, 
or  the  diversity  in  the  general  appli¬ 
cation,  is  to  be  found  in  the  variety 
in  the  representation — the  color,  Ac.,  of 
the  horse,  and  the  arms,  apparel,  Ac.,  of 
the  rider.  The  specifications  under  the 
first  seal  are  four:  —  (1)  The  general 
symbol  of  the  horse  —  common  to  the 
first  four  seals;  (2)  the  color  of  the 
horse ;  (3)  the  fact  that  he  that  sat  on 
him  had  a  bow ;  and  (4)  that  a  crown 
was  given  him  by  some  one  as  indica¬ 
tive  of  victory.  The  question  now  is, 
what  these  symbols  would  naturally 
denote. 

(1)  The  horse.  The  meaning  of  this 
symbol  must  be  drawn  from  the  natural 
use  to  which  the  symbol  is  applied, 
or  the  characteristics  which  it  is  known 
to  have ;  and,  it  may  be  added,  that 
there  might  have  been  something  for 
which  that  was  best  known  in  the 
time  of  the  writer  who  uses  it,  which 
would  not  be  so  prominent  at  another 
period  of  the  world,  or  in  another 
country,  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  have 
that  before  the  mind  in  order  to  obtain 
a  correct  understanding  of  the  symbol. 
The  use  of  the  horse,  for  instance,  may 
have  varied  at  different  times  to  some 
degree  —  at  one  time  the  prevailing  use 
of  the  horse  may  have  been  for  battle ; 
at  another  for  rapid  marches  —  as  of 
cavalry ;  at  another  for  draught ;  at 
another  for  races ;  at  another  for  con¬ 
veying  messages  by  the  establishment 
of  posts  or  the  appointment  of  couriers. 
To  an  ancient  Roman  the  horse  might 
suggest  prominently  one  idea ;  to  a  mo¬ 
dern  Arab  another;  to  a  teamster  in 
Holland  another.  The  things  which 
would  be  most  naturally  suggested  by 
the  horse  as  a  symbol,  as  distinguished, 
for  instance,  from  an  eagle,  a  lion,  a 
serpent,  Ac.,  would  be  the  following : 
(a)  war,  as  this  was  probably  one  of  the 
first  uses  to  which  the  horse  was  applied. 
So  in  the  magnificent  description  of  the 
horse  in  Job  xxxix.  19-25,  no  notice  is 
taken  of  any  of  his  qualities  but  those 
which  pertain  to  war.  See,  for  a  full 
Illustration  of  this  passage,  and  of  the 
frequent  reference  in  the  classic  writers 
to  the  horse  as  connected  with  war, 


CHAPTER  VI. 


165 


A.  D.  96.] 

Bochart,  Hieroz.  lib.  ii.  c.  viii.,  par¬ 
ticularly  p.  149.  Comp.  Virg.  Geor.  iii. 
83,  84 : 

“  Si  qua  sonum  procul  arma  dedSre, 
Stare  loco  nescrt,  micat  auribus,  et  tremit  artus.” 

Ovid.  Metam.  iii. : 


Silius,  lib.  xiii. : 

“  Is  trepido  alituum  tinnitu,  et  stare  negawti, 
Imperitans  violenter  equo.” 

i  So  Solomon  says  (Prov.  xxi.  31),  “The 
horse  is  prepared  against  the  day  of 
|  battle.”  So  in  Zech.  x.  3,  the  prophet 
says,  “  God  had  made  the  house  of 
i  Judah  as  his  goodly  horse  in  the  battle;” 
that  is,  he  had  made  them  like  the  vic¬ 
torious  war-horse.  (5)  As  a  consequence 
of  this,  and  of  the  conquests  achieved 
by  the  horse  in  war,  he  became  the  sym- 
i  bol  of  conquest  —  of  a  people  that  could 
not  be  overcome.  Comp,  the  above 
reference  in  Zech.  Thus  in  Carthage 
i  the  horse  was  an  image  of  victorious 
war,  in  contradistinction  to  the  ox,  which 
was  an  emblem  of  the  arts  of  peaceful 
agriculture.  This  was  based  on  a  tra¬ 
dition  respecting  the  foundation  of  the 
city,  referred  to  by  Virgil,  iEn.  i.  441- 
444: 

il  Quo  primtim  jactati  undis  et  turbine  Poeni 
Effoacre  loco  signum,  quod  regia  Juno 
Mohstrarat,  caput  acris  equi:  sic  nam  fore  bello 
Egregiam,  et  facilem  victu  por  Sicula  gentem.” 

In  reference  to  this  circumstance,  Jus¬ 
tin,  lib.  xviii.  5,  remarks,  that  “  in 
laying  the  foundations  of  the  city  the 
head  of  an  ox  was  found,  which  was  re¬ 
garded  as  an  emblem  of  a  fruitful  land, 
but  of  the  necessity  of  labor,  and  of 
dependence ;  on  which  account,  the  city 
was  transferred  to  another  place.  Then 
the  head  of  a  horse  was  found,  and  this 
was  regarded  as  a  happy  omen  that  the 
city  would  be  warlike  and  prosperous.” 
Comp.  Creuzer,  Symbolik,  vol.  ii.  p.  456. 
(c)  The  horse  was  an  emblem  of  Jleet- 
ness,  and,  consequently,  of  the  rapidity 
of  conquest.  Comp.  Joel  ii.  4 :  “  The 
appearance  of  them  is  as  the  appearance 
of  horses ;  and  as  horsemen,  so  shall  they 
run.”  Jer.  iv.  13:  “Behold  he  shall 
come  up  as  clouds,  and  his  chariots  shall 
be  as  a  whirlwind;  his  horses  are  swifter 
than  eagles.”  Compare  Job  xxxix.  18. 
(cl)  The  horse  is  an  emblem  of  strength, 
and  consequently  of  safety,  Ps.  exlvii. 
10 :  “  He  delighteth  not  in  the  strength 
of  the  horse.”  In  general,  then,  the 


horse  would  properly  symbolize  war, 
conquest,  or  the  rapidity  with  which  a 
message  is  conveyed.  The  particular 
character  or  complexion  of  the  event — 
as  peaceful  or  warlike;  prosperous  or 
adverse,  is  denoted  by  the  color  of  the 
horse,  and  by  the  character  of  the 
rider. 

(2)  The  color  of  the  horse  : — “  a  white 
horse.”  It  is  evident  that  this  is  de¬ 
signed  to  be  significant,  because  it  is 
distinguished  from  the  red,  the  black, 
and  the  pale  horse,  referred  to  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  verses.  In  general,  it  may  be 
observed  that  white  is  the  emblem  of 
innocence,  purity,  prosperity  —  as  the 
opposite  is  of  sickness,  sin,  calamity. 
If  the  significance  of  the  emblem  turned 
alone  on  the  color,  we  should  look  to 
something  cheerful,  prosperous,  happy 
as  the  thing  that  was  symbolized.  But 
the  significance  in  the  case  is  to  be  found 
not  only  in  the  color — vihite — but  in  the 
horse  that  was  white  ;  and  the  enquiry 
is,  what  would  a  horse  of  that  color 
properly  denote ;  that  is,  on  what  oc¬ 
casions,  and  with  reference  to  what 
ends,  was  such  a  horse  used?  Now, 
the  general  notion  attached  to  the 
mention  of  a  white  horse,  according 
to  ancient  usage,  would  be  that  of 
state  and  triumph,  derived  from  the 
fact  that  white  horses  were  rode  by 
conquerors  on  the  days  of  their  triumph ; 
that  they  were  used  in  the  marriage 
cavalcade ;  that  they  were  employed  on 
coronation  occasions,  &c.  In  the  tri¬ 
umphs  granted  by  the  Romans  to  their 
victorious  generals,  after  a  procession 
composed  of  musicians,  captured  princes, 
spoils  of  battle,  &c.,  came  the  conqueror 
himself,  seated  on  a  high  chariot  drawn 
by  four  white  horses,  robed  in  purple, 
and  wearing  a  wreath  of  laurel.  Eschen- 
burg,  Man.  of  Class.  Literature,  p.  283. 
Comp.  Ovid  de  Arte  Amandi,  lib.  v.  214. 
The  name  of  Xcvkcttitos — leucippos — was 
given  to  Proserpine,  because  she  was 
borne  from  Hades  to  Olympos  in  a  cha¬ 
riot  drawn  by  white  horses.  Scol.  Pind. 
01.  vi.  161.  See  Creuzer’s  Symbol,  iv, 
253.  White  horses  are  supposed,  also, 
to  excel  others  in  fleetness.  So  Horace, 
Sat.  lib.  i.  vii.  8  : 

“  Siseunas,  Barrosque  ut  equis  praecurreret  albis.” 

So  Plaut.  Asin.  ii.  2,  12.  So  Homer, 
II.  K.  437 : 

Acv/circpoi  %vovo;,  Selciv  6"  ivijiounv  ipvioi, 


u  Ut  fremit  acer  equus,  cum  bellicus  aere  canoro 
Signa  dedit  tubicen,  pugDaeque  assumit  amorem.” 


166 


REVELATION, 


— “Whiter  than  the  snow,  and  swifter 
than  the  winds.”  And  in  the  ^Eneid, 
where  Turnus  was  about  to  contend  with 
JEneas,  he  demanded  horses : 

“  Qui  candore  Dives  anteirent  cursibus  auras,” 

— “Which  would  surpass  the  snow  in 
whiteness,  and  the  wind  in  fleetness.” 
JEn.  xii.  84. 

So  the  poets  everywhere  describe  the 
chariot  of  the  sun  as  drawn  by  white 
horses.  Bochart,  ut  supra.  So  con¬ 
querors  and  princes  are  everywhere 
represented  as  borne  on  white  horses. 
Thus  Propertius,  lib.  iv.  eleg.  i. : 

41  Quatuor  huic  albos  Romulus  egit  equos.” 

So,  Claudian,  lib.  ii.,  de  Laudibus  Sti- 
lichonis : 

“  Deposito  mitis  clypeo,  candentibus  urbem 
Ingreditur  trabeatus  equis.” 

And  thus  Ovid  (Lib.  i.  de  Arte)  addresses 
Augustus,  auguring  that  he  would  re¬ 
turn  a  victor : 

“  Ergo  erit  ilia  dies,  qud  tu,  Pulchemme  rerum, 

Quattuor  in  niveis  aureus  ibis  equis.” 

The  preference  of  white  to  denote  tri¬ 
umph  or  victory,  was  early  referred  to 
among  the  Hebrews.  Thus  Judges  v. 
10,  in  the  Song  of  Deborah  : 

44  Speak  ye  that  ride  on  white  asses, 

Ye  that  sit  in  judgment. 

And  walk  by  the  way.” 

The  expression,  then,  in  the  passage 
before  us,  would  properly  refer  to  some 
kind  of  triumph  ;  to  some  joyous  occa¬ 
sion  ;  to  something  where  there  was 
success  or  victory  —  and  so  far  as  this 
expression  is  concerned,  would  refer  to 
any  kind,  of  triumph,  whether  of  the 
gospel,  or  of  victory  in  war. 

(3)  The  bow  : — And  he  that  sat  on  him 
had  a  how.  The  bow  would  bo  a  natural 
emblem  of  war  —  as  it  was  used  in  war ; 
or  of  hunting  —  as  it  was  used  for  that 
purpose.  It  was  a  common  instrument 
of  attack  or  defence,  and  seems  to  have 
been  early  invented,  for  it  is  found  in 
all  rude  nations.  Comp.  Gen.  xxvii.  3, 
xlviii.  22,  xlix.  24;  Josh.  xxiv.  12;  1 
Sam.  xviii.  4;  Ps.  xxxvii.  15;  Isa.  vii. 
24.  The  how  would  be  naturally  em¬ 
blematic  of  the  following  things :  — 
(a)  War.  See  the  passages  above,  (b) 
Hunting.  Thus  it  was  one  of  the  em¬ 
blems  of  Apollo  as  the  god  of  hunting, 
(e)  The  effect  of  truth  — as,  that  which 
secured  conquest,  or  overcame  oppo¬ 
sition  in  the  heart.  So  far  as  this 


[A.  D.  96 

emblem  is  concerned,  it  might  denote  a 
warrior,  a  hunter,  a  preacher,  a  ruler — ■ 
any  one  who  exerted  power  over  others, 
or  who  achieved  any  kind  of  conquest 
over  them. 

(4)  The  crown : — And  a  crown  was 
give 7i  unto  him.  The  word  here  used  — • 
orttpavos  —  means  a  circlet,  chaplet,  or 
crown  —  usually  such  as  was  given  to  a 
victor,  1  Cor.  ix.  25.  It  would  properly 
be  emblematic  of  victory  or  conquest — ■ 
as  it  was  given  to  victors  in  war,  or  to 
the  victors  at  the  Grecian  games,  and  as 
it  is  given  to  the  saints  in  heaven  re¬ 
garded  as  victors,  Rev.  iv.  4.  10 ;  2  Tim. 
iv.  8.  The  crown  or  chaplet  here  was 
“  given”  to  the  rider  as  significant  that 
he  would  he  victorious,  not  that  he  had 
been;  and  the  proper  reference  of- the 
emblem  was  to  some  conquest  yet  to  be 
made,  not  to  any  which  had  been  made. 
It  is  not  said  by  whom  this  was  given  to 
the  rider ;  the  material  fact  being  only 
that  such  a  diadem  was'  conferred  on 
him. 

(5)  The  going  forth  to  conquest:  — 
And  he  went  forth  conquering,  and  to 
conquer.  He  went  forth  as  a  conqueror, 
and  that  he  might  conquer.  That  is,  he 
went  forth  with  the  spirit,  life,  energy, 
determined  purpose,  of  one  who  was  con¬ 
fident  that  he  would  conquer,  and  who 
had  the  port  and  bearing  of  a  conqueror. 
John  saw  in  him  two  things  : — one,  that 
he  had  the  aspect  or  port  of  a  con¬ 
queror —  that  is,  of  one  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  conquest  and  who  was 
confident  that  he  could  conquer;  the 
other  was,  that  this  was  clearly  the 
design  for  which  he  went  forth,  and 
this  would  be  the  result  of  his  going 
forth. 

Having  thus  enquired  into  the  natural 
meaning  of  the  emblems  used,  perhaps 
the  proper  work  of  an  expositor  is  done, 
and  the  subject  might  be  left  here. 
But  the  mind  naturally  asks  what  was 
this  designed  to  signify,  and  to  what 
events  are  these  things  to  be  applied? 
On  this  point,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
say,  that  the  opinions  of  expositors  have 
been  almost  as  numerous  as  the  expo¬ 
sitors  themselves,  and  that  it  would  be  a 
hopeless  task,  and  as  useless  as  hopeless, 
to  attempt  to  enumerate  all  the  opinions 
entertained.  They  who  are  desirous  of 
examining  those  opinions,  must  be  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  various  books  on  the  Apoca  ■ 
lypse  where  they  may  be  found.  Perhaps 


CHAPTER  VI. 


1G7 


A.  D.  96.] 

all  the  opinions  entertained,  though  pre¬ 
sented  by  their  authors  under  a  great 
variety  of  forms,  might  be  referred  to 
three:— (1)  That  the  whole  passage  in 
chs.  vi.-xi.  refers  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  wasting  of  Judea, 
principally  by  the  Romans  —  and  par¬ 
ticularly  the  humiliation  and  prostration 
of  the  Jewish  persecuting  enemies  of  the 
church  :  —  on  the  supposition  that  the 
book  was  written  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  This  is  the  opinion  of  Prof. 
Stuart,  and  of  those  generally  who  hold 
that  the  book  was  written  at  that  time. 

(2)  The  opinion  of  those  who  suppose 
that  the  book  was  written  in  the  time  of 
Domitian,  about  A.  D.  95,  or  96,  and 
that  the  symbols  refer  to  the  Roman 
affairs  subsequent  to  that  time.  This  is 
the  opinion  of  Mede,  Elliott,  and  others. 

(3)  The  opinions  of  those  who  suppose  that 
the  different  horses  and  horsemen  refer 
to  the  Saviour,  to  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
and  to  the  various  results  of  the  ministry. 
This  is  the  opinion  of  Mr.  David  C.  Lord 
and  others.  My  purpose  does  not  re¬ 
quire  me  to  examine  these  opinions  in 
detail.  Justice  could  not  be  done 
to  them  in  the  limited  compass  which 
I  have;  and  it  is  better  to  institute 
a  direct  enquiry  whether  any  events 
are  known  which  can  be  regarded  as 
corresponding  with  the  symbols  here 
employed^.  In  regard  to  this,  then,  the 
following  things  may  be  referred  to  : — 

(a)  It  will  be  assumed  here,  as  else¬ 
where  in  these  Notes,  that  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse  was  written  in  the  time  of  Domi¬ 
tian,  about  A.  D.  95  or  96.  For  the 
reasons  for  this  opinion,  see  Intro.  $  2. 
Comp,  an  article  by  Dr.  Geo.  Duffield  in 
the  Biblical  Repository,  July,  1847,  pp. 
385-411.  It  will  also  be  assumed  that 
the  book  is  inspired,  and  that  it  is  not 
to  be  regarded  and  treated  as  a  work  of 
mere  human  origin.  These  suppositions 
will  preclude  the  necessity  of  any  refer¬ 
ence  in  the  opening  of  the  seals  to  the 
time  of  Nero,  or  to  the  events  pertaining 
to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
overthrow  of  the  Jewish  persecuting 
enemies  of  the  church  —  for  the  opinion 
that  those  events  are  referred  to  can  be 
held  only  on  one  of  two  suppositions: — 
either  that  the  work  was  written  in  the 
time  of  Nero,  and  before  the  Jewish 
wars,  as  held  by  Prof.  Stuart  and 
others ;  or  that  it  was  penned  after  the 
events  referred  to  had  occurred,  and 


is  such  a  description  of  the  past  as  could 
have  been  made  by  one  who  was  un¬ 
inspired. 

( b )  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the 
events  referred  to,  in  the  opening  of  the 
first  seal,  would  occur  soon  after  the 
time  when  the  vision  appeared  to  John 
in  Patmos.  This  is  clear,  not  only 
because  that  would  be  the  most  natural 
supposition,  but  because  it  is  fairly  im¬ 
plied  in  ch.  i.  1 :  “  The  Revelation  of 
Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  unto  him, 
to  show  unto  his  servants  things  which 
must  shortly  come  to  pass.”  See  Notes 
on  that  verse.  Whatever  may  be  said 
of  some  of  those  events  —  those  lying 
most  remotely  in  the  series  —  it  would 
not  accord  with  the  fair  interpretation 
of  the  language  to  suppose  that  the 
beginning  of  the  series  would  be  far 
distant,  and  we  therefore  naturally  look 
for  that  beginning  in  the  age  succeed¬ 
ing  the  time  of  the  apostle,  or  the  reign 
of  Domitian. 

(c)  The  enquiry  then  occurs  whether 
there  teere  any  such  events  in  that  age 
as  would  properly  be  symbolized  by  the 
circumstances  before  us — the  horse ;  the 
color  of  the  horse ;  the  bow  in  the  hand 
of  the  rider ;  the  crown  given  him ;  the 
state  and  bearing  of  a  conqueror. 

(d)  Before  proceeding  to  notice  what 
seems  to  me  to  be  the  interpretation 
which  best  accords  with  all  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  symbol,  it  may  be  proper 
to  refer  to  the  only  other  one  which 
has  any  plausibility,  and  which  is 
adopted  by  Grotius,  by  the  author  of 
“Hyponia,”  by  Dr.  Keith  (Signs  of  the 
Times,  i.  181,  Seq.),  by  Mr.  Lord  and 
others,  that  this  refers  to  Christ  and  his 
church — to  Christ  and  his  ministers  in 
spreading  the  gospel.  The  objections  to 
this  class  of  interpretations  seem  to  mo 
to  be  insuperable:  (1)  The  whole  de¬ 
scription,  so  far  as  it  is  a  representation 
of  triumph,  is  a  representation  of  the 
triumph  of  war,  not  of  the  gospel  of 
peace.  All  the  symbols  in  the  opening 
of  the  first  four  seals  are  warlike;  all 
the  consequences  in  the  opening  of  each 
of  the  seals  where  the  horseman  appears, 
are  such  as  are  usually  connected  with 
war.  It  is  the  march  of  empire;  the 
movement  of  military  power.  (2)  A 
horseman  thus  armed  is  not  the  usual 
representation  of  Christ,  much  less  of  his 
ministers  or  of  his  church.  Once  indeed 
(ch.  xix.  14-16)  Christ  himself  is  thus 


168 


KEVELATION, 


represented ;  but  the  ordinary  repre- : 
sentation  of  the  Saviour  in  this  book  is 
either  that  of  a  man — majestic  and  glo¬ 
rious,  holding  the  stars  in  his  right  hand 
— or  of  a  lamb.  Besides,  if  it  were  the 
design  of  the  emblem  to  refer  to  Christ, 
it  must  be  a  representation  of  him  ■per¬ 
sonally  and  literally  going  forth  in  this 
manner ;  for  it  would  be  incongruous  to 
suppose  that  this  relates  to  him,  and  then 
to  give  it  a  metaphorical  application, 
referring  it  not  to  himself  jout  to  his 
truth,  his  gospel,  his  ministers.  (3)  If 
there  is  little  probability  that  this  refers 
to  Christ,  there  is  still  less  that  it  refers 
to  ministers  of  the  gospel  —  as  held  by 
Lord  and  others  —  for  such  a  symbol  is 
employed  nowhere  else  to  represent  an 
order  of  ministers,  nor  do  the  circum¬ 
stances  find  a  fulfilment  in  them.  The 
minister  of  the  gospel  is  a  herald  of  peace, 
and  is  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  He  cannot  well  be  re¬ 
presented  by  a  warrior,  nor  is  he  in  the 
Scriptures.  In  itself  considered,  there  is 
nothing  more  unlike  or  incongruous  than 
a  warrior  going  forth  to  conquest  with 
hostile  arms,  and  a  minister  of  Christ. 
Besides,  (4)  this  representation  of  a 
horse  and.  his  rider,  when  applied  in 
the  following  verses,  on  this  principle 
becomes  most  forced  and  unnatural.  If 
the  warrior  on  the  white  horse  denotes 
the  ministry,  then  the  warrior  on  the  red 
horse,  the  black  horse,  the  pale  horse, 
must  denote  the  ministry  also,  and  no¬ 
thing  is  more  fanciful  and  arbitrary  than 
to  attempt  to  apply  these  to  teachers  of 
various  kinds  of  error — error  denoted  by 
the  red,  black,  and  pale  color — as  must 
be  done  on  that  supposition.  It  seems 
plain,  therefore,  to  me,  that  the  repre¬ 
sentation  was  not  designed  to  symbolize 
the  ministry,  or  the  state  of  the  church 
considered  with  reference  to  its  exten¬ 
sion,  or  the  various  forms  of  belief  which 
prevailed.  But,  if  so,  it  only  remains  to 
enquire  whether  a  state  of  things  existed 
in  the  Roman  world  of  which  these 
would  be  appropriate  symbols.  We 
have,  then,  the  following  facts,  which 
are  of  such  a  nature  as  would  properly 
be  symbolized  by  the  horse  of  the  first 
seal;  that  is,  they  are  such  facts  that  if 
one  were  to  undertake  to  devise  an  ap- 
propiate  symbol  of  them  since  they 
occurred,  they  would  be  well  represent¬ 
ed  by  the  image  here  employed. 

1.  It  was  in  general  a  period  of  pros- 


|A.  D.  96 

perity,  of  triumph,  of  conquest  —  well 
represented  by  the  horseman  on  the 
white  horse  going  forth  to  conquest.  I 
refer  now  to  the  period  immediately 
succeeding  the  time  of  John’s  banish¬ 
ment,  embracing  some  ninety  years, 
and  extending  through  the  successive 
reigns  of  Nerva,  Trajan,  Adrian,  and 
the  two  Antonines,  from  the  death  of 
Domitian,  A.  D.  96,  to  the  accession  of 
Commodus,  and  the  peace  made  by  him 
with  the  Germans,  A.  D.  180.  As  an 
illustration  of  this  period,  and  of  the  per¬ 
tinency  of  the  symbol,  I  will  first  copy 
from  an  historical  chart  drawn  up  with 
no  reference  to  the  symbol  here,  and  in 
the  mind  of  whose  author  the  applica¬ 
tion  to  this  symbol  never  occurred.  The 
chart,  distinguished  for  accuracy,  is  that 
of  A.  S.  Lyman,  published  A.  D.  1845. 
The  following  is  the  account  of  this 
period,  beginning  at  the  death  of  Domi¬ 
tian  : — “  Domitian,  a  cruel  tyrant,  the 
last  of  the  twelve  Cesars.”  (His  death, 
therefore,  was  an  important  epoch.) 
“A.  D.  96,  Nerva,  noted  for  his  virtues, 
but  enfeebled  by  age.”  “A.  D.  98, 
Trajan,  a  great  general,  and  popular  em¬ 
peror  ;  under  him  the  empire  attains  its 
greatest  extent.”  “  A.  D.  117,  Adrian, 
an  able  sovereign ;  spends  thirteen  years 
travelling  through  the  empire,  reforming 
abuses,  and  rebuilding  cities.”  “A.  D. 
138,  Antoninus  Pius,  celebrated  for  his 
wisdom,  virtue  and  humanity.”  “  A.  D. 
161,  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus,  the 
Stoic  philosopher,  noted  for  his  virtues.” 
Then  begins  anew  era — a  series  of  wicked 
princes,  and  of  great  calamities.  The 
next  entry  in  the  series  is,  “A.  D.  180, 
Commodus,  profligate  and  cruel.”  Then 
follows  a  succession  of  princes  of  the 
same  general  description.  Their  charac¬ 
ter  will  be  appropriately  considered  under 
the  succeeding  seals.  But  in  regard  to 
the  period  now  supposed  to  be  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  opening  of  the  first  seal, 
and  the  general  applicability  of  the 
description  here  to  that  period,  we  have 
the  fullest  testimony  in  Mr.  Gibbon,  in 
his  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Em¬ 
pire  :  —  a  writer  who,  sceptic  as  he  was, 
seems  to  have  been  raised  up  by  Divine 
Providence  to  search  deeply  into  historic 
records,  and  to  furnish  an  inexhaustible 
supply  of  materials  in  confirmation  of 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies,  and  of 
the  truth  of  revelation.  For  (1)  he  was 
eminently  endowed  by  talent,  and  learn- 


CHAPTER  VI. 


169 


ij  A.  D.  96.] 

ing,  and  patience,  and  general  candor, 
and  accuracy,  to  prepare  a  history  of  that 
period  of  the  world,  and  to  place  his 
name  in  the  very  first  rank  of  historians. 
His  history  commences  at  about  the 
period  supposed  in  this  interpretation  to 
be  referred  to  by  these  symbols,  and  ex¬ 
tends  over  a  very  considerable  portion 
of  the  time  embraced  in  the  book  of 
Revelation.  (3)  It  cannot  be  alleged 
that  he  was  biassed  in  his  statements 
of  facts  by  a  desire  to  favor  reve¬ 
lation;  nor  can  it  be  charged  on  him 
that  he  perverted  facts  with  a  view  to 
overthrow  the  authority  of  the  volume 
of  inspired  truth.  He  was,  indeed, 
thoroughly  sceptical  as  to  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  and  he  lost  no  opportunity 
to  express  his  feelings  towards  it  by  a 
sneer — for  it  seems  to  have  been  an  un¬ 
fortunate  characteristic  of  his  mind  to 
sneer  at  every  thing  —  but  there  is  no 
evidence  that  he  ever  designedly  per¬ 
verted  a  fact  in  history  to  press  it  into 
the  service  of  infidelity,  or  that  he  de¬ 
signedly  falsified  a  statement  for  the 
purpose  of  making  it  bear  against  Chris¬ 
tianity.  It  cannot  bo  suspected  that  he 
had  any  design  by  the  statements  which 
he  makes,  to  confirm  the  truth  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  prophecies.  Infidels,  at  least,  are 
bound  to  admit  his  testimony  as  impar¬ 
tial.  (4)  Not  a  few  of  the  most  clear 
and  decisive  proofs  of  the  fulfilment  of 
prophecies  are  to  be  found  in  his  history. 
They  are  frequently  such  statements  as 
would  be  expected  to  occur  in  the 
writings  of  a  partial  friend  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  who  was  endeavoring  to  make 
the  records  of  history  speak  out  in  favor 
of  his  religion,  and  if  they  had  been 
found  in  such  a  writer,  they  would  be 
suspected  of  having  been  shaped  with  a 
view  to  the  confirmation  of  the  prophe¬ 
cies,  and,  it  may  be  added  also,  with  an 
intention  to  defend  some  favorito  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  Apocalypse.  In  regard 
to  the  passage  before  us  —  the  opening 
of  the  first  seal,  and  the  general  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  meaning  of  that  seal, 
above  given,  there  is  a  striking  re¬ 
semblance  between  that  representation 
and  the  state  of  the  Roman  empire 
as  given  by  Mr.  Gibbon  at  the  period 
under  consideration  —  from  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  Domitian  to  the  accession 
of  Commodus.  By  a  singular  coinci¬ 
dence,  Mr.  Gibbon  begins  his  history  at 
about  the  period  supposed  to  be  referred 
15 


to  by  the  opening  of  the  seal  —  the 
period  following  the  death  of  Domitian, 
A.  D.  96.  Thus  in  the  opening  sen¬ 
tences  of  his  work,  he  says,  “In  the 
second  century  of  the  Christian  era,  the 
empire  of  Romo  comprehended  the  fair¬ 
est  part  of  the  earth,  and  the  most  civil¬ 
ized  portion  of  mankind.  During  a 
happy  period  of  more  than  four-score 
years,  the  public  administration  was 
conducted  by  the  virtue  and  abilities  of 
Nerva,  Trajan,  Adrian,  and  the  two 
Antonines.  It  is  the  design  of  this,  and 
the  two  succeeding  chapters,  to  describe 
the  prosperous  condition  of  their  em¬ 
pire  ;  and  afterwards,  from  the  death  of 
Marcus  Antoninus,  to  deduce  the  most 
important  circumstances  of  its  decline 
and  fall ;  a  revolution  which  will  ever  be 
remembered,  and  is  still  felt  by  the 
nations  of  the  earth,”  vol.  i.  1.  Before 
Mr.  Gibbon  proceeds  to  give  the  history 
of  the  fall  of  the  empire,  he  pauses  to 
describe  the  happy  condition  of  the  Ro¬ 
man  world  during  the  period  now  re¬ 
ferred  to  —  for  this  is  substantially  his 
object  in  the  first  three  chapters  of  his 
history.  The  titles  of  these  chapters 
will  show  their  object.  They  are  re¬ 
spectively  the  following:  —  Chapter  L, 
“  The  Extent  and  Military  Force  of  the 
Empire,  in  the  Age  of  the  Antonines 
Ch.  II.,  “  Of  the  Union  and  Internal 
Prosperity  of  the  Roman  Empire,  in  the 
Age  of  the  Antonines  Ch.  III.,  “Of  the 

Constitution  of  the  Roman  Empire,  in 
the  Age  of  the  Antonines.”  In  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  another,  this  is  “  the  bright 
ground  of  his  historic  picture,  from 
which  afterwards  more  effectively  to 
throw  out  in  deep  coloring,  the  succes¬ 
sive  traits  of  the  empire’s  corruption 
and  decline.”  Elliott.  The  introduc¬ 
tory  remarks  of  Mr.  Gibbon,  indeed, 
professedly  refer  to  “the  age  of  the 
Antonines”  (A.  D.  138-180),  but  that  he 
designed  to  describe,  under  this  general 
title,  the  actual  condition  of  the  Roman 
world  during  the  period  which  I  sup¬ 
pose  to  be  embraced  under  the  first  seal, 
as  a  time  of  prosperity,  triumph,  and 
happiness  —  from  Domitian  to  Commo¬ 
dus — is  apparent  (a)  from  a  remarkable 
statement  which  there  will  be  occasion 
again  to  quote,  in  which  he  expressly 
designates  this  period,  in  these  words 
“  If  a  man  were  called  to  fix  the  period 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  during  which 
tho  condition  of  the  human  race  was 


\ 


170 


REVELATION, 


most  happy  and  prosperous,  he  would, 
without  hesitation,  name  that  which 
elapsed  from  the  death  of  Domitian 
to  the  accession  of  Commodus,”  i.  47. 
The  same  thing  is  apparent  also  from  a 
remark  of  Mr.  Gibbon  in  the  general 
summary  which  he  makes  of  the  Roman 
affairs,  showing  that  this  period  con¬ 
stituted,  in  his  view,  properly  an  era  in 
the  condition  of  the  world.  Thus  he 
says  (i.  4),  “  Such  was  the  state  of  the 
Roman  frontiers,  and  such  the  maxims 
of  imperial  policy,  from  the  death  of 
Augustus  ti  the  accession  of  Trajan.” 
This  was  A.  D.  98.  The  question  now 
is,  whether  during  this  period  the  events 
in  the  Roman  empire  were  such  as  ac¬ 
cord  with  the  representation  in  the  first 
seal.  There  was  nothing  in  the  first 
century  that  could  accord  with  this,  and 
if  John  wrote  the  Apocalypse  at  the 
time  supposed  (A.  D.  95  or  96),  of  course 
it  does  not  refer  to  that.  Respecting 
that  century,  Mr.  Gibbon  remarks,  “  The 
only  accession  which  the  Roman  empire 
received,  during  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  was  the  province  of 
Britain.  In  this  single  instance,  the 
successors  of  Caesar  and  Augustus  were 
persuaded  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
former  rather  than  the  precept  of  the 
latter.  After  a  war  of  about  forty  years, 
undertaken  by  the  most  stupid,  main¬ 
tained  by  the  most  dissolute,  and  termi¬ 
nated  by  the  most  timid  of  all  the 
emperors,  the  far  greater  part  of  the 
island  submitted  to  the  Roman  yoke,” 
i.  2,  3.  Of  course,  the  representation  in 
the  first  seal  could  not  be  applied  to  such 
a  period  as  this.  In  the  second  century, 
however,  and  especially  in  the  early 
part  of  it  —  the  beginning  of  the  period 
supposed  to  be  embraced  in  the  opening 
of  the  first  seal — a  different  policy  began 
to  prevail,  and  though  the  main  charac¬ 
teristic  of  the  period,  as  a  whole,  was 
comparatively  peaceful,  yet  it  began  with 
a  career  of  conquests,  and  its  general 
state  might  be  characterized  as  triumph 
and  prosperity.  Thus  Mr.  Gibbon  speaks 
of  Trajan  on  his  accession  after  the  death 
of  Nerva: — “That  virtuous  and  active 
prince  had  received  the  education  of  a 
soldier,  and  possessed  the  talents  of  a 
general.  The  peaceful  system  of  his 
predecessor  was  interrupted  by  scenes  of 
war  and  conquest ;  and  the  legions,  after 
a  long  interval,  beheld  a  military  leader 
at  their  head.  The  first  exploits  of 


[A.  D.  96. 

Trajan  were  against  the  Dacians,  the 
most  warlike  of  men,  who  dwelt  beyond 
the  Danube,  and  who  during  the  reign 
of  Domitian  had  insulted  the  majesty 
of  Rome.  This  memorable  war,  with 
a  very  short  suspension  of  hostilities, 
lasted  five  years;  and  as  the  emperor 
could  exert,  without  control,  the  whole 
force  of  the  state,  it  was  terminated  by 
an  absolute  submission  of  the  barba¬ 
rians.  The  new  province  of  Dacia, 
which  formed  a  second  exception  to  the 
precept  of  Augustus,  was  about  thirteen 
hundred  miles  in  circumference,”  i.  4. 
Speaking  of  Trajan  (p.  4),  he  says 
farther,  “  The  praises  of  Alexander, 
transmitted  by  a  succession  of  poets  and 
historians,  had  kindled  a  dangerous 
emulation  in  the  mind  of  Trajan.  Like 
him,  the  Roman  emperor  undertook  an 
expedition  against  the  nations  of  the 
East,  but  he  lamented  with  a  sigh,  that 
his  advanced  age  scarcely  left  him  any 
hopes  of  equalling  the  renown  of  the  son 
of  Philip.  Yet  the  success  of  Trajan, 
however  transient,  was  rapid  and  spe¬ 
cious.  The  degenerate  Parthians,  broken 
by  intestine  discord,  fled  before  his  arms. 
He  descended  the  river  Tigris  in  triumph, 
from  the  mountains  of  Armenia  to  the 
Persian  gulf.  He  enjoyed  the  honor  of 
being  the  first,  as  he  was  the  last,  of  the 
Roman  generals  who  ever  navigated  that 
remote  sea.  His  fleets  ravaged  the 
coasts  of  Arabia;  and  Trajan  vainly 
flattered  himself  that  he  was  approach¬ 
ing  towards  the  confines  of  India.  Every 
day  the  astonished  senate  received  the 
intelligence  of  new  names  and  new 
nations,  that  acknowledged  his  sway. 
They  were  informed  that  the  kings  of 
Bosphorus,  Colchos,  Iberia,  Albania, 
Osrhoene,  and  even  the  Parthian  mo¬ 
narch  himself,  had  accepted  their  dia¬ 
dems  from  the  hand  of  the  emperor; 
that  the  independent  tribes  of  the  Me¬ 
dian  and  Carduchian  hills  had  implored 
his  protection ;  and  that  the  rich  coun¬ 
tries  of  Armenia,  Mesopotamia  and 
Assyria  were  reduced  into  the  state  of 
provinces.”  Of  such  a  reign  what  more 
appropriate  symbol  could  there  be  than 
the  horse  and  the  rider  of  the  first  seal  ? 
If  Mr.  Gibbon  had  been  writing  a  de¬ 
signed  commentary  on  this,  what  more 
appropriate  language  could  he  have  used 
in  illustration  of  it?  The  reign  of 
Hadrian,  the  successor  of  Trajan  (A.  D. 
117-138),  was  comparatively  a  reign  of 


CHAPTER  VI. 


171 


A.  D.  96.] 


peace  —  though  one  of  his  first  acts  was 
to  lead  an  expedition  into  Britain ;  but 
though  comparatively  a  time  of  peace,  it 
was  a  reign  of  prosperity  and  triumph. 
Mr.  Gibbon,  in  the  following  language, 
gives  a  general  characteristic  of  that 
reign :  “  The  life  of  [Hadrian]  was 
almost  a  perpetual  journey;  and  as  he 
possessed  the  various  talents  of  the 
soldier,  the  statesman,  and  the  scholar, 
he  gratified  his  curiosity  in  the  dis¬ 
charge  of  his  duty.  Careless  of  the 
difference  of  seasons  and  of  climates,  he 
marched  on  foot,  and  bareheaded,  over 
the  snows  of  Caledonia,  and  the  sultry 
plains  of  Upper  Egypt;  nor  was  there  a 
province  of  the  empire,  which  in  tho 
course  of  his  reign  was  not  honored  with 
the  presence  of  the  monarch,”  p.  5.  On 
p.  6,  Mr.  Gibbon  remarks  of  this  period, 
“  The  Roman  name  was  revered  amongst 
the  most  remote  nations  of  the  earth. 
The  fiercest  barbarians  frequently  sub¬ 
mitted  their  differences  to  the  arbitra¬ 
tion  of  the  emperor ;  and  we  are  inform¬ 
ed  by  a  contemporary  historian,  that  he 
had  seen  ambassadors  who  were  refused 
the  honor  which  they  came  to  solicit,  of 
being  admitted  into  the  rank  of  sub¬ 
jects.”  And  again,  speaking  of  the 
reign  of  Hadrian,  Mr.  Gibbon  remarks 
(i.  45),  “  Under  his  reign,  as  has  been 
already  mentioned,  the  empire  flourished 
in  peace  and  prosperity.  He  encouraged 
the  arts,  reformed  the  laws,  asserted 
military  discipline,  and  visited  all  the 
provinces  in  person.”  Hadrian  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  the  Antonines,  Antoninus 
Pius,  and  Marcus  Aurelius  (the  former 
from  A.  D.  138  to  161,  the  latter  from 
A.  D.  161,  to  the  accession  of  Com- 
modus,  A.  D.  180).  Tho  general  cha¬ 
racter  of  their  reigns  is  well  known.  It 
is  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Gibbon :  “  Tho 
two  Antonines  governed  the  world  forty- 
two  years  with  the  same  invariable  spirit 
of  wisdom  and  virtue.  Their  united 
reigns  are  possibly  the  only  period  of 
history  in  which  the  happiness  of  a 
great  people  was  the  sole  object  of  go¬ 
vernment,”  i.  46.  And,  after  describing 
the  state  of  the  empire  in  respect  to  its 
military  and  naval  character,  its  roads, 
and  architecture,  and  constitution,  and 
laws,  Mr.  Gibbon  sums  up  the  whole 
description  of  this  period  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  remarkable  words  (vol.  i.  p.  47) : 
“If  a  man  were  called  to  fix  a  period  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  during  which  the 


condition  of  the  human  race  was  most 
happy  and  prosperous,  lie  would,  without 
hesitation,  name  that  which  elapsed 
from  the  death  of  Domitian  to  the  ac¬ 
cession  of  Commodus.  The  vast  extent 
of  the  Roman  empire  was  governed  by 
absolute  power,  under  the  guidance  of 
virtue  and  wisdom.  The  armies  were 
restrained  by  the  firm  but  gentle  hands 
of  four  successive  emperors,  whose  cha¬ 
racters  and  authority  commanded  uni¬ 
versal  respect.  The  forms  of  the  civil 
administration  were  carefully  preserved 
by  Nerva,  Trajan,  Hadrian,  and  the 
Antonines ,  who  delighted  in  the  image 
of  liberty,  and  were  pleased  with  con¬ 
sidering  themselves  as  the  accountable 
ministers  of  the  laws.  Such  princes  de¬ 
served  the  honor  of  restoring  the  republic, 
had  the  Romans  of  their  days  been 
capable  of  enjoying  a  rational  freedom.” 
If  it  be  supposed  now  that  John  designed 
to  represent  this  period  of  the  world, 
could  he  have  chosen  a  more  expressive 
and  significant  emblem  of  it  than  occurs 
in  the  horseman  of  the  first  seal  ?  If  Mr. 
Gibbon  had  intended  to  prepare  a  com¬ 
mentary  on  it,  could  he  have  shaped  the 
facts  of  history  so  as  better  to  furnish  an 
illustration  ? 

2.  The  particular  things  represented 
in  the  symbol,  (a)  The  bow — a  symbol 
of  war.  Mr.  Eliott  has  endeavored  to 
show  that  the  bow  at  that  period  was 
peculiarly  the  badge  of  the  Cretians,  and 
that  Nerva,  who  succeeded  Domitian, 
was  a  Cretian  by  birth.  The  argument 
is  too  long  to  bo  abridged  here,  but,  if 
well  founded,  the  fulfilment  is  remark¬ 
able;  for,  although  the  sword  or  tho 
javelin  was  usually  the  badge  of  the  Ro¬ 
man  emperor,  if  this  were  so,  there 
would  bo  a  peculiar  propriety  in  making 
the  bow  the  badge  during  this  period. 
See  Eliott,  vol.  i.  pp.  133-140.  But, 
whatever  may  be  said  of  this,  the  bow  was 
so  generally  the  badge  of  a  warrior  that 
there  would  be  no  impropriety  in  using 
it  as  a  symbol  of  Roman  victory,  (b)  The 
crown — ari<pavo( — was  up  to  the  time  of 
Aurelian,  A.  D.  270  (see  Spanheim,  p. 
60),  the  distinguishing  badge  of  the  Ro¬ 
man  emperor;  after  that,  the  diadem 
set  with  pearls  and  other  jewols,  was 
adopted  and  worn.  Tho  crown,  com¬ 
posed  usually  of  laurel,  was  properly  tho 
badge  of  the  emperor  considered  as  a 
military  leader  or  commander.  See 
Eliott,  i.  130.  At  tho  period  now  under 


172 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


3  And  when  he  had  opened  the 
second  seal,  I  heard  the  second 
beast  say,  Come  and  see. 


consideration,  the  proper  badge  of  the 
Roman  emperor  would  be  the  crown; 
after  the  time  of  Aurelian,  it  would  have 
been  the  diadem.  In  illustration  of 


(c)  The  fact  that  the  crown  was  given  to 
the  rider.  It  was  common  among  the 
Romans  to  represent  an  emperor  in  this 
manner ;  either  on  medals,  bas-reliefs,  or 
triumphal  arches.  The  emperor  ap¬ 
pears  going  forth  on  horseback,  and 
with  Victory  represented  as  either  crown¬ 
ing  him,  or  as  preceding  him  with  a 
crown  in  her  hand  to  present  to  him. 
The  following  cut,  copied  from  one  of 
the  bas-reliefs  on  a  triumphal  arch 
erected  to  Claudius  Drusus  on  occasion 


4  And  there  went  out  another 
horse  that  was  red:  and  power 
was  given  to  him  that  sat  thereon 


this,  two  cuts  may  be  introduced,  the 
one  representing  the  emperor  Nerva 
with  the  crown,  or  artyavos,  the  other  the 
emperor  Yalentinian,  with  the  diadem. 


of  his  victories  over  the  Germans,  will 
furnish  a  good  illustration  of  this,  and, 
indeed,  is  so  similar  to  the  symbol 
described  by  John,  that  the  one  seems 
almost  a  copy  of  the  other.  Except  that 
the  bow  is  wanting,  nothing  could  have 
a  closer  resemblance,  and  the  fact  that 
such  symbols  were  employed,  and  wore 
well  understood  by  the  Romans,  may 
be  admitted  to  be  a  confirmation  of 
the  view  above  taken  of  the  meaning 
of  the  first  seal.  Indeed,  so  many 
things  combine  to  confirm  this,  that 
it  seems  impossible  to  be  mistaken  in 
regard  to  it:  for  if  it  should  be  supposed 
that  John  lived  after  this  time,  and  that 
he  meant  to  furnish  a  striking  emblem  of 
this  period  of  Roman  history,  he  could 
not  have  employed  a  more  significant 
and  appropriate  symbol  than  he  has 
done. 

3.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  second 
seal.  So  as  to  disclose  another  portion 
of  the  volume.  Notes  ch.v.  1.  I  heard 
the  second  beast  say.  The  second  beast 
was  like  a  calf  or  an  ox.  Notes  ch.  iv. 
7.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  there  is 
any  special  significancy  in  the  fact  that 
the  second  beast  addressed  the  seer  on 
the  opening  of  the  second  seal,  or  that, 
so  far  as  the  symbol  was  concerned, 
there  was  any  reason  why  this  living 


A.  D.  96.1  CHAPTER  VI.  173 


to  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and 
that  they  should  kill  one  another : 


creature  should  approach  on  the  open- 
t  ing  of  this  seal  rather  than  on  either  of 
the  others.  All  that  seems  to  be  de¬ 
signed  is,  that  as  the  living  creatures 
are  intended  to  be  emblems  of  the  Pro¬ 
vidential  government  of  God,  it  was 
proper  to  represent  that  government  as 
concerned  in  the  opening  of  each  of  these 
four  seals  indicating  important  events 
among  the  nations.  Come  and  see. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  1. 

4.  And  there  went  out  another  horse. 
In  this  symbol  there  were,  as  in  the  others, 
several  particulars  which  it  is  proper  to 
explain  in  order  that  we  may  be  able  to 
understand  its  application.  The  par¬ 
ticular  things  in  the  symbol  are  the 
following : — 

(a)  The  horse.  See  this  explained  in 
the  Notes  on  ver.  2. 

(5)  The  color  of  the  horse : — Another 
!  horse  that  was  red.  This  symbol  cannot 
be  mistaken.  As  the  white  horse  denoted 
prosperity,  triumph,  and  happiness,  so 
this  would  denote  carnage,  discord, 
bloodshed.  This  is  clear,  not  only  from 
the  nature  of  the  emblem,  but  from  the 
explanation'immediately  added  : — “And 
power  was  given  to  him  that  sat  thereon 
|  to  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and  that 
they  should  kill  one  another.”  On  the 
;■  color,  compare  Bochart,  Hieroz.  P.  1. 
lib.  ii.  c.  vii.  p.  104.  See  also  Zech.  i.  8. 
There  is  no  possibility  of  mistaking  this, 
that  a  time  of  slaughter  is  denoted  by 
this  emblem. 

(c)  The  power  given  to  him  that  sat 
;  on  the  horse : — And  power  was  given  to 
i  him  that  sat  thereon  to  take  peace  from 
the  earth,  and  that  they  should  kill  one 
another.  This  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  condition  immediately  pre¬ 
ceding  this  was  a  condition  of  tran¬ 
quillity,  and  that  this  was  now  disturbed 
by  some  cause  producing  discord  and 
bloodshed.  This  idea  is  confirmed  by 
the  original  words  —  rrjv  dpi jvriv  —  “  the 
peace ;”  that  is,  the  previously  existing 
peace.  When  peace  in  general  is  referred 
to,  the  word  is  used  without  the  article : 
Matt.  x.  34,  “  Think  not  that  I  came  to 
send  peace  —  f}a\dv  clptfvriv  —  upon  the 
earth.”  Comp.  Luke  i.  79,  ii.  14,  xix.  38 ; 
Mark  v.  34;  John  xiv.  27,  xvi.  33;  Acts 
vii.  26,  ix.  31,  et  al.  in  the  Greek.  In 
16* 


and  there  was  given  unto  him  a 
great  sword. 


these  cases  the  word  peace  is  without  the 
article.  The  characteristics  of  the  period 
referred  to  by  this,  are  (a)  that  peace 
and  tranquillity  existed  before ;  (b)  that 
such  peace  and  tranquillity  were  now 
taken  away,  and  were  succeeded  by 
confusion  and  bloodshed;  and  (c)  that 
the  particular  form  of  that  confusion 
was  civil  discord,  producing  mutual 
slaughter :  —  “  that  they  should  kill  one 
another.” 

(d)  The  presentation  of  a  sword:— 
And  there  was  given  unto  him  a  great 
sword.  As  an  emblem  of  what  he  was 
to  do,  or  of  the  period  that  was  referred 
to  by  the  opening  of  the  seal.  The 
sword  is  an  emblem  of  war;  of  slaughter; 
of  authority  (Rom.  xiii.  4),  and  is  here 
used  as  signifying  that  that  period 
would  be  characterized  by  carnage. 
Comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  5 ;  Rev.  xix.  17,  18 ; 
Lev.  xxvi.  25 ;  Gen.  xxvii.  40 ;  Matt, 
xxvi.  52,  x.  34.  It  is  not  said  by  whom 
the  sword  was  presented,  but  the  fact  is 
merely  referred  to,  that  the  rider  was 
presented  with  a  sword  as  a  symbol  of 
what  would  occur. 

In  enquiring  now  into  the  period  re¬ 
ferred  to  by  this  symbol,  we  naturally 
look  to  that  which  immediately  suc¬ 
ceeded  the  one  which  was  represented 
by  the  opening  of  the  first  seal ;  that  is 
the  period  which  followed  the  accession 
of  Commodus,  A.  D.  180.  We  shall 
find,  in  the  events  which  succeeded  his 
accession  to  the  empire,  a  state  of  things 
which  remarkably  accords  with  the  ac¬ 
count  given  by  J ohn  in  this  emblem — so 
much  so  that,  if  it  were  supposed  that 
the  book  was  written  after  these  events 
had  occurred,  and  that  John  had  de¬ 
signed  to  represent  them  by  this  symbol, 
he  could  not  have  selected  a  more  ap¬ 
propriate  emblem.  The  only  authority 
which  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to  here  is 
Mr.  Gibbon;  who,  as  before  remarked, 
seems  to  have  been  raised  up  by  a  Special 
Providence  to  make  a  record  of  those 
events  which  were  referred  to  by  some 
of  the  most  remarkable  prophecies  in  the 
Bible.  As  he  had  the  highest  qualifi¬ 
cations  for  an  historian,  his  statements 
may  be  relied  on  as  accurate ;  and  as  he 
had  no  belief  in  the  inspiration  ot  the 
prophetic  records,  his  testimony  will  not 


174 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


be  charged  with  partiality  in  their 
favor.  The  following  particulars,  there¬ 
fore,  will  furnish  a  full  illustration  of  the 
opening  of  the  second  seal : — 

(a)  The  previous  state  of  peace.  This 
is  implied  in  the  expression,  “  and  power 
was  given  to  him  to  take  peace  from  the 
earth.”  Of  this  we  have  had  a  full  con¬ 
firmation  in  the  peaceful  reign  of  Hadrian 
and  the  Antonines.  See  the  Notes  on 
the  exposition  of  the  first  seal.  Mr. 
Gibbon,  speaking  of  the  accession  of 
Commodus  to  the  imperial  throne,  says 
that  he  “  had  nothing  to  wish,  and 
every  thing  to  enjoy.  The  beloved  son 
of  Marcus  [Commodus]  succeeded  his 
father  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the 
senate  and  armies ;  and  when  he  ascend¬ 
ed  the  throne,  the  happy  youth  saw 
around  him  neither  competitor  to  re¬ 
move,  nor  enemies  to  punish.  In  this 
calm  elevated  station  it  was  surely 
natural  that  he  should  prefer  the  love 
of  mankind  to  their  detestation,  the 
mild  glories  of  his  five  predecessors  to 
the  ignominious  fate  of  Nero  and  Domi- 
tian,”  i.  51.  So  again,  on  the  same 
page,  he  says  of  Commodus,  “  His  grace¬ 
ful  person,  popular  address,  and  undis¬ 
puted  virtues,  attracted  the  public  favor; 
the  honorable  peace  which  he  had  re¬ 
cently  granted  to  the  barbarians,  dif¬ 
fused  an  universal  joy.”  No  one  can 
doubt  that  the  accession  of  Commodus 
was  preceded  by  a  remarkable  preva¬ 
lence  of  peace  and  prosperity. 

(b)  Civil  war  and  bloodshed To  take 
peace  from  the  earth,  and  they  should  kill 
one  another.  Of  the  applicability  of  this 
to  the  time  supposed  to  be  represented 
by  this  seal,  we  have  the  fullest  con¬ 
firmation  in  the  series  of  civil  wars  com¬ 
mencing  with  the  assassination  of  the 
emperor  Commodus,  A.  D.  193,  and  con¬ 
tinued  with  scarcely  any  intervals  of 
intermission  for  eighty  or  ninety  years. 
So  Sismondi,  on  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
empire  (i.  36),  says,  “With  Commodus’ 
death  commenced  the  third  and  most 
calamitous  period.  It  lasted  ninety -two 
years,  from  193  to  284.  During  that 
time,  thirty-two  emperors,  and  twenty- 
seven  pretenders  to  the  empire,  alter¬ 
nately  hurled  each  other  from  the 
throne,  by  incessant  civil  warfare. 
Ninety-two  years  of  almost  incessant 
civil  warfare  taught  the  world  on  what  a 
frail  foundation  the  virtue  of  the  Anto¬ 
nines  had  reared  the  felicity  of  the  em¬ 


pire .”  The  full  history  of  this  period 
may  be  seen  in  Gibbon,  i.  pp.  50-197. 
Of  course  it  is  impossible  in  these  Notes 
to  present  anything  like  a  complete  ac¬ 
count  of  the  characteristics  of  those  times. 
Yet  the  briefest  summary  may  well  show 
the  general  condition  of  the  Roman  em¬ 
pire  then,  and  the  propriety  of  repre¬ 
senting  it  by  the  symbol  of  a  red  horse, 
as  a  period  when  peacewould  be  taken 
from  the  earth,  and  when  men  would 
kill  one  another.  Commodus  himself  is 
represented  by  Mr.  Gibbon  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  words  :  “  Commodus  was  not,  as 
he  has  been  represented,  a  tiger  borne 
with  an  insatiate  thirst  of  human  blood, 
and  capable,  from  his  infancy,  of  the 
most  inhuman  actions.  Nature  had 
formed  him  of  a  weak  rather  than  a 
wicked  disposition.  His  simplicity  and 
timidity  rendered  him  the  slave  of  his 
attendants,  who  gradually  corrupted  his 
mind.  His  cruelty,  which  at  first  obeyed 
the  dictates  of  others,  degenerated  into 
habit,  and  at  length  became  the  ruling 
passion  of  his  soul,”  i.  51.  During  the 
first  three  years  of  his  reign,  “  his  hands 
were  yet  unstained  with  blood”  (ibid.), 
but  he  soon  degenerated  into  a  most 
severe  and  bloody  tyrant,  and  “  when 
Commodus  had  once  tasted  human 
blood,  he  was  incapable  of  pity  or  re¬ 
morse,”  i.  52.  “  The  tyrant’s  rage,”  says 
Mr.  Gibbon  (i.  52),  “  after  having  shed 
the  noblest  blood  of  the  senate,  at 
length  recoiled  on  the  principal  instru¬ 
ment  of  his  cruelty.  While  Commodus 
iv as  immersed  in  blood  and  luxury  he 
devolved  the  detail  of  public  business  on 
Perennis,  a  servile  and  ambitious  minis¬ 
ter,  who  had  obtained  his  post  by  the 
murder  of  his  predecessors,”  &c.  “  Every 
sentiment  of  virtue  and  humanity  was 
extinct  in  the  mind  of  Commodus,”  i.  55. 
After  detailing  the  history  of  his  crimes, 
his  follies,  and  his  cruelties,  Mr.  Gibbon 
remarks  of  him  :  “  His  cruelty  proved  at 
last  fatal  to  himself.  He  had  shed  with 
impunity  the  best  blood  of  Rome;  he 
perished  as  soon  as  he  was  dreaded  by 
his  own  domestics.  Marcia,  his  favorite 
concubine,  Eclectus,  his  chamberlain, 
and  Lsetus,  his  Pretorian  prmfect,  alarm¬ 
ed  by  the  fate  of  their  companions  and 
predecessors,  resolved  to  prevent  the 
destruction  which  every  hour  hung  over 
their  heads,  either  from  the  mad  caprice 
of  the  tyrant,  or  the  sudden  indignation 
of  the  people.  Marcia  seized  the  occa- 


CHAPTER  VI. 


175 


A.  D.  96.1 

sion  of  presenting  a  draught  of  wine  to 
her  lover,  after  he  had  fatigued  himself 
with  hunting  some  wild  beasts.  Com- 
modus  retired  to  sleep ;  but  while  he  was 
laboring  with  the  effects  of  poison  and 
drunkenness,  a  robust  youth,  by  pro¬ 
fession  a  wrestler,  entered  his  chamber, 
and  strangled  him  without  resistance,” 
i.  57.  The  immediate  consequence  of 
the  assassination  of  Commodus  was  the 
elevation  of  Pertinax  to  the  throne,  and 
his  murder  eighty-six  days  after.  Bee. 
and  Fall,  i.  60.  Then  followed  the  pub¬ 
lic  setting-up  of  the  empire  to  sale  by 
the  Pretorian  guards,  and  its  purchase 
by  a  wealthy  Roman  senator,  Didius 
Julianus,  or  Julian,  who,  “  on  the  throne 
of  the  world,  found  himself  without  a 
friend  and  without  an  adherent,”  i.  63. 
“  The  streets  and  public  places  in 
Rome  resounded  with  clamors  and  im¬ 
precations.”  “  The  public  discontent 
was  soon  diffused  from  the  centre  to  the 
frontiers  of  the  empire,”  i.  63.  In  the 
midst  of  this  universal  indignation,  Sep- 
timius  Severus,  who  then  commanded 
the  army  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Danube,  resolved  to  avenge  the  death  of 
Pertinax,  and  to  seize  upon  the  imperial 
crown.  He  marched  to  Rome,  over¬ 
came  the  feeble  Julian,  and  placed  him¬ 
self  on  the  throne.  Julian,  after  having 
reigned  sixty-six  days,  was  beheaded  in 
a  private  apartment»of  the  baths  of  the 
palace,  i.  67.  “In  less  than  four  years, 
Severus  subdued  the  riches  of  the  East, 
and  the  valor  of  the  West.  He  van¬ 
quished  two  competitors  of  reputation 
and  ability,  and  defeated  numerous 
armies,  provided  with  weapons  and  dis¬ 
cipline  equal  to  his  own,”  i.  68.  Mr. 
Gibbon  then  enters  into  a  detail  of 
“  the  two  civil  wars  against  Niger  and 
Albinus” — rival  competitors  for  the  em¬ 
pire  (i.  68-70),  both  of  whom  were  van¬ 
quished,  and  both  of  whom  were  put  to 
death  ‘  ‘  in  their  flight  from  the  field  of 
battle.”  Yet  he  says,  “Although  the 
wounds  of  civil  war  were  apparently 
healed,  its  mortal  poison  still  lurked  in 
the  vitals  of  the  constitution,”  i.  71. 
After  the  death  of  Severus,  then  follows 
an  account  of  the  contentions  between 
his  sons,  Geta  and  Caracalla,  and  of  the 
death  of  the  former  by  the  instigation  of 
the  latter  (i.  77) ;  then  of  the  remorse  of 
Caracalla,  in  which  it  is  said  that  “  his 
disordered  fancy  often  beheld  the  angry 
forms  of  his  father  and  his  brother 


rising  into  life  to  threaten  and  upbraid 
him”  (i.  77) ;  then  of  the  cruelties  which 
Caracalla  inflicted  on  the  friends  of  Geta, 
in  which  “it  was  computed  that,  under 
the  vague  appellation  of  the  friends  of 
Geta,  above  twenty  thousand  persons  of 
both  sexes  suffered  death”  (i.  78) ;  then 
of  the  departure  of  Caracalla  from  the 
capital,  and  his  cruelties  in  other  parts 
of  the  empire,  concerning  which  Mr. 
Gibbon  remarks  (i.  78,  79),  that  “  Cara¬ 
calla  was  the  common  enemy  of  man¬ 
kind.  Every  province  was  by  turns  the 
scene  of  his  rapine  and  cruelty.  In  the 
midst  of  peace  and  repose,  upon  the 
slightest  provocation,  he  issued  his  com¬ 
mands  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  for  a 
general  massacre.  From  a  secure  post 
in  the  temple  of  Serapis,  he  viewed  and 
directed  the  slaughter  of  many  thou¬ 
sand  citizens,  as  well  as  strangers,  with¬ 
out  distinguishing  either  the  number  or 
tbe  crime  of  the  sufferers,”  Ac.  Then 
follows  the  account  of  the  assassination 
of  Caracalla  (i.  80) ;  then,  and  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  that,  of  the  civil  war  which 
crushed  Macrinus,  and  raised  Elaga- 
balus  to  the  throne  (i.  83) ;  then  of  the 
life  and  follies  of  that  wretched  volup¬ 
tuary,  and  of  his  massacre  by  the  Pre¬ 
torian  guards  (i.  86),  then,  after  an 
interval  of  thirteen  years,  of  the  murder 
of  his  successor,  the  second  Severus,  on 
the  Rhine  ,•  then  of  the  civil  wars  excited 
against  his  murderer  and  successor, 
Maximin,  in  which  the  two  emperors  of 
a  day,  the  Gordians, — father  and  son — 
perished  in  Africa,  and  Maximin  himself 
and  his  son  in  the  siege  of  Aquileia; 
then  of  the  murder  at  Rome  of  the  two 
joint  emperors  Maximus  and  Balbinus; 
and  quickly  after  that  an  account  of  the 
murder  of  their  successor  in  the  empire, 
the  third  and  youngest  Gordian,  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Aboras  ,•  then  of  the 
slaughter  of  the  next  emperor  Philip, 
together  with  his  son  and  associate  in 
the  empire,  in  the  battle  near  Verona; — 
and  this  state  of  things  may  be  said  to 
have  continued  until  the  accession  of 
Diocletian  to  the  empire,  A.  D.  284. 
See  Bee.  and  Fall,  i.  110-197.  Does  any 
portion  of  the  history  of  the  world 
present  a  similar  period  of  connected 
history  that  would  be  so  striking  a  ful¬ 
filment  of  the  symbols  used  here  of 
“peace  being  taken  from  the  earth,” 
and  “  men  killing  one  another  ?”  In 
regard  to  this  whole  period  it  is  sufE- 


176  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


5  And  when  he  had  opened'  the 
third  seal,  I  heard  the  third  beast 
say,  Come  and  see.  And  I  beheld, 


cient,  after  reading  Mr.  Gibbon’s  ac¬ 
count,  to  ask  two  questions,  (1)  If  it 
were  supposed  that  John  lived  after  this 
period,  and  designed  to  represent  this 
by  an  expressive  symbol,  could  he  have 
found  one  that  would  have  characterized 
it  better  than  this  does  ?  And  (2)  If  it 
should  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Gibbon 
designed  to  write  a  commentary  on  this 
“  seal,”  and  to  show  the  exact  fulfilment 
of  the  symbol,  could  he  have  selected  a 
better  portion  of  history  to  do  it,  or 
could  he  have  better  described  facts  that 
would  be  a  complete  fulfilment?  It  is 
only  necessary  to  observe  further : — 

(c)  That  this  is  a  marked  and  definite 
period.  It  has  such  a  beginning,  and 
such  a  continuance  and  ending,  as  to 
show  that  this  symbol  was  applicable  to 
this  as  a  period  of  the  world.  For  it 
was  not  only  preceded  by  a  state  of 
peace,  as  is  supposed  in  the  symbol,  but 
no  one  can  deny  that  the  condition  of 
things  in  the  empire,  from  Commodus 
onward  through  many  years,  was  such 
as  to  be  appropriately  designated  by 
the  symbol  here  used. 

5,  6.  And  when  he  had  opened  the 
third  seal.  Unfolding  another  portion 
of  the  volume.  See  Notes  on  eh.  v.  1. 
If  1  heard  the  third  beast  say,  Come  and 
see.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  7.  It  is  not 
apparent  why  the  third  beast  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  taking  a  particular  interest  in 
the  opening  of  this  seal  (comp.  Notes  on 
ver.  3),  nor  is  it  necessary  to  show  why 
it  was  so.  The  general  design  seems  to 
have  been,  to  represent  each  one  of  the 
four  living  creatures  as  interested  in  the 
opening  of  the  seals,  but  the  order  in 
which  they  did  this  does  not  seem  to  be 
a  matter  of  importance.  And  I  beheld, 
and  lo,  a  black  horse.  The  specifications 
of  the  symbol  here  are  the  following  : — 

(а)  As  before,  the  horse.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  2. 

(б)  The  color  of  the  horse  : — lo,  a  black 
iorse.  This  would  properly  denote  dis¬ 
tress  and  calamity — for  black  has  been 
regarded  always  as  such  a  symbol.  So 
Virgil  speaks  of fear  as  black :  “  atrum- 
que  timorem.”  An.  ix.  619.  So  again, 
Georg,  iv.  463 : 

Caligantem  nigra  formidina  Iucum.” 


and  lo,  a  black  horse ;  and  he  that 
sat  on  him  had  a  pair  of  balances 
in  his  hand. 


So,  as  applied  to  the  dying  Acca,  Ain. 
xii.  823 : 

“  Tenebris  ni^rescunt  omnia  circum.” 

Black,  in  the  Scriptures,  is  the  image  of 
fear,  of  famine,  of  death.  Lam.  v.  10  : 
“  Our  skin  was  black  like  an  oven,  be¬ 
cause  of  the  terrible  famine.”  Jer.  xiv.2: 
“  Because  of  the  drought  Judah  mourn- 
eth,  and  the  gates  thereof  languish  :  they 
are  in  deep  mourning  [lit.  black]  for  the 
land.”  Joel  ii.  6:  “All  faces  shall 
gather  blackness.”  Neh.  ii.  10:  “The 
knees  smite  together,  and  there  is  great 
pain  in  all  loins,  and  the  faces  of  them 
all  gather  blackness.”  Comp.  Rev.  vi. 
12 ;  Ezek.  xxxii.  7.  See  also  Bochart, 
Hieroz.  P.  I.  lib.  ii.  c.  vii.  pp.  106,  107. 
From  the  color  of  the  horse  here  intro¬ 
duced,  we  should  naturally  look  for 
some  dire  calamity,  though  the  nature 
of  the  calamity  would  not  be  designated 
by  the  mere  use  of  the  word  black. 
What  the  calamity  was  to  be,  must  be 
determined  by  what  follows  in  the  sym¬ 
bol.  Famine,  pestilence,  oppression, 
heavy  taxation,  tyranny,  invasion — any 
of  these  might  be  denoted  by  the  color 
of  the  horse. 

(c)  The  balances  : — and  he  that  sat  on 
him  had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand. 
The  original  word,  here  rendered  a  pair 
of  balances,  is  £uySv.  This  word  pro¬ 
perly  means  a  yoke,  serving  to  couple 
any  thing  together,  as  a  yoke  for  cattle. 
Hence  it  is  used  to  denote  the  beam  of  a 
balance,  or  of  a  pair  of  scales  —  and  is 
evidently  so  used  here.  The  idea  is  that 
something  was  to  be  weighed,  in  order 
to  ascertain  either  its  quantity  or  its 
value.  Scales  or  balances  are  the  em¬ 
blems  of  justice  or  equity  (comp.  Job 
xxxi.  6  ;  Ps.  lxii.  9 ;  Prov.  xi.  1,  xvi.  11), 
and  when  joined  with  symbols  that  de¬ 
note  the  sale  of  corn  and  fruit  by 
weight,  become  the  symbol  of  scarcity. 
Thus  “bread  by  weight”  (Lev.  xxvi.  26) 
denotes  scarcity.  So  in  Ezek.  iv.  16, 
“  And  they  shall  eat  bread  by  weight.” 
The  use  of  balances  here  as  a  symbol 
would  signify  that  something  was  to  be 
accurately  and  carefully  weighed  out. 
The  connexion  leads  us  to  suppose  that 
this  would  appertain  to  the  necessaries 


CHAPTER  VI. 


177 


A.  D.  96.] 


6  And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the 
midst  of  the  four  beasts  say,  °  A 

a  The  word  chccnix  signifieth  a  measure 
containing  one  wine  quart,  and  the  twelfth 
part  of  a  quart. 


of  life,  and  that  it  would  occur  either  in 
consequence  of  scarcity,  or  because  there 
would  be  an  accurate  or  severe  exaction, 
as  in  collecting  a  revenue  on  these 
articles.  The  balance  was  commonly 
the  symbol  of  equity  and  justice ;  but  it 
was,  also,  sometimes,  the  symbol  of 
exaction  and  oppression,  as  in  Hos.  xii. 
7 :  “  The  balance  of  deceit  is  in  his 
hands;  he  loveth  to  oppress.”  If  the 
balances  stood  alone,  and  there  were  no 
proclamation  as  to  what  was  to  occur,  we 
should  look,  under  this  seal,  to  a  time 
of  the  exact  administration  of  justice,  as 
scales  or  balances  are  now  used  as  em¬ 
blems  of  the  rigid  application  of  the  laws 
and  of  the  principles  of  justice  in  courts, 
or  in  public  affairs.  If  this  representa¬ 
tion  stood  alone  —  or  if  the  black  horse 
and  the  scales  constituted  the  whole 
of  the  symbol,  we  should  look  for 
some  severe  administration,  or  perhaps 
some  heavy  calamity  under  a  rigorous 
administration  of  laws.  The  reference, 
however,  to  the  “  wheat  and  barley,” 
and  to  the  price  for  which  they  were  to 
be  weighed  out,  serves  still  further  to 
limit  and  define  the  meaning  of  the 
symbol  as  having  reference  to  the  neces¬ 
saries  of  life  —  to  the  productions  of 
the  land  —  to  the  actual  capital  of  the 
country.  Whether  this  refers  to  scarcity, 
or  to  taxation,  or  both,  must  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  the  other  parts  of  the  symbol. 

( d )  The  proclamation  : — And  I  heard 
a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four  beasts  say. 
That  is,  from  the  throne,  ch.  iv.  6.  The 
voice  was  not  that  of  one  of  the  four 
beasts,  but  it  seemed  to  come  from 
among  them.  As  the  rider  went  forth, 
this  was  the  proclamation  that  was  made 
in  regard  to  him ;  or  this  is  that  which 
is  symbolized  in  his  going  forth,  to  wit, 
that  there  would  be  such  a  state  of 
things  that  a  measure  of  wheat  would 
be  sold  for  a  penny,  &c.  The  procla¬ 
mation  consists  essentially  of  two  things 
— that  which  refers  to  the  price  or  value 
of  wheat  and  barley;  and  that  which 
requires  that  care  shall  be  taken  not  to 
injure  the  oil  and  the  wine.  Each  of 
these  demands  explanation,  A  mea¬ 


measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny,  and 
three  measures  of  barley  for  a 
penny  ;  and  see  thou  b  hurt  not  the 
oil  and  the  wine. 

Jc.9,4. 


sure  of  wheat  for  a  fenny.  See  the 
margin.  The  word  rendered  measure — 
— chcenix,  denotes  an  attic  mea¬ 
sure  for  grain  and  things  dry,  equal  to 
the  forty-eighth  part  of  the  attic  me- 
dimnus,  or  the  eighth  part  of  the 
Roman  modius,  and  consequently  was 
nearly  equivalent  to  one  quart  English. 
Rob.  Lex.  The  word  rendered  penny — 
Srjvaptov — Lat.  denarius ,  was  of  the  same 
value  as  the  Greek  Spa^ph —  drachme, 
and  was  equivalent  to  about  fourteen 
cents  of  our  money.  This  was  the 
usual  price  of  a  day’s  labor,  Matt.  xx. 
2,  9.  The  choenix,  or  measure  of  grain 
here  referred  to,  was  the  ordinary  daily 
allowance  for  one  man.  Odyss.  xix. 
27,  28.  See  Stuart,  in  loc.  The  com¬ 
mon  price  of  the  attic  medimnus  of 
wheat  was  five  or  six  denarii,  but  here, 
as  that  contained  forty-eight  choenixes, 
or  quarts,  the  price  would  be  augmented 
to  forty-eight  denarii  —  or  it  would  be 
about  eight  times  as  dear  as  ordinary; 
that  is,  there  would  be  a  scarcity  or 
famine.  The  price  of  a  bushel  of  wheat 
at  this  rate  would  be  about  four  dollars 
and  a  half  of  our  money — a  price  which 
would  indicate  great  scarcity,  and  which 
would  give  rise  to  much  distress.  And 
three  measures  of  barley  for  a  penny. 
It  would  seem  from  this  that  barley 
usually  bore  about  one-third  the  price 
of  wheat.  It  was  a  less  valuable  grain, 
and  perhaps  was  produced  in  greater 
abundance.  This  is  not  far  from  the 
proportion  which  the  price  of  this  grain 
usually  bears  to  that  of  wheat,  and  here, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  wheat,  the  thing 
which  would  be  indicated  would  be 
scarcity.  This  proclamation  of  “  a  mea¬ 
sure  of  wheat  for  a  penny”  was  heard 
either  as  addressed  to  the  horseman,  as 
a  rule  of  action  for  him,  or  as  addressed 
by  the  horseman  as  he  wont  forth.  If 
the  former  is  the  meaning,  it  would  be 
an  appropriate  address  to  one  who  was 
going  forth  to  collect  tribute  —  with  re¬ 
ference  to  the  exact  manner  in  which 
this  tribute  was  to  be  collected,  implying 
some  sort  of  severity  of  exaction ;  or  to 
one  who  should  distribute  wheat  and 


178 


REVELATION, 


barley  out  of  the  public  granaries  at 
an  advanced  price,  indicating  scarcity. 
Thus  it  would  mean  that  a  severe  and 
heavy  tax  —  represented  by  the  scales 
and  the  scarcity  —  or  a  tax  so  severe  as 
to  make  grain  dear,  was  referred  to.  If 
the  latter  is  the  meaning,  then  the  idea 
is  that  there  would  be  a  scarcity,  and 
that  grain  would  be  dealt  out  by  the 
government  at  a  high  and  oppressive 
price.  The  latter  idea  would  be  as  con¬ 
sonant  with  the  symbol  of  the  scales  and 
the  price  mentioned  as  the  other,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  additional  injunction  not 
to  “  hurt  the  oil  and  the  wine” — which 
cannot  be  well  applied  to  the  idea  of 
dealing  out  grain  at  a  high  price.  It 
can,  however,  be  connected,  by  a  fair 
interpretation  of  that  passage,  with  such 
a  severity  of  taxation  that  there  would 
be  a  propriety  in  such  a  command — for, 
as  we  shall  see,  under  the  explanation  of 
that  phrase,  such  a  law  was  actually 
promulgated  as  resulting  from  severity 
of  taxation.  The  idea,  then,  in  the  pas¬ 
sage  before  us  would  seem  to  be,  (a)  that 
there  would  be  a  rigid  administration  of 
the  law  in  regard  to  the  matter  under 
consideration  —  that  pertaining  to  the 
productions  of  the  earth  —  represented 
by  the  balances ;  and  (6)  that  that  would 
be  connected  with  general  scarcity,  or 
such  an  exercise  of  this  power  as  to 
determine  the  price  of  grain,  so  that  the 
price  would  be  some  three  times  greater 
than  ordinary.  And  see  that  thou  hurt 
not  the  oil  and  the  wine.  There  has 
been  a  great  variety  of  interpretations 
proposed  of  this  passage,  and  it  is  by 
no  means  easy  to  determine  the  true 
sense.  The  first  inquiry  in  regard  to  it 
is,  to  whom  is  it  addressed?  Perhaps 
the  most  common  impression  on  reading 
it  would  be,  that  it  is  addressed  to  the 
horseman  with  the  balances,  command¬ 
ing  him  not  to  injure  the  oliveyards 
and  the  vineyards.  But  this  is  not 
probably  the  correct  view.  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  horseman  goes  forth  to 
destroy  any  thing,  or  that  the  effect  of 
his  going  forth  is  directly  to  injure  any 
thing.  This,  therefore,  should  not  be 
understood  as  addressed  to  the  horse¬ 
man,  but  should  be  regarded  as  a 
general  command  to  any  and  all  not  to 
injure  the  oliveyards  and  vineyards; 
that  is,  an  order  that  nothing  should  be 
done  essentially  to  injure  them.  If  thus 
regarded  as  addressed  to  others,  a  fair 


[A.  D.  96. 

and  congruous  meaning  would  be  fur¬ 
nished  by  either  of  the  following  inter¬ 
pretations  :  —  either  (a)  considered  as 
addressed  to  those  who  were  disposed  to 
be  prodigal  in  their  manner  of  living, 
or  careless  as  to  the  destruction  of 
the  crop  of  the  oil  and  wine,  as  they 
would  now  be  needed;  or  (£>)  as  ad¬ 
dressed  to  those  who  raised  such  pro¬ 
ductions,  on  the  supposition  that  they 
would  be  taxed  heavily,  or  that  large 
quantities  of  these  productions  would  be 
extorted  for  revenue,  that  they  should 
not  mutilate  their  fruit-trees  in  order 
to  evade  the  taxes  imposed  by  the 
government.  In  regard  to  the  things 
specified  here — oil  and  wine — it  may  be 
remarked,  that  they  were  hardly  con¬ 
sidered  as  articles  of  luxury  in  ancient 
times.  They  were  almost  as  necessary 
articles  as  wheat  and  barley.  They  con¬ 
stituted  a  considerable  part  of  the  food 
and  drink  of  the  people,  as  well  as 
furnished  a  large  portion  of  the  re¬ 
venue,  and  it  would  seem  to  be  with 
reference  to  that  fact  that  the  command, 
here  is  given  that  they  should  not  be 
injured;  that  is,  that  nothing  should  be 
done  to  diminish  the  quantity  of  oil  and 
wine,  or  to  impair  the  productive  power 
of  oliveyards  and  vineyards.  The  state 
of  things  thus  described  by  this  seal,  as 
thus  interpreted,  would  be  (a)  a  rigid 
administration  of  the  laws  of  the  em¬ 
pire,  particularly  in  reference  to  tax¬ 
ation,  producing  a  scarcity  among  the 
necessary  articles  of  living ;  (6)  a  strong 
tendency,  from  the  severity  of  the  tax¬ 
ation,  to  mutilate  such  kinds  of  property, 
with  a  view  either  of  concealing  the  real 
amount  of  property,  or  of  diminishing 
the  amount  of  taxes ;  and  (c)  a  solemn 
command  from  some  authoritative  quar¬ 
ter  not  to  do  this.  A  command  from  the 
ruling  power  not  to  do  this,  would  meet 
all  that  would  be  fairly  demanded  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  passage;  and  what 
is  necessary  in  its  application,  is  to  find 
such  a  state  of  things  as  would  cor¬ 
respond  with  these  predictions ;  that  is, 
such  as  a  writer  would  have  described 
by  such  symbols  on  the  supposition  that 
they  were  referred  to. 

Now,  it  so  happens,  that  there  were 
important  events  which  occurred  in  the 
Roman  empire,  and  connected  with  its 
decline  and  fall,  of  sufficient  importance 
to  be  noticed  in  a  series  of  calamitous 
events,  which  corresponded  with  the 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 


179 


symbol  here,  as  above  explained.  They 
were  such  as  these: — (a)  The  general 
severity  of  taxation,  or  the  oppressive 
burdens  laid  on  the  people  by  the  empe¬ 
rors.  In  the  account  which  Mr.  Gibbon 
gives  of  the  operation  of  the  Indic¬ 
tions,  and  Super  indict  ions,  though  the 
specific  laws  on  this  subject  pertained 
to  a  subsequent  period,  the  general 
nature  of  the  taxation  of  the  empire 
and  its  oppressive  character  may  be 
seen.  Dec.  and  Fall,  i.  357-359.  A 
general  estimate  of  the  amount  of  re¬ 
venue  to  be  exacted  was  made  out,  and 
the  collecting  of  this  was  committed  to 
the  Preterian  prsefects,  and  to  a  great 
number  of  subordinate  officers.  “  The 
lands  were  measured  by  surveyors  who 
were  sent  into  the  provinces ;  their 
nature,  whether  arable,  or  pasture,  or 
woods,  was  distinctly  reported ;  and  an 
estimate  made  of  their  common  value, 
from  the  average  produce  of  five  years. 
The  number  of  slaves  and  of  cattle  con¬ 
stituted  an  essential  part  of  the  report; 
an  oath  was  administered  to  the  pro¬ 
prietors  which  bound  them  to  disclose 
the  true  state  of  their  affairs ;  and  their 
attempts  to  prevaricate  or  elude  the 
intention  of  the  legislator,  were  severely 
watched,  and  punished  as  a  capital 
crime,  which  included  the  double  guilt 
of  treason  and  of  sacrilege.  According 
to  the  different  nature  of  lands,  their 
real  produce  in  the  various  articles  of 
wine  or  oil,  com  or  barley,  wood  or  iron, 
was  transported  by  the  labor  or  at  the 
expense  of  the  provincials  to  the  impe¬ 
rial  magazines,  from  whence  they  were 
occasionally  distributed  for  the  use  of 
the  court,  or  of  the  army,  and  of  the 
two  capitals,  Rome  and  Constantinople,” 
L  p.  358.  Comp.  Lactant.  de  Mort. 
Persecut.  c.  23.  (b)  The  particular  order, 
under  this  oppressive  system  of  taxation, 
respecting  the  preservation  of  vineyards 
and  oliveyards,  may  be  referred  to,  also, 
as  corresponding  to  the  command  sent 
forth  under  this  rider,  not  to  “  hurt  the 
oil  and  the  wine.”  That  order  was  in 
the  following  words  :  “  If  any  one  shall 
sacrilegiously  cut  a  vine,  or  stint  the 
fruit  of  prolific  boughs,  and  craftily  feign 
poverty  in  order  to  avoid  a  fair  assess¬ 
ment,  he  shall  immediately  on  detection 
suffer  death,  and  his  property  bo  con¬ 
fiscated.”  Cod.  Theod.  1.  xiii.  lib.  xi. 
seq. ;  Gibbon,  i.  358,  note.  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon  remarks,  “Although  this  law  is 


not  without  its  studied  obscurity,  it 
is,  however,  clear  enough  to  prove  the 
minuteness  of  the  inquisition  and  the 
disproportion  of  the  penalty.”  (e)  Un¬ 
der  this  general  subject  of  the  severity 
of  taxation  —  as  a  fact  far-spreading 
and  oppressive,  and  as  so  important 
as  to  hasten  the  downfall  of  the  em¬ 
pire,  may  be  noticed  a  distinct  edict 
of  Caracalla  as  occurring  more  directly 
in  the  period  in  which  the  rider  with 
the  balances  may  be  supposed  to  have 
gone  forth.  This  is  stated  by  Mr. 
Gibbon  (i.  91),  as  one  of  the  important 
causes  which  contributed  to  the  down¬ 
fall  of  the  empire  :  “  The  personal  cha¬ 
racters  of  the  emperors,  their  victories, 
laws,  and  fortunes,”  says  he,  “  can  in¬ 
terest  us  no  farther  than  they  are  con¬ 
nected  with  the  general  history  of  the 
Decline  and  Fall  of  the  monarchy.  Our 
constant  attention  to  that  object  will  not 
suffer  us  to  overlook  a  most  important 
edict  of  Antoninus  Caracalla,  which  com¬ 
municated  to  all  the  free  inhabitants  of 
the  empire,  the  name  and  privileges  of 
Roman  citizens.  His  unbounded  libe¬ 
rality  flowed  not,  however,  from  the 
sentiments  of  a  generous  mind;  it  was 
the  sordid  result  of  avarice,”  &c.  He 
then  proceeds,  at  length,  to  state  the 
nature  and  operations  of  that  law,  by 
which  a  heavy  tax,  under  the  pretence 
of  liberality,  was  in  fact  imposed  on  all 
the  citizens  of  the  empire — a  fact  which, 
in  its  ultimate  results,  the  historian  of 
the  Decline  and  Fall  regards  as  so 
closely  connected  with  the  termination 
of  the  empire.  See  Gibbon,  i.  pp.  91-95. 
After  noticing  the  laws  of  Augustus, 
Nero,  and  the  Antonines,  and  the  real 
privileges  conferred  by  them  on  those 
who  became  entitled  to  the  rank  of 
Roman  citizens — privileges  which  were 
a  compensation  in  the  honor,  dignity, 
and  offices  of  that  rank  for  the  measure 
of  taxation  which  it  involved,  he  pro¬ 
ceeds  to  notice  the  fact  that  the  title  of 
“  Roman  citizen"  was  conferred  by 
Caracalla  on  all  the  free  citizens  of  the 
empire,  involving  the  subjection  to  all 
the  heavy  taxes  usually  imposed  on 
those  who  sustained  the  rank  expressed 
by  the  title,  but  with  nothing  of  the 
compensation  connected  with  the  title 
when  it  was  confined  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Italy.  “But  the  favor,”  says  he, 
“  which  implied  a  distinction,  was  lost 
in  the  prodigality  of  Caracalla,  and  the 


180  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


reluctant  provincials  were  compelled  to 
assume  the  vain  title,  and  the  real  obli¬ 
gations,  of  Roman  citizens.  Nor  was 
the  rapacious  son  of  Severus  [Caracalla] 
contented  with  such  a  measure  of  tax¬ 
ation  as  had  appeared  sufficient  to  his 
moderate  predecessors.  Instead  of  a 
twentieth,  he  exacted  a  tenth  of  all 
legacies  and  inheritances ;  and  during 
his  reign  he  crushed  alike  every  part  of 
the  empire  under  the  weight  of  his  iron 
sceptre,”  i.  95.  So  again  (ibid.),  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  taxes  which  had  been  light¬ 
ened  somewhat  by  Alexander,  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon  remarks,  “  It  is  impossible  to 
conjecture  the  motive  that  engaged  him 
to  spare  so  trifling  a  remnant  of  the 
soil;  but  the  noxious  weed,  which  had 
not  been  totally  eradicated,  again  sprung 
up  with  the  most  luxuriant  growth,  and 
in  the  succeeding  age  darkened  the  Ro¬ 
man  world  with  its  deadly  shade.  In 
the  course  of  this  history,  we  shall  be  too 
often  summoned  to  explain  the  land-tax, 
the  capitation,  and  the  heavy  contribu¬ 
tions  of  corn,  wine,  oil,  and  meat,  which 
were  exacted  of  the  province  for  the 
use  of  the  court,  the  army,  and  the 
capital.”  In  reference  to  this  ,  whole 
matter  of  taxation  as  being  one  of 
the  things  which  contributed  to  the 
downfall  of  the  empire,  and  which 
spread  woe  through  the  falling  empire — 
a  woe  worthy  to  be  illustrated  by  one  of 
the  seals  —  a  confirmation  may  be  de¬ 
rived  from  the  reign  of  Galerius,  who,  as 
Caesar,  acted  under  the  authority  of  Dio¬ 
cletian;  who  excited  Diocletian  to  the 
work  of  persecution  (Dec.  and  Fall,  i. 
317,  318) ;  and  who,  on  the  abdication 
of  Diocletian,  assumed  the  title  of 
Augustus.  Dec.  and  Fall,  i.  222.  Of 
his  administration  in  general,  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon  (i.  226)  remarks:  “  About  that  time, 
the  avarice  of  Galerius,  or  perhaps  the 
exigences  of  the  state,  had  induced  him 
to  make  a  very  strict  and  rigorous  in¬ 
quisition  into  the  property  of  his  sub¬ 
jects  for  the  purpose  of  a  general  tax¬ 
ation,  both  on  their  lands  and  on  their 
persons.  A  very  minute  survey  appears 
to  have  been  taken  of  their  real  estates ; 
and  wherever  there  was  the  slightest 
concealment,  torture  was  very  freely 
employed  to  obtain  a  sincere  declaration 
of  their  real  wealth.”  Of  the  nature  of 
this  exaction  under  Galerius ;  of  the 
cruelty  with  which  the  measure  was 
prosecuted  —  particularly  in  its  bearing 


on  Christians,  towards  whom  Galerius 
cherished  a  mortal  enmity  (Dec.  and 
Fall.  i.  317);  and  of  the  extent  and 
severity  of  the  suffering  among  Chris¬ 
tians  and  others,  caused  by  it,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  account  of  Lactantius  (De  Mort. 
Persecut.  c.  23)  will  furnish  a  pain¬ 
ful  but  most  appropriate  illustration 
“  Swarms  of  exactors  sent  into  the  pro¬ 
vinces  and  cities  filled  them  with  agita¬ 
tion  and  terror,  as  though  a  conquering 
enemy  were  leading  them  into  captivity. 
The  fields  were  separately  measured, 
the  trees  and  vines,  the  flocks  and 
herds  numbered,  and  an  examination 
made  of  the  men.  In  the  cities  the  cul¬ 
tivated  and  rude  were  united  as  of  the 
same  rank.  The  streets  were  crowded 
with  groups  of  families,  and  every  one 
required  to  appear  with  his  children  and 
slaves.  Tortures  and  lashes  resounded 
on  every  side.  Sons  were  gibbeted  in 
the  presence  of  their  parents,  and  the 
most  confidential  servants  harassed  that 
they  might  make  disclosures  against 
their  masters,  and  wives  that  they  might 
testify  unfavorably  of  their  husbands. 
If  there  were  a  total  destitution  of  pro¬ 
perty,  they  were  still  tortured  to  make 
acknowledgments  against  themselves, 
and,  when  overcome  by  pain,  inscribed 
for  what  they  did  not  possess.  Neither 
age  nor  ill-health  was  admitted  as  an 
excuse  for  not  appearing.  The  sick  and 
weak  were  borne  to  the  place  of  inscrip¬ 
tion,  a  reckoning  made  of  the  age  of 
each,  and  years  added  to  the  young  and 
deducted  from  the  old,  in  order  to 
subject  them  to  a  higher  taxation  than 
the  law  imposed.  The  whole  scene  was 
filled  with  wailing  and  sadness.  In  the 
mean  time  individuals  died,  and  the 
herds  and  the  flocks  diminished,  yet 
tribute  was  none  the  less  required  to  be 
paid  for  the  dead,  so  that  it  was  no 
longer  allowed  either  to  live  or  die  with¬ 
out  a  tax.  Mendicants  alone  escaped, 
where  nothing  could  be  wrenched,  and 
whom  misfortune  and  misery  had  made 
incapable  of  farther  oppression.  These 
the  impious  wretch  affecting  to  pity,  that 
they  might  not  suffer  want,  ordered  to 
be  assembled,  borne  off  in  vessels,  and 
plunged  into  the  sea.”  See  Lord  on  the 
Apoc.  pp.  128,  129.  These  facts  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  severity  of  taxation,  and  the 
rigid  nature  of  the  law  enforcing  it;  to 
the  sources  of  the  revenue  exacted  in 
the  provinces,  and  to  tho  care  that  none 


CHAPTER  VI 


181 


A.  D.  96.] 


7  And  when  he  had  opened  the 
fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice  of  the 
fourth  beast  say,  Come  and  see. 


of  those  sources  should  be  diminished ; 
and  to  the  actual  and  undoubted  bearing 
of  all  this  on  the  decline  and  fall  of  the 
empire,  are  so  strikingly  applicable  to 
the  symbol  here  employed,  that  if  it  be 
supposed  that  it  was  intended  to  refer 
to  them,  no  more  natural  or  expressive 
symbol  could  have  been  used ;  if  it  were 
supposed  that  the  historian  meant  to 
make  a  record  of  the  fulfilment,  he 
could  not  well  have  made  a  search  which 
would  more  strikingly  accord  with  the 
symbol.  Were  we  now  to  represent 
these  things  by  a  symbol,  we  could 
scarcely  find  one  that  would  be  more 
expressive  than  that  of  a  rider  on 
a  black  horse  with  a  pair  of  scales,  sent 
forth  under  a  proclamation  which  indi¬ 
cated  that  there  would  be  a  most  rigid 
and  exact  administration  of  severe  and 
oppressive  laws,  and  with  a  special 
command,  addressed  to  the  people,  not 
for  the  purposes  of  concealment,  or  from 
opposition  to  the  government,  to  injure 
the  sources  of  revenue.  It  may  serve 
further  to  illustrate  this,  to  copy  one  of 
the  usual  emblems  of  a  Roman  pro¬ 
curator  or  quastor.  It  is  taken  from 
Spanheim,  De  Usu  Num.  Diss.  vi.  545. 
See  Eliott,  i.  169.  It  has  a  balance  as 
a  symbol  of  exactness  or  justice,  and  an 
ear  of  grain,  as  a  symbol  employed  with 
reference  to  procuring  or  exacting  grain 
from  the  provinces. 


7.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  fourth 
teal.  See  Notes  ch.  v.  1.  1  heard 

the.  fourth  beast  say.  The  flying  eagle. 
Notes  ch.  iv.  7.  As  in  the  other  cases, 
there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any 
particular  reason  why  the  fourth  of  the 
living  creatures  should  have  made  this 
16 


8  And  I  looked,  and  behold  a 
pale  horse ;  and  his  name  that  sat 
on  him  was  Death,  and  hell  fol- 


proclamation  rather  than  either  of  the 
others.  It  was  poetic  and  appropriate 
to  represent  each  one  in  his  turn  as 
making  proclamation.  Come  and  see. 
See  Notes  ver.  1. 

8.  And  I  looked  and  behold  a  pale 
horse — hriros  %\wp6s.  On  the  horse,  as  an 
emblem,  see  Notes  on  ver.  2.  The 
peculiarity  of  this  emblem  consists  in 
the  color  of  the  horse;  the  rider;  and 
the  power  that  was  given  unto  him.  In 
these  there  is  entire  harmony,  and  there 
can  be  comparatively  little  difficulty  in 
the  explanation  and  application.  The 
color  of  the  horse  was  pale  — 

This  word  properly  means  pale-green, 
yellowish-green,  like  the  color  of  the 
first  shoots  of  grass  and  herbage;  then 
green,  verdant,  like  young  herbage, 
Mark  vi.  39;  Rev.  viii.  7,  ix.  4;  and 
then  pale,  yellowish.  Bob.  Lex.  The 
color  here  would  be  an  appropriate  one 
to  denote  the  reign  of  Death — as  one  of 
the  most  striking  effects  of  death  is 
paleness — and,  of  course,  of  death  pro¬ 
duced  by  any  cause,  famine,  pestilence, 
or  the  sword.  From  this  portion  of  the 
symbol,  if  it  stood  with  nothing  to  limit 
and  define  it,  we  should  naturally  look 
for  some  condition  of  things  in  which 
death  would  prevail  in  a  remarkable 
manner,  or  in  which  multitudes  of  human 
beings  would  be  swept  away.  And  yet, 
perhaps,  from  the  very  nature  of  this 
part  of  the  symbol,  we  should  look  for 
the  prevalence  of  death  in  some  such 
peaceful  manner  as  by  famine  or  dis¬ 
ease.  The  red  color  would  moro  natu¬ 
rally  denote  the  ravages  of  death  in  war; 
the  black,  the  ravages  of  death  by  sud¬ 
den  calamity;  the  pale  would  more 
obviously  suggest  famine  or  wasting 
disease,  And  his  name  that  sat  on 
him  was  Death.  No  description  is  given 
of  his  aspect;  nor  does  he  appear  with 
any  emblem  —  as  sword,  or  spear,  or 
bow.  There  is  evident  scope  for  the 
tancy  to  picture  to  itself  the  form  of 
the  Destroyer;  and  there  is  just  that 
kind  of  obscurity  about  it  which  con¬ 
tributes  to  sublimity.  Accordingly  there 
has  been  ample  room  for  the  exercise  of 
the  imagination  in  the  attempts  to  paint 
“  Death  on  the  pale  horse,”  and  the 


182 


REVELATION, 


& 


[A.  D.  96, 


lowed  with  him:  And  power  was 
given  unto  °  them  over  the  fourth 
part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  b  with 
a  Or,  to  him.  b  Eze.  14.  21. 


opening  of  this  seal  has  furnished  occa¬ 
sion  for  some  of  the  greatest  triumphs 
of  the  pencil.  The  simple  idea  in  this 
portion  of  the  symbol  is,  that  Death 
would  reign  or  prevail  under  the  opening 
of  this  seal  —  whether  by  sword,  by 
famine,  or  by  pestilence,  is  to  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  other  descriptions  in  the  sym¬ 
bol.  And  hell  followed  with  him. 
Attended  him  as  he  went  forth.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  rendered 
hell — aios — hades.  See  Notes  on  Luke 
xvi.  23;  comp.  Notes  on  Job  x.  21,  22; 
Isa.  xiv.  9.  It  is  here  used  to  denote 
the  abode  of  the  dead,  considered  as  a 
place  where  they  dwell,  and  not  in  the 
more  restricted  sense  in  which  the  word 
is  now  commonly  used  as  a  place  of 
punishment.  The  idea  is,  that  the  dead 
would  be  so  numerous  at  the  going  forth 
of  this  horseman,  that  it  would  seem  as 
if  the  pale  nations  of  the  dead  had 
come  again  upon  the  earth.  A  vast 
retinue  of  the  dead  would  accompany 
him ;  that  is,  it  would  be  a  time  when 
death  would  prevail  on  the  earth,  or 
when  multitudes  would  die.  And 
•power  was  given  unto  them.  Marg.  to  him. 
The  common  Greek  text  is  avroig  —  to 
them.  There  are  many  MSS.,  however, 
which  read  avrZ  —  to  him.  So  Prof. 
Stuart  reads  it.  The  authority,  how¬ 
ever,  is  in  favor  of  them  as  the  reading, 
and  according  to  this,  death  and  his 
train  are  regarded  as  grouped  together, 
and  the  power  is  considered  as  given  to 
them  collectively.  The  sense  is  not 
materially  varied.  Over  the  fourth 
part  of  the  earth.  That  is,  of  the  Ro¬ 
man  world.  It  is  not  absolutely  neces¬ 
sary  to  understand  this  as  extending 
over  precisely  a  fourth  part  of  the  world. 
Comp.  Rev.  viii.  7,  8,  9, 10, 12,  ix.  15,  el 
al.  Undoubtedly  we  are  to  look  in  the 
fulfilment  of  this  to  some  far-spread 
calamity;  to  some  severe  visitations 
which  would  sweep  off  great  multitudes 
of  men.  The  nature  of  that  visitation 
is  designated  in  the  following  specifi¬ 
cations.  To  kill  with  sword.  In  Avar 
and  discord  —  and  we  are,  therefore,  to 
look  to  a  period  of  war.  ^  And  with 
hunger.  With  famine  —  one  of  the  ac- 


sword,  and  with  hunger,  and  with 
death,  and  with  the  beasts  of  the 
earth. 


companiments  of  war  —  where  armies 
ravage  a  nation,  trampling  down  the 
crops  of  grain  ;  consuming  the  provisions 
laid  up ;  employing  in  war,  or  cutting 
off  the  men  who  would  be  occupied  in 
cultivating  the  ground ;  making  it  neces¬ 
sary  that  they  should  take  the  field  at  a 
time  when  the  grain  should  be  sown  or 
the  harvests  collected ;  and  shutting  up 
the  people  in  besieged  cities  to  perish  by 
hunger.  Famine  has  been  not  an  un¬ 
frequent  accompaniment  of  war;  and 
we  are  to  look  for  the  fulfilment  of  this 
in  its  extensive  prevalence.  And  with 
death.  Each  of  the  other  forms — “  with 
the  sword  andwith  hunger/’ — implythat 
death  would  reign ;  for  it  is  said  that 
“  power  was  given  to  kill  with  sword  and 
with  hunger.  This  word  then  must  refer 
to  death  in  some  other  form  —  to  death 
that  seemed  to  reign  without  any  such 
visible  cause  as  the  “sword”  and  “hun¬ 
ger.”  This  would  well  denote  the  pesti¬ 
lence  —  not  an  unfrequent  accompani¬ 
ment  of  war.  For  nothing  is  better  fitted 
to  produce  this  than  the  unburied  bodies 
of  the  slain ;  the  filth  of  a  camp ;  the 
want  of  food ;  and  the  crowding  together 
of  multitudes  in  a  besieged  city : — and, 
accordingly,  the  pestilence,  especially  in 
Oriental  countries,  has  been  often  closely 
connected  with  war.  That  the  pestilence 
is  referred  to  here,  is  rendered  more 
certain  by  the  fact  that  the  Hebrew  word 

“D"l — pestilence  —  which  occurs  about 

fifty  times  in  the  Old  Testament,  is  ren¬ 
dered  Savarog  —  death,  more  than  thirty 
times  in  the  Septuagint.  And  with 
the  beasts  of  the  earth.  With  wild 
beasts.  This,  too,  would  be  one  of  the 
consequences  of  Avar,  famine,  and  pesti¬ 
lence.  Lands  would  be  depopulated, 
and  wild  beasts  Avould  be  multiplied. 
Nothing  more  is  necessary  to  make 
them  formidable  than  a  prevalence  of 
these  things ;  and  nothing,  in  the  early 
stages  of  society,  or  in  countries  ravaged 
by  Avar,  famine,  and  the  pestilence,  is 
more  formidable.  Homer,  at  the  very 
beginning  of  his  Iliad,  presents  us  with 
a  representation  similar  to  this.  Comp. 
Ezek.  xiv.  21 :  “  I  send  my  sore  four  judg- 


CHAPTER  VI. 


183 


A.  D.  96.] 

merits  upon  Jerusalem,  the  sword,  and 
the  famine,  and  the  noisome  beast,  and 

the  pestilence”  —  lin —  Sept.,  as  here, 

Zavarov.  See  also  2  Kings  xvii.  26. 

In  regard  to  the  fulfilment  of  this, 
there  can  be  little  difficulty,  if  the  prin¬ 
ciples  adopted  in  the  interpretation  of 
the  first  three  seals  are  correct.  We 
may  turn  to  Gibbon,  and  as  in  the  other 
cases,  we  shall  find  that  he  has  been  an 
unconscious  witness  of  the  fidelity  of  the 
representation  in  this  seal.  Two  general 
remarks  may  be  made  before  there  is  an 
attempt  to  illustrate  the  particular  things 
in  the  symbol,  (a)  The  first  relates  to  the 
place  in  the  order  of  time,  or  in  history, 
which  this  seal  occupies.  If  the  three 
former  seals  have  been  located  with  any 
degree  of  accuracy,  we  should  expect 
that  this  would  follow,  not  very  re¬ 
motely,  the  severe  laws  pertaining  to 
taxation,  which,  according  to  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon,  contributed  so  essentially  to  the 
downfall  of  the  empire.  And  if  it  be 
admitted  to  be  probable  that  the  fifth 
seal  refers  to  a  time  of  persecution,  it 
would  be  most  natural  to  fix  this  period 
between  those  times  and  the  times  of 
Diocletian,  when  the  persecutions  ceased. 
I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  was 
led  to  fix  on  this  period  without  having 
any  definite  view  beforehand  of  what 
occurred  in  it,  and  was  surprised  to 
find  in  Mr.  Gibbon  what  seems  to  be 
so  accurate  a  correspondence  with  the 
symbol.  (6)  The  second  remark  is, 
that  the  general  characteristics  of  this 
period,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Gibbon,  agree 
remarkably  with  what  we  should  ex¬ 
pect  of  the  period  from  the  symbol. 
Thus  speaking  of  this  whole  period 
(A.  D.  243-268),  embracing  the  reigns 
of  Decius,  Gallus,  iEmilianus,  Valerian, 
and  Gallienus,  he  says,  “From  the  great 
secular  games  celebrated  by  Philip  to 
the  death  of  the  emperor  Gallienus, 
there  elapsed  twenty  years  of  shame 
and  misfortune.  During  this  calamitous 
period,  every  instant  of  time  was  marked, 
every  province  of  the  Roman  world  was 
afflicted  by  barbarous  invaders  and  mili¬ 
tary  tyrants,  and  the  wearied  empire 
seemed  to  approach  the  last  and  fatal 
moment  of  its  dissolution,”  i.  135. 

In  regard  to  the  particular  things 
referred  to  in  the  symbol,  the  following 
specifications  may  furnish  a  sufficient 
confirmation  and  illustration : — 


(а)  The  killing  with  the  sword.  A 

fulfilment  of  this,  so  far  as  the  words  are 
concerned,  might  be  found  indeed  in 
many  portions  of  Roman  history,  but  no 
one  can  doubt  that  it  was  eminently  true 
of  this  period.  It  was  the  period  of  the 
first  Gothic  invasion  of  the  Roman  em¬ 
pire  ;  the  period  when  those  vast  htydes, 
having  gradually  come  down  from  the  re¬ 
gions  of  Scandinavia,  and  having  moved 
along  the  Danube  towards  the  Ukraine 
and  the  countries  bordering  on  the 
Borysthenes,  invaded  the  Roman  terri¬ 
tories  from  the  East,  passed  over  Greece, 
and  made  their  appearance  almost,  as 
Mr.  Gibbon  says,  within  sight  of  Rome. 
Of  this  invasion,  Mr.  Gibbon  says,  “  This 
is  the  first  considerable  occasion  [the 
fact  that  the  emperor  Decius  was  sum¬ 
moned  to  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  A.  D. 
250,  by  the  invasion  of  the  Goths] 
in  which  history  mentions  that  great 
people,  who  afterwards  broke  the  Ro¬ 
man  power,  sacked  the  capital,  and 
reigned  in  Gaul,  Spain,  and  jtaly.  So 
memorable  was  the  part  which  they 
acted  in  the  subversion  of  the  'Western 
empire,  that  the  name  of  Goths  is  fre¬ 
quently,  but  improperly,  used  as  a 
general  appellation  of  rude  and  warlike 
barbarism,”  i.  p.  136.  As  one  of  the 
illustrations  that  the  “  sword”  would  be 
used  by  “  Death”  in  this  period,  we  may 
refer  to  the  siege  and  capture  of  Philip- 
polis.  “A  hundred  thousand  persons 
are  reported  to  have  been  massacred  in 
the  sack  of  that  great  city.”  Dec.  and 
Fall,  i.  140.  “  The  whole  period,”  says 

Mr.  Gibbon,  speaking  of  the  reigns  of 
Valerian  and  Gallienus,  “was  one  unin¬ 
terrupted  series  of  confusion  and  cala¬ 
mity.  The  Roman  empire  was,  at  the 
same  time,  and  on  every  side,  attacked 
by  the  blind  fury  of  foreign  invaders, 
and  the  wild  ambition  of  domestic 
usurpers,”  i.  144.  “  Such  were  the  bar¬ 

barians,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  in  the  close 
of  his  description  of  the  Goths  at  this 
period,  and  of  the  tyrants  that  reigned, 
“  and  such  the  tyrants,  who,  under  the 
reigns  of  Valerian  and  "Gallienus,  dis¬ 
membered  the  provinces,  and  reduced 
the  empire  to  the  lowest  pitch  of  dis¬ 
grace  and  ruin,  from  whence  it  seemed 
impossible  that  it  should  ever  emerge,” 
i.  158. 

(б)  Famine  :  “Shall  kill  with  hunger.” 
This  would  naturally  be  the  consequence 
of  long-continued  wars,  and  of  such 


184 


REVELATION, 


invasions  as  those  of  the  Goths.  Mr. 
Gibbon  says  of  this  period,  “  Our  habits 
of  thinking  so  fondly  connect  the  order 
of  the  universe  with  the  fate  of  man, 
that  this  gloomy  period  of  history  has 
been  decorated  with  inundations,  earth¬ 
quakes,  uncommon  meteors,  preterna- 
tural^larkness,  and  a  crowd  of  prodigies, 
fictitious  or  exaggerated.  But  a  long 
and  general  famine  was  a  calamity  of  a 
more  serious  kind.  It  was  the  inevit¬ 
able  consequence  of  rapine  and  oppres¬ 
sion,  which  extirpated  the  produce  of  the 
present,  and  the  hope  of  future  harvests,” 
i.  p.  159.  Prodigies,  and  preternatural 
darkness,  and  earthquakes,  were  not 
seen  in  the  vision  of  the  opening  of  the 
seal — but  tear  and  famine  were;  and  the 
facts  stated  by  Mr.  Gibbon  are  such  as 
would  be  now  appropriately  symbolized 
by  Death  on  the  pale  horse. 

(c)  Pestilence: — “And  shall  kill  with 
death.”  Of  the  pestilence  which  raged 
in  this  period,  Mr.  Gibbon  makes  the 
following  remarkable  statement,  in  im¬ 
mediate  connexion  with  what  he  says 
of  the  famine :  “  Famine  is  almost 
always  followed  by  epidemical  diseases, 
the  effect  of  scanty  and  unwholesome 
food.  Other  causes  must,  however, 
have  contributed  to  the  furious  plague, 
which,  from  the  year  two  hundred  and 
fifty  to  the  year  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
five,  raged  without  interruption  in  every 
province,  every  city,  and  almost  every 
family  in  the  Roman  empire.  During 
some  time,  five  thousand  persons  died 
daily  at  -Rome  ,•  and  many  towns  that 
had  escaped  the  hands  of  the  barbarians 
were  entirely  depopulated,”  i.  159. 

(d)  Wild  beasts  :  —  “  And  shall  kill 
with  the  beasts  of  the  earth.”  As  already 
remarked,  these  are  formidable  enemies 
in  the  early  stages  of  society,  and  when 
a  country  becomes  from  any  cause  depo¬ 
pulated.  They  are  not  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Gibbon  as  contributing  to  the  De¬ 
cline  and  Fall  of  the  empire,  or  as  con¬ 
nected  with  the  calamities  that  came 
upon  the  world  at  that  period.  But  no 
one  can  doubt'  that  in  such  circum¬ 
stances  they  would  be  likely  to  abound, 
especially  if  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Gibbon 
be  correct  (i.  159),  when,  speaking  of 
these  times,  and  making  an  estimate  of 
the  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Alexandria  that  had  perished — which  he 
says  was  more  than  one-half — he  adds, 
“  Could  one  venture  to  extend  the  ana¬ 


[A.  D.  96 

logy  to  the  other  provinces,  we  might 
suspect  that  war,  pestilence,  and  famine, 
had  consumed,  in  a  few  years,  the 
moiety  of  the  human  species.”  Yet, 
though  not  adverted  to  by  Mr.  Gibbon, 
there  is  a  record  pertaining  to  this  very 
period,  which  shows  that  this  was  one 
of  the  calamities  with  which  the  world 
was  then  afflicted.  It  occurs  in  Arno- 
bius,  Adv.  Gentes,  lib.  i.  p.  5.  Within  a 
few  years  after  the  death  of  Gallienus 
(about  A.  D.  300),  he  speaks  of  wild 
beasts  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that 
they  were  regarded  as  a  sore  calamity. 
The  public  peril  and  suffering  on  this 
account  were  so  great  that,  in  common 
with  other  evils,  this  was  charged  on 
Christians  as  one  of  the  judgments  of 
heaven  which  they  brought  upon  the 
world.  In  defending  Christians  against 
the  general  charge  that  these  judgments 
were  sent  from  heaven  on  their  account, 
he  adverts  to  the  prevalence  of  wild 
beasts,  and  shows  that  they  could  not 
have  been  sent  as  a  judgment  on  account 
of  the  existence  of  Christianity,  by  the 
fact  that  they  had  prevailed  also  in  the 
times  of  heathenism,  long  before  Chris¬ 
tianity  was  introduced  into  the  empire. 
“  Quando  cum  feris  bella,  et  proelia  cum 
leonibus  gesta  sunt?  Non  ante  nos? 
Quando  pernicies  populis  venenatis  ab 
anguibus  data  est?  Non  ante  nos?” 
“  When  were  wars  waged  with  wild 
beasts,  and  contests  with  lions?  Was 
it  not  before  our  times  ?  When  did  a 
plague  come  upon  men  poisoned  by 
serpents  ?  Was  it  not  before  our  times  ?” 

In  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  destruc¬ 
tion  which  these  causes  would  bring 
upon  the  world,  there  is  a  remarkable 
confirmation  in  Gibbon.  To  say,  as  is 
said,  in  the  account  of  the  seal,  that  “  a 
fourth  part  of  the  earth”  would  be  sub¬ 
jected  to  the  reign  of  death  by  the 
sword,  by  famine,  by  pestilence,  and  by 
wild  beasts,  may  seem  to  many  to  be  an 
improbable  statement  —  a  statement  for 
the  fulfilment  of  which  we  should  look 
in  vain  to  any  historical  records.  Yet 
Mr.  Gibbon,  without  expressly  men¬ 
tioning  the  plague  of  wild  beasts,  but 
referring  to  the  three  others  —  “  war, 
pestilence,  and  famine”  —  goes  into  a 
calculation,  in  a  passage  already  re¬ 
ferred  to,  by  which  he  shows  that  it  is 
probable  that  from  these  causes  half  the 
human  race  was  destroyed.  The  follow¬ 
ing  is  his  estimate:  “We  have  the 


A.JX  96.]  '  CHAPTER  VI.  185 


9  And  when  he  had  opened  the 
fifth  seal,  I  saw  under  the  altar8 


knowledge  of  a  very  curious  circum¬ 
stance,  of  some  use  perhaps  in  the 
melancholy  calculation  of  human  calami¬ 
ties.  An  exact  register  was  kept  at 
Alexandria  of  all  the  citizens  entitled  to 
receive  the  distribution  of  corn.  It  was 
found  that  the  ancient  number  of  those 
comprised  between  the  ages  of  forty  and 
seventy,  had  been  equal  to  the  whole 
sum  of  the  claimants,  from  fourteen  to 
fourscore  years  of  age,  who  remained 
alive  after  the  death  of  Gallienus.  Ap¬ 
plying  this  authentic  fact  to  the  most 
correct  tables  of  mortality,  it  evidently 
proves  that  above  half  of  the  people  of 
Alexandria  had  perished  ;  and  could  we 
venture  to  extend  the  analogy  to  other 
provinces,  we  might  suspect  that  war, 
pestilence,  and  famine,  had  consumed  in 
a  few  years  the  moiety  of  the  human 
species,”  i.  159.  The  historian  says  that 
it  might  be  “suspected”  from  these  data 
that  one-half  of  the  human  race  had 
been  cut  off  in  a  few  years,  from  these 
causes;  in  the  Apocalyptic  vision  it  is 
said  that  power  was  given  over  one- 
“ fourth”  of  the  earth.  We  may  remark 
(a)  that  the  description  in  the  symbol 
is  as  likely  to  be  correct  as  the  “sus¬ 
picion”  of  the  historian ;  and  (6)  that  his 
statement  that  in  this  period  “  a  moiety 
of  the  race,”  or  one-half  of  the  race, 
perished,  takes  away  all  improbability 
from  the  prediction,  and  gives  a  most 
graphic  confirmation  of  the  symbol  of 
Death  on  the  pale  horse.  If  such  a  deso¬ 
lation  in  fact  occurred,  there  is  no  im¬ 
probability  in  the  supposition  that  it 
might  have  been  prefigured  by  the 
opening  of  a  prophetic  seal.  Such  a 
wide-spread  desolation  would  be  likely 
to  be  referred  to  in  a  series  of  symbols 
that  were  designed  to  represent  the 
downfall  of  the  Roman  power,  and  the 
great  changes  in  human  affairs  that 
would  affect  the  welfare  of  the  church. 

9.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  fifth 
seal.  Notes  on  ch.  v.  1,  vi.  1.  f  I  saw 
under  the  altar.  The  four  living  crea¬ 
tures  are  no  longer  heard  as  in  the 
opening  of  the  first  four  seals.  No  rea¬ 
son  is  given  for  the  change  in  the  man¬ 
ner  of  the  representation,  and  none  can 
be  assigned,  unless  it  be,  that  having 
represented  each  one  of  the  four  living 
16  * 


the  souls  b  of  them  that  were  Blain 

a  c.  8.  3.  b  c.  20.  4. 


creatures  in  their  turn  as  calling  atten- 
tion  to  the  remarkable  events  about  to 
occur,  there  seemed  to  be  no  necessity 
or  propriety  in  introducing  them  again. 
In  itself  considered,  it  cannot  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  they  would  be  any  less 
interested  in  the  events  about  to  be  dis¬ 
closed  than  they  were  in  those  which 
preceded.  This  seal  pertains  to  martyrs 
—  as  the  former  successively  did  to  a 
time  of  prosperity  and  triumph ;  to  dis¬ 
cord  and  bloodshed ;  to  oppressive  tax¬ 
ation;  to  war,  famine,  and  pestilence. 
In  the  series  of  woes,  it  was  natural  and 
proper  that  there  should  be  a  vision  of 
martyrs,  if  it  was  intended  that  the  suc¬ 
cessive  seals  should  refer  to  coming  and 
important  periods  of  the  world  ;  and  ac¬ 
cordingly  we  have  here  a  striking  repre¬ 
sentation  of  the  martyrs  crying  to  God 
to  interpose  in  their  behalf  and  to  avenge 
their  blood.  The  points  which  require 
elucidation  are  (a)  their  position — under 
the  altar ;  (6)  their  invocation — or  their 
prayer  that  they  might  be  avenged ; 

(c)  the  clothing  of  them  with  robes ;  and 

(d)  the  command  to  wait  patiently  a 
little  time. 

(a)  The  position  of  the  martyrs : — 
under  the  altar.  There  were  in  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem  two  altars  —  the 
altar  of  burnt  sacrifices,  and  the  altar  of 
incense.  The  altar  here  referred  to  was 
probably  the  former.  This  stood  in  front 
of  the  temple,  and  it  was  on  this  that  the 
daily  sacrifice  was  made.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Matt.  v.  23,  24.  We  are  to  remem¬ 
ber,  however,  that  the  temple  and  the 
altar  were  both  destroyed  before  the 
time  when  this  book  was  written,  and 
this  should,  therefore,  be  regarded  merely 
as  a  vision.  John  saw  these  souls  as  if 
they  were  collected  under  the  altar  — 
the  place  where  the  sacrifice  for  sin 
was  made  —  offering  their  supplications. 
Why  they  are  represented  as  being  there 
is  not  so  apparent;  but  probably  two 
suggestions  will  explain  this :  (a)  The 
altar  was  the  place  where  sin  was  ex¬ 
piated,  and  it  was  natural  to  represent 
these  redeemed  martyrs  as  seeking  re¬ 
fuge  there;  and  (6)  it  was  usual  to  offer 
prayers  and  supplications  at  the  altar, 
in  connexion  with  tho  sacrifice  made  for 
sin,  and  on  tho  ground  of  that  sacrifice. 


186  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


for  *  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the 
testimony  which  they  held : 

10  And  they  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying,  IIow  6  long,  0  Lord, 
a  c.  1.  9.  12. 17.  b  Zee.  1. 12. 


The  idea  is,  that  they  who  were  suffer¬ 
ing  persecution  would  naturally  seek  a 
refuge  in  the  place  where  expiation  was 
made  for  sin,  and  where  prayer  was 
appropriately  offered.  The  language 
here  is  such  as  a  Hebrew  would  natu¬ 
rally  use ;  the  idea  is  appropriate  to  any 
one  who  believes  in  the  atonement,  and 
who  supposes  that  that  is  the  appro¬ 
priate  refuge  for  those  who  are  in  trou¬ 
ble.  But  while  the  language  here  is 
such  as  an  Hebrew  would  use,  and  while 
the  reference  in  the  language  is  to  the 
altar  of  burnt  sacrifice,  the  scene  should 
be  regarded  as  undoubtedly  laid  in 
heaven  —  the  temple  where  God  resides. 
The  whole  representation  is  that  of 
fleeing  to  the  atonement,  and  pleading 
with  God  in  connexion  with  the  sacri¬ 
fice  for  sin.  The  souls  of  them  that 
were  slain.  That  had  been  put  to  death 
by  persecution.  This  is  one  of  the  inci¬ 
dental  proofs  in  the  Bible  that  the  soul 
does  not  cease  to  exist  at  death,  and  also 
that  it  does  not  cease  to  be  conscious,  or 
does  not  sleep  till  the  resurrection. 
These  souls  of  the  martyrs  are  repre¬ 
sented  as  still  in  existence  ,•  as  remem¬ 
bering  what  had  occurred  on  the  earth ; 
as  interested  in  what  was  now  taking 
place;  as  engaged  in  prayer;  and  as 
manifesting  earnest  desires  for  the  divine 
interposition  to  avenge  the  wrongs  which 
they  had  suffered.  For  the  word  of 
God.  On  account  of  the  word  or  truth 
of  God.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  9.  f  -And 
for  the  testimony  which  they  held.  On 
account  of  their  testimony  to  the  truth, 
or  being  faithful  witnesses  of  the  truth 
of  Jesus  Christ.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  9. 

(b)  The  invocation  of  the  martyrs, 
ver.  10 : — And  they  cried  with  a  loud 
voice.  That  is,  they  plead  that  their 
blood  might  be  avenged.  Saying, 
How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true. 
They  did  not  doubt  that  God  would 
avenge  them,  but  they  enquire  how  long 
the  vengeance  would  be  delayed.  It 
seemed  to  them  that  God  was  slow  to 
interpose,  and  to  check  the  persecuting 
power.  They  appeal,  therefore,  to  him 
as  a  God  of  holiness  and  truth ;  that  is, 


holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge 
and  avenge  c  our  blood  on  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  ? 

c  De.  32.  41-43.  c.  11. 18. 


as  one  who  could  not  look  with  approval 
on  sin,  and  in  whose  sight  the  wrongs 
inflicted  by  the  persecuting  power  must 
be  infinitely  offensive ;  as  one  who 
was  true  to  his  promises,  and  faithful  to 
his  people.  On  the  ground  of  his  own 
hatred  of  wrong,  and  of  his  plighted 
faithfulness  to  his  church,  they  plead 
that  he  would  interpose,  Dost  thou 
not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood.  That 
is,  dost  thou  forbear  to  judge  and 
avenge  us ;  or  dost  thou  delay  to  punish 
those  who  have  persecuted  and  slain  us. 
They  do  not  speak  as  if  they  had 
any  doubt  that  it  would  be  done;  nor 
as  if  they  were  actuated  by  a  spirit 
of  revenge;  but  as  if  it  would  be 
proper  that  there  should  be  an  expres¬ 
sion  of  the  divine  sense  of  the  wrongs 
that  had  been  done  them.  It  is  not 
right  to  desire  vengeance  or  revenge; 
it  is  to  desire  that  justice  should  be  done, 
and  that  the  government  of  God  should 
be  vindicated.  The  word  “judge”  here 
may  either  mean  ‘judge  us,’  in  the 
sense  of  ‘  vindicate  us,’  or  it  may  refer 
to  their  persecutors,  meaning  ‘judge 
them.’  The  more  probable  sense  is  the 
latter : — ‘  How  long  dost  thou  forbear  to 
execute  judgment  on  our  account  on 
those  that  dwell  on  the  earth?’  The 
word  avenge — iKhiKtu — means  to  do  jus¬ 
tice  ;  to  execute  punishment,  On  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth.  Those  who  are 
still  on  the  earth.  This  shows  that  the 
scene  here  is  laid  in  heaven,  and  that 
the  souls  of  the  martyrs  are  represented 
as  there.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that 
this  literally  occurred,  and  that  John 
actually  saw  the  souls  of  the  martyrs 
beneath  the  altars — for  the  whole  repre¬ 
sentation  is  symbolical;  nor  are  we  to 
suppose  that  the  injured  and  the  wronged 
in  heaven  actually  pray  for  vengeance  on 
those  who  wronged  them,  or  that  the 
redeemed  in  heaven  will  continue  to  pray 
with  reference  to  things  on  the  earth ; 
but  it  may  be  fairly  inferred  from  this 
that  there  will  be  as  real  a  remembrance 
of  the  wrongs  of  the  persecuted,  the 
injured,  and  the  oppressed,  as  if  such 
prayer  were  offered  there ;  and  that  the 


CHAPTEE  YI. 


187 


A.  D.  96.] 

11  And  white  °  robes  were  given 
unto  every  one  of  them ;  and  it  was 
said  unto  them,  that  they  should 
rest b  yet  for  a  little  season,  un- 
a  c.  7.  9, 14.  b  c.  14. 13. 


oppressor  has  as  much  to  dread  from  the 
divine  vengeance  as  if  those  whom  he 
has  injured  should  cry  in  heaven  to  the 
God  who  hears  prayer,  and  who  takes 
vengeance.  The  wrongs  done  to  the 
children  of  God;  to  the  orphan,  the 
widow,  the  down-trodden ;  to  the  slave 
and  the  outcast,  will  he  as  certainly 
remembered  in  heaven  as  if  they  who 
are  wronged  should  plead  for  vengeance 
there,  for  every  act  of  injustice  and  op¬ 
pression  goes  to  heaven  and  pleads  for 
vengeance.  Every  persecutor  should 
dread  the  death  of  the  persecuted  as  if 
he  went  to  heaven  to  plead  against  him ; 
every  cruel  master  should  dread  the  death 
of  his  slave  that  is  crushed  by  wrongs ; 
every  seducer  should  dread  the  death  and 
the  cries  of  his  victim ;  every  one  who 
does  wrong  in  any  way  should  remember 
that  the  sufferings  of  the  injured  cry  to 
heaven  with  a  martyr’s  pleadings,  say¬ 
ing,  “  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and  true, 
dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our 
blood?” 

(c)  The  robes  that  were  given  to  the 
martyrs  : — And  white  robes  were  given 
•unto  every  one  of  them.  Emblems  of 
purity  or  innocence.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
iii.  5.  Here  the  robes  would  be  an  em¬ 
blem  of  their  innocence  as  martyrs ;  of 
the  divine  approval  of  their  testimony 
and  lives ;  and  a  pledge  of  their  future 
blessedness. 

( d )  The  command  to  wait: — And  it 
was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest 
yet  for  a  little  season.  That  is,  that 
they  must  wait  for  a  little  season  before 
they  could  be  avenged  as  they  desired, 
ver.  10.  They  had  pleaded  that  their 
cause  might  be  at  once  vindicated,  and 
had  asked  how  long  it  would  be  before 
it  should  be  done.  The  reply  is,  that  the 
desired  vindication  would  not  at  once 
occur,  but  that  they  must  wait  until 
other  events  were  accomplished.  No¬ 
thing  definite  is  determined  by  the 
phrase  “a  little  season,”  or  a  short 
time.  It  is  simply  an  intimation  that 
this  would  not  immediately  occur,  or  was 
not  soon  to  take  place.  Whether  it 
refers  to  an  existing  persecution,  and  to 


til c  their  fellow-servants  also  and 
their  brethren,  that  should  be 
killed  as  they  were,  should  ho 
fulfilled. 

c  He.  11.  40. 


the  fact  that  they  were  to  wait  for  the 
divine  interposition  until  that  was  over, 
and  those  who  were  then  suffering  perse¬ 
cution  should  be  put  to  death  and  join 
them ;  or  whether  to  a  series  of  perse¬ 
cutions  stretching  along  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  in  such  a  sense  that  the 
promised  vengeance  would  take  place 
only  when  all  those  persecutions  were 
passed,  and  the  number  of  the  martyrs 
completed,  cannot  be  determined  from 
the  meaning  of  their  words.  Either  of 
these  suppositions  would  accord  well 
with  what  the  language  naturally  ex¬ 
presses.  Until  their  fellow -servants 
also.  Those  who  were  then  suffering 
persecution,  or  those  who  should  after¬ 
wards  suffer  persecution,  grouping  all 
together.  And  their  brethren.  Their 
brethren  as  Christians,  and  their  breth¬ 
ren  in  trial :  those  then  living,  or  those 
who  would  live  afterwards  and  pass 
through  similar  scenes.  Should  be 
fulfilled.  That  is,  till  these  persecutions 
were  passed  through,  and  the  number 
of  the  martyrs  was  complete.  The  state 
of  things  represented  here  would  seem 
to  be,  that  there  was  then  a  persecution 
raging  on  the  earth.  Many  had  been 
put  to  death,  and  their  souls  had  fled  to 
heaven,  where  they  plead  that  their 
cause  might  be  vindicated,  and  that 
their  oppressors  and  persecutors  might 
be  punished.  To  this  the  answer  was, 
that  they  were  now  safe  and  happy — 
that  God  approved  their  course,  and  that 
in  token  of  his  approbation,  they  should 
be  clothed  in  white  raiment;  but  that 
the  invoked  vindication  could  not  at 
once  occur.  There  were  others  who 
would  yet  be  called  to  suffer  as  they  had 
done,  and  they  must  wait  until  all  that 
number  was  completed.  Then,  it  is  im¬ 
plied,  God  would  interpose,  and  vindi¬ 
cate  his  name.  The  scene,  therefore,  is 
laid  in  a  time  of  persecution,  when 
many  had  already  died,  and  when  thero 
were  many  more  that  were  exposed  to 
death ;  and  a  sufficient  fulfilment  of  the 
passage,  so  far  as  tho  words  are  con¬ 
cerned,  would  be  found  in  any  perse¬ 
cution,  where  many  might  bo  represented 


188 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


as  having  already  gone  to  heaven,  and 
where  there  was  a  certainty  that  many 
more  would  follow.  We  naturally,  how¬ 
ever,  look  for  the  fulfilment  of  it  in  some 
period  succeeding  those  designated  by 
the  preceding  symbols.  There  would  be 
no  difficulty,  in  the  early  history  of  the 
church,  in  finding  events  that  would 
correspond  with  all  that  is  represented 
by  the  symbol ;  but  it  is  natural  to  look 
for  it  in  a  period  succeeding  that  repre¬ 
sented,  under  the  fourth  seal,  by  death 
on  the  pale  horse.  If  the  previous  seals 
have  been  correctly  interpreted,  we  shall 
not  be  much  in  danger  of  erring  in  sup¬ 
posing  that  this  refers  to  the  persecution 
under  Diocletian,  and  perhaps  we  may 
find  in  one  who  never  intended  to  write 
a  word  that  could  be  construed  as  fur¬ 
nishing  a  proof  of  the  fulfilment  of  the 
prophecies  of  the  New  Testament,  what 
should  be  regarded  as  a  complete  veri¬ 
fication  of  all  that  is  represented  here. 
The  following  particulars  may  justify 
this  application  : — 

(a)  The  place  of  that  persecution  in 
history,  or  the  time  when  it  occurred. 
As  already  remarked,  if  the  previous 
seals  have  been  rightly  explained,  and 
the  fourth  seal  denotes  the  wars,  the 
famine,  and  the  pestilence,  under  the  in¬ 
vasion  of  the  Goths,  and  in  the  time  of 
Valerian  and  Gallienus,  then  the  last 
great  persecution  of  the  church  under 
Diocletian  would  well  accord  with  the 
period  in  history  referred  to.  Valerian 
died  in  A.  D.  260,  being  flayed  alive 
by  Sapor,  king  of  Persia;  Gallienus 
died  in  A.  D.  268,  being  killed  at  Milan. 
Diocletian  ascended  the  throne  A.  D. 
284,  and  resigned  the  purple  A.  D.  304. 
It  was  during  this  period,  and  chiefly  at 
the  instigation  of  Galerius,  that  the  tenth 
persecution  of  the  Christians  occurred — 
the  last  under  the  Roman  power ;  for  in 
A.  D.  306,  Constantine  ascended  the 
throne,  and  ultimately  became  the  pro¬ 
tector  of  the  church. 

( b )  The  magnitude  of  this  persecution 
under  Diocletian  is  as  consonant  to  the 
representation  here  as  its  place  in  his¬ 
tory.  So  important  was  it,  that,  in  a 
general  chapter  on  the  persecutions  of 
the  Christians,  Mr.  Gibbon  has  seen  fit, 
in  his  remarks  on  the  nature,  causes,  ex¬ 
tent,  and  character  of  the  persecutions, 
to  give  a  prominence  to  this  which  he 
has  not  assigned  to  any  others,  and  to 
attach  an  importance  to  it  which  he  has 


not  to  any  other.  See  vol.  i.  pp.  317- 
322.  The  design  of  this  persecution,  as 
Mr.  Gibbon  expresses  it  (i.  318),  was 
“  to  set  bounds  to  the  progress  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  ;”  or,  as  he  elsewhere  expresses  it 
(on  the  same  page),  “the  destruction  of 
Christianity.”  Diocletian,  himself  natu¬ 
rally  averse  from  persecution,  was  ex¬ 
cited  to  this  by  Galerius,  who  urged 
upon  the  emperor  every  argument  by 
which  he  could  persuade  him  to  engage 
in  it.  Mr.  Gibbon  says  in  regard  to 
this,  “  Galerius  at  length  extorted  from 
him  [Diocletian]  the  permission  of  sum¬ 
moning  a  council,  composed  of  a  few 
persons,  the  most  distinguished  in  the 
civil  and  military  department  of  the 
state.  It  may  be  presumed  that  they 
insisted  on  every  topic  which  might 
interest  the  pride,  the  piety,  the  fears  of 
their  sovereign  in  the  destruction  of 
Christianity,”  i.  318.  The  purpose,  evi¬ 
dently,  in  the  persecution,  was,  to  make 
a  last  and  desperate  effort  through  the 
whole  Roman  empire  for  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  Christian  religion  —  for  Mr. 
Gibbon  (i.  320)  says,  that  “  the  edict 
against  Christians  was  designed  for  a 
general  law  of  the  whole  empire.”  Other 
efforts  had  failed.  The  religion  still 
spread,  notwithstanding  the  rage  and 
fury  of  nine  previous  persecutions.  It 
was  resolved  to  make  one  more  effort. 
This  was  designed  by  the  persecutors  to 
be  the  last,  in  the  hope  that  then  the 
Christian  name  would  cease  to  be :  in 
the  Providence  of  God  it  was  the  last — ■ 
for  then  even  these  opposing  powers 
became  convinced  that  the  religion  could 
not  be  destroyed  in  this  manner — and  as 
this  persecution  was  to  establish  this 
fact,  it  was  an  event  of  sufficient  mag¬ 
nitude  to  be  symbolized  by  the  opening 
of  one  of  the  seals. 

(c)  The  severity  of  this  persecution 
accorded  with  the  description  here,  and 
was  such  as  to  deserve  a  place  in  the 
series  of  important  events  which  were  to 
occur  in  the  world.  W e  have  seen  above, 
from  the  statement  of  Mr.  Gibbon,  that 
it  was  designed  for  the  “  whole  empire,” 
and  it  in  fact  raged  with  fury  through¬ 
out  the  empire.  After  detailing  some  of 
the  events  of  local  persecutions  under 
Diocletian,  Mr.  Gibbon  says,  “  The  re¬ 
sentment,  or  the  fears  of  Diocletian, 
at  length  transported  him  beyond  the 
bounds  of  moderation,  which  he  had 
hitherto  preserved,  and  he  declared,  in 


CHAPTER  VI. 


189 


A.  D.  96.] 

a  series  of  edicts,  his  intention  of  abolish¬ 
ing  the  Christian  name.  By  the  first  of 
these  edicts,  the  governors  of  the  pro- 
I  vinces  were  directed  to  apprehend  all 
persons  of  the  ecclesiastical  order ;  and 
the  prisons,  destined  for  the  vilest  crim¬ 
inals,  were  soon  filled  with  a  multitude 
of  bishops,  presbyters,  deacons,  and 
exorcists.  By  a  second  edict,  the  magis¬ 
trates  were  commanded  to  employ  every 
method  of  severity  which  might  reclaim 
them  from  their  odious  superstition,  and 
oblige  them  to  return  to  the  established 
worship  of  the  gods.  This  rigorous 
order  was  extended,  by  a  subsequent 
i  edict,  to  the  whole  body  of  Christians, 
who  were  exposed  to  a  violent  and 
general  persecution.  Instead  of  those 
solitary  restraints,  which  had  required 
the  direct  and  solemn  testimony  of  an 
accuser,  it  became  the  duty  as  well  as 
the  interest  of  the  imperial  officers,  to 
!  discover,  to  pursue,  and  to  torment, 
the  most  obnoxious  among  the  faithful. 
Heavy  penalties  were  denounced  against 
all  who  should  presume  to  save  a  pro¬ 
scribed  sectary  from  the  just  indignation 
of  the  gods,  and  of  the  emperors,”  i.  322. 
The  first  decree  against  the  Christians, 

:  at  the  instigation  of  Galerius,  will  show 
the  general  nature  of  this  fiery  trial  of 
the  church.  That  decree  was  to  the  fol¬ 
lowing  effect :  “  All  assembling  of  the 
Christians  for  the  purposes  of  religious 
worship  was  forbidden ;  the  Christian 
churches  were  to  be  demolished  to  their 
i  foundations;  all  manuscripts  of  the  Bible 
should  be  burned  ;  those  who  held  places 
of  honor  or  rank,  must  either  renounce 
their  faith  or  be  degraded;  in  judicial 
j  proceedings  the  torture  might  be  used 
|  against  all  Christians,  of  whatever  rank  ; 
those  belonging  to  the  lower  walks  of 
private  life,  were  to  be  divested  of  their 
rights  as  citizens  and  as  freemen ;  Chris¬ 
tian  slaves  were  to  be  incapable  of 
receiving  their  freedom,  so  long  as 
they  remained  Christians.”  Neander, 
Hist,  of  the  Church,  Torrey’s  Trans, 
i.  148.  This  persecution  was  the  last 
against  the  Christians  by  the  Roman 
emperors ;  the  last  that  was  waged  by 
that  mighty  Pagan  power.  Diocletian 
soon  resigned  the  purple,  and  after  the 
persecution  had  continued  to  rage,  with 
more  or  less  severity,  under  his  suc¬ 
cessors,  for  ten  years,  the  peace  of  the 
church  was  established.  “  Diocletian,” 
says  Mr.  Gibbon  (i.  322),  “  had  no 


sooner  published  his  edicts  against  the 
Christians,  than,  as  if  ho  had  been 
committing  to  other  hands  his  work  of 
persecution,  he  divested  himself  of  the 
imperial  purple.  The  character  and 
situation  of  his  colleagues  and  successors 
sometimes  urged  them  to  enforce,  and 
sometimes  to  suspend,  the  execution  of 
these  rigorous  laws ;  nor  can  we  acquire 
a  just  and  distinct  idea  of  this  impor¬ 
tant  period  of  ecclesiastical  history,  un¬ 
less  we  separately  consider  the  state  of 
Christianity  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
empire,  during  the  space  of  ten  years 
which  elapsed  between  the  first  edicts  of 
Diocletian  and  the  final  peace  of  the 
church.”  For  this  detail,  consult  Gib¬ 
bon,  i.  322-329,  and  the  authorities  there 
referred  to;  and  Neander,  Hist,  of  the 
Church,  i.  147-156.  Respecting  the 
details  of  the  persecution,  Mr.  Gibbon 
remarks  (i.  326),  “  It  would  have  been 
an  easy  task,  from  the  history  of 
Eusebius,  from  the  declaration  of  Lac- 
tantius,  and  from  the  most  ancient 
acts,  to  collect  a  long  series  of  horrid 
and  disgustful  pictures,  and  to  fill  many 
pages  with  racks  and  scourges,  with 
iron-hooks,  and  red-hot  beds,  and  with 
the  variety  of  tortures  which  fire  and 
steel,  savage  beasts,  and  more  savage 
executioners,  could  inflict  on  the  human 
body.”  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Gibbon  pro¬ 
fesses  to  doubt  the  truth  of  these  re¬ 
cords,  and  attempts  to  show  that  the 
account  of  the  number  of  the  martyrs 
has  been  greatly  exaggerated ;  yet  no 
one,  in  reading  his  own  account  of  this 
persecution,  can  doubt  that  it  was  the 
result  of  a  determined  effort  to  blot 
out  the  Christian  religion,  and  that 
the  whole  of  the  imperial  power  was 
exerted  to  accomplish  this  end.  At 
length,  the  last  of  the  imperial  persecu¬ 
tions  ceased,  and  the  great  truth  was 
demonstrated  that  Christianity  could 
not  be  extinguished  by  power,  and  that 
“  the  gates  of  hell  could  not  prevail 
against  it.”  “In  the  year  311,”  says 
Neander,  i.  156,  “the  remarkable  edict 
appeared  which  put  an  end  to  the  last 
sanguinary  conflict  of  the  Christian 
church  and  the  Roman  empire.”  This 
decree  was  issued  by  the  author  and 
instigator  of  the-  persecution,  Galerius, 
who,  “softened  by  a  severe  and  painful 
disease,  the  consequences  of  his  ex¬ 
cesses,  had  been  led  to  think  that  the 
God  of  the  Christians  might,  after  all,  bo 


190 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


12  And  I  beheld  when  he  had 
opened  the  sixth  seal,  and,  lo, 
there  was  a  great  earthquake ;  ° 

a  c.  16. 18. 


a  powerful  being,  whose  anger  punished 
him,  and  whose  favor  he  must  endeavor 
to  conciliate.”  This  man  suspended  the 
persecution,  and  gave  the  Christians 
permission  “  once  more  to  hold  their 
assemblies,  provided  they  did  nothing 
contrary  to  the  good  order  of  the  Roman 
state.” — “  Ita  ut  ne  quid  contra  discipli- 
nam  agant.”  Neander,  ibid. 

12.  And  I  beheld  when  he  had  opened 
the  sixth  seal.  See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  1, 
vi.  1.  f  And,  lo,  there  was  a  great 
earthquake.  Before  endeavoring  to  as¬ 
certain  to  what  the  sixth  seal  was 
designed  to  refer,  it  is  proper,  as  in  the 
previous  cases,  to  furnish  a  particular 
explanation  of  the  meaning  of  the  sym¬ 
bols.  All  the  symbols  represented  in 
the  opening  of  this  seal,  denote  conster¬ 
nation,  commotion,  changes ;  but  still 
they  are  all  significant,  and  we  are  to 
suppose  that  something  would  occur 
corresponding  with  each  one  of  them. 
It  cannot  be  supposed  that  the  things 
here  described  were  represented  on  the 
part  of  the  roll  or  volume  that  was 
now  unfolded  in  any  other  way  than 
that  they  were  pictures,  or  that  the 
whole  was  a  species  of  panoramic  repre¬ 
sentation  made  to  pass  before  the  eyes. 
Thus  understood,  it  would  not  be  diffi¬ 
cult  to  represent  each  one  of  these 
things  in  a  painting  :  —  as  the  heaving 
ground — the  agitated  forests — the  trem¬ 
bling  hills — the  falling  cities  and  houses 
— the  sun  blackened  and  the  moon  turned 
to  blood. 

(a)  The  earthquake,  ver.  12:— There 
was  a  great  earthquake.  The  word  here 
used  denotes  a  shaking  or  agitation  of 
the  earth.  The  effect,  when  violent,  is 
to  produce  important  changes — opening 
chasms  in  the  earth;  throwing  down 
houses  and  temples ;  sinking  hills,  and 
elevating  plains ;  causing  ponds  and 
lakes  to  dry  up,  or  forming  them  where 
none  existed ;  elevating  the  ocean  from 
its  bed,  rending  rocks,  &c.  As  all  that 
occurs  in  the  opening  of  the  other  seals 
is  symbolical,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that 
this  is  also,  and  that  for  the  fulfilment 
of  this  we  are  not  to  look  for  a  literal 
earthquake,  but  for  such  agitations  and 


and  the  sun b  became  black  as  sack¬ 
cloth  of  hair,  and  the  moon  became 
as  blood ; 

b  Joel  2. 10,  31.  3. 15. 


changes  in  the  world  as  would  be  pro¬ 
perly  symbolized  by  this.  The  earth¬ 
quake  as  a  symbol  would  merely  denote 
great  agitations  or  overturnings  on  the 
earth.  The  particular  character  of  those 
changes  must  be  determined  by  other 
circumstances  in  the  symbol  that  would 
limit  and  explain  it.  There  are,  it  is 
said,  but  three  literal  earthquakes  re¬ 
ferred  to  in  the  Scripture :  that  mentioned 
in  1  Kings  xix.  11 ;  that  in  Uzziah’s  time, 
Amos  i.  1 ;  Zech.  xiv.  5;  and  that  which 
took  place  at  the  Saviour’s  death.  All 
the  rest  are  emblematic  or  symbolical — 
referring  mostly  to  civil  commotions 
and  changes.  Then  in  Haggai  ii.  6,  7  : 
“  Yet  once,  it  is  a  little  time,  and  I  will 
shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  the 
sea,  and  the  dry  land,  and  I  will  shake 
all  nations,  and  the  desire  of  all  nations 
shall  come;  and  I  will  fill  this  house 
with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.” 
That  is,  there  would  bo  great  agitations 
in  the  world  before  he  came.  See  Notes 
on  Heb.  xii.  26-28.  So  also  great 
changes  and  commotions  are  referred 
to  in  Isa.  xxiv.  19,  20 :  “  The  earth  is 
utterly  broken  down,  the  earth  is  clean 
dissolved,  the  earth  is  moved  exceed¬ 
ingly.  The  earth  shall  reel  to  and  fro 
like  a  drunkard,  and  shall  be  removed 
like  a  cottage.”  An  earthquake,  if  there 
were  no  other  circumstances  limiting 
and  explaining  the  symbol,  would  mere¬ 
ly  denote  great  agitation  and  commotion 
— as  if  states  and  empires  were  tumbling 
to  ruin.  As  this  is  here  a  mere  symbol, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  look  for  a  literal 
fulfilment,  or  to  expect  to  find  in  history 
actual  earthquakes  to  which  this  had 
reference,  any  more  than  when  it  is 
said  that  “the  heavens  departed  as  a 
scroll,”  we  are  to  expect  that  they  will 
be  literally  rolled  up ;  but  if,  in  the 
course  of  history,  earthquakes  preceded 
remarkable  political  convulsions  and 
revolutions,  it  would  be  proper  to  repre¬ 
sent  such  events  in  this  way. 

(b)  The  darkening  of  the  sun  : — And 
the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  o  f  hair. 
Saokelotli  was  a  coarse  black  cloth, 
commonly,  though  not  always,  made  of 
hair.  It  was  used  for  sacks,  for  strainers, 


CHAPTER  VI. 


191 


A.  D.  96.] 


13  And  the  stars  0  of  heaven  fell 
unto  the  earth,  even  as  a  fig-tree 
casteth  her  untimely  b  figs,  when 
she  is  shaken  of  a  mighty  wind : 

a  c.  8. 10.  6  Or,  green. 


and  for  mourning-garments;  and  as  thus 
worn  it  was  not  an  improper  emblem  of 
sadness  and  distress.  The  idea  here  is, 
that  the  sun  put  on  a  dark,  dingy,  dole¬ 
ful  appearance,  as  if  it  were  in  mourning. 
The  general  image,  then,  in  this  emblem, 
is  that  of  calamity  —  as  if  the  very  sun 
should  put  on  the  robes  of  mourning. 
We  are  by  no  means  to  suppose  that 
this  was  literally  to  occur,  but  that 
some  great  calamity  would  happen  of 
which  this  would  be  an  appropriate  em¬ 
blem.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xiii.  10;  Matt, 
xxiv.  29.  Comp.  Isa.  xxiv.  23,  xxxiv. 
4,  1.  3,  lx.  19,  20;  Ezek.  xxxii.  7,  8; 
Joel  ii.  10,  iii.  15,  16;  Amos  viii.  9. 
What  is  the  particular  nature  of  the 
calamity,  is  to  be  learned  from  other 
parts  of  the  symbol. 

(c)  The  discoloration  of  the  moon  : — 
And  the  moon  became  as  blood.  Red 
like  blood  —  either  from  the  smoke  and 
vapor  that  usually  precedes  an  earth¬ 
quake,  or  as  a  mere  emblem.  This  also 
would  betoken  calamity,  and  perhaps 
the  symbol  may  be  so  far  limited  and 
modified  by  this  as  to  denote  war,  for 
that  would  be  most  naturally  suggested 
by  the  color — red.  Comp.  Notes  on  ver. 
4  of  this  chapter.  But  any  great  cala¬ 
mity  would  be  appropriately  represented 
by  this  —  as  the  change  of  the  moon  to 
such  a  color  would  be  a  natural  emblem 
of  distress. 

(d)  The  falling  of  the  stars  (ver.  13) : 

■ — And  the  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto  the 
earth.  This  language  is  derived  from 
the  poetic  idea  that  the  sky  seems  to  be 
a  solid  concave  in  which  the  stars  are 
set,  and  that,  when  any  convulsion  takes 
place,  that  concave  will  be  shaken,  and 
the  stars  will  be  loosened  and  fall  from 
their  places.  See  this  language  explain¬ 
ed  in  the  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxiv.  4.  Some¬ 
times  the  expanse  above  us  is  spoken 
of  as  a  curtain*  that  is  spread  out  and 
that  may  be  rolled  up ;  sometimes  as  a 
solid  crystalline  expanse  in  which  the 
stars  are  fixed.  According  to  either 
representation  the  stars  are  described  as 
falling  to  the  earth.  If  the  expanse  is 


14  And  the  heaven  e  departed  as 
a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together ; 
and  every  mountain  d  and  island 
were  moved  out  of  their  places : 

c  Ps.  102.  26;  Is.  34.  4. 
d  Jo.  4.  23,  24;  Ha.  3.  6, 10;  c.  16.  20. 


rolled  up,  the  stars,  having  nothing  to 
support  them,  fall ;  if  violent  tempests 
or  concussions  shake  the  heavens,  the 
stars,  loosened  from  their  fixtures,  fall 
to  the  earth.  Stars,  in  the  Scriptures, 
are  symbols  of  princes  and  rulers  (see 
Dan.  viii.  10;  Rev.  viii.  10,  11,  ix.  1), 
and  the  natural  meaning  of  this  sym¬ 
bol  is,  that  there  would  be  commo¬ 
tions  which  would  unsettle  princes,  and 
bring  them  down  from  their  thrones- 
like  stars  falling  from  the  sky.  Even 
as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her  untimely  figs. 
Marg.  green,  Gr.  dXtivSovf.  This  word 
properly  denotes  winter-figs,  or  such  as 
grow  under  the  leaves,  and  do  not  ripen 
at  the  proper  season,  but  hang  upon  the 
trees  during  the  winter.  Eob.  Lex.  This 
fruit  seldom  matures,  and  easily  falls  off 
in  the  spring  of  the  year.  Stuart,  in  loc. 
A  violent  wind  shaking  a  plantation  of 
fig-trees  would  of  course  cast  many  such 
figs  to  the  ground.  The  point  of  the 
comparison  is,  the  ease  with  which  the 
stars  would  seem  to  be  shaken  from 
their  places,  and  hence  the  ease  with 
which,  in  these  commotions,  princes 
would  be  dethroned. 

(e)  The  departing  of  the  heavens : — 
And  the  heaven  departed  as  a  scroll, 
ver.  14.  That  is,  as  a  book  or  volume — 
(hfXlov —  rolled  up.  The  heavens  are 
here  described  as  spread  out,  and  their 
passing  away  is  represented  by  the  idea 
that  they  might  be  rolled  up,  and  thus 
disappear.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxiv.  4. 
This  too  is  a  symbol,  and  we  are  not  to 
suppose  that  it  will  literally  occur.  In¬ 
deed  it  never  can  literally  occur,  and  we 
are  not,  therefore,  to  look  for  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  this  in  any  physical  fact  that 
would  correspond  with  what  is  here  said. 
The  plain  meaning  is,  that  there  would  be 
changes  as  if  such  an  event  would  hap¬ 
pen  ;  that  is,  that  revolutions  would 
occur  in  the  high  places  of  the  earth, 
and  among  those  in  power,  as  if  the 
stars  should  fall,  and  the  very  heavens 
were  swept  away.  This  is  the  natural 
meaning  of  the  symbol,  and  this  accords 
with  the  usage  of  the  language  elsewhere. 


192 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


15  And  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  the  great  men,  and  the  rich 
men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and 
the  mighty  men,  and  every  bond- 
man,  and  every  freeman,  hid  them¬ 
selves  °  in  the  dens  and  in  the 
rocks  of  the  mountains  ; 

16  And  said  b  to  the  mountains 

a  Is.  2. 19.  b  Hos.  10. 8 ;  Lu.  23.  30 ;  c.  9. 6. 

(/)  The  removal  of  mountains  and 
islands: — And  every  mountain  and 
island  were  moved  out  of  their  places, 
ver.  14.  This  would  denote  convulsions 
in  the  political  or  moral  world,  as  great 
as  would  occur  in  the  physical  world  if 
the  very  mountains  were  removed,  and 
the  islands  should  change  their  places. 
We  are  not  to  suppose  that  this  would 
literally  occur,  but  we  should  be  author¬ 
ized  from  this  to  expect  that,  in  regard 
to  those  things  which  seemed  to  be  per¬ 
manent  and  fixed  on  an  immovable  basis, 
like  mountains  and  islands,  there  would 
be  violent  and  important  changes.  If 
thrones  and  dynasties  long  established 
were  overthrown ;  if  institutions  that 
seemed  to  be  fixed  and  permanent  were 
abolished ;  if  a  new  order  of  things 
should  rise  in  the  political  world,  the 
meaning  of  the  symbol,  so  far  as  the 
language  is  concerned,  would  be  ful¬ 
filled. 

(g)  The  universal  consternation,  vs. 
15,  16,  17  : — And  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
&c.  The  design  of  these  verses  (15-17), 
in  the  varied  language  used,  is  evidently 
to  denote  universal  consternation  and 
alarm — as  if_ the  earth  should  be  con¬ 
vulsed,  and  the  stars  should  fall,  and 
the  heavens  should  pass  away.  This 
consternation  would  extend  to  all  class¬ 
es  of  men,  and  fill  the  world  with  alarm, 
as  if  the  end  of  all  things  were  com¬ 
ing.  If  The  kings  of  the  earth.  Rulers 
— all  who  occupied  thrones.  If  The  great 
men.  High  officers  of  state.  IT  And 
the  rich  men.  Their  wealth  would  not 
secure  them  from  destruction,  and  they 
would  be  alarmed  like  others.  And 
the  chief  captains.  The  commanders  of 
armies,  who  tremble  like  other  men  when 
God  appears  in  judgment.  ^  And  the 
mighty  men.  Men  of  great  prowess  in 
battle,  but  who  feel  now  that  they  have 
no  power  to  withstand  God.  And 
every  bondman.  Servant — <5ouAoj.  This 
word  does  not  necessarily  denote  a  slave 


and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  bide  us 
from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on 
the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of 
the  Lamb : 

17  For  c  the  great  day  of  his 
wrath  is  come ;  and  who  “  shall  be 
able  to  stand? 

c  Is.  13.  6,  &c. ;  Zep.  1.  14,  &c. ;  c.  16. 14. 
d  Ps.  76.  7. 


(comp.  Notes  on  Eph.  vi.  5;  1  Tim.  vi. 
1 ;  Philem.  16),  but  here  the  connexion 
seems  to  demand  it,  for  it  stands  in  con¬ 
trast  with  freeman.  There  were  in  fact 
slaves  in  the  Roman  empire,  and  there 
is  no  objection  to  supposing  that  they 
are  here  referred  to.  There  is  no  reason 
why  they  should  not  be  filled  with  con¬ 
sternation  as  well  as  others,  and  as  this 
does  not  refer  to  the  end  of  the  world,  or 
the  day  of  judgment,  the  word  hero 
determines  nothing  as  to  the  question 
whether  slavery  is  to  continue  on  the 
earth.  \  And  every  f  reeman.  Whether 
the  master  of  slaves  or  not.  The  idea  is, 
that  all  classes  of  men,  high  and  low, 
would  be  filled  with  alarm.  Hid 
themselves  in  the  dens.  Among  the 
caves  or  caverns  in  the  mountains.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  ii.  19.  These  places  were 
resorted  to  for  safety  in  times  of  danger. 
Comp.  1  Sam.  xiii.  6,  xxiv. ;  Judges  vi. 
2;  Jer.  xli.  9;  Jos.  Ant.  B.  xiv.  ch.  xv., 
Jewish  Wars,  B.  i.  eh.  xvi.  And  in  the 
rocks  of  the  mountains.  Among  the 
crags,  or  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains 
— also  natural  places  of  refuge  in  times 
of  hostile  invasion  or  danger.  See  Notes 
on  Isa.  ii.  21.  *[  And  said  to  the  moun¬ 

tains  and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  &c.,  ver.  16. 
This  language  is  found  substantially  in 
Hos.  x.  8:  “And  they  shall  say  to  the 
mountains,  Cover  us,  and  to  the  hills, 
Fall  on  us.”  It  is  also  used  by  the 
Saviour  as  denoting  the  consternation 
which  would  occur  at  his  coming: 
“  Then  shall  they  begin  to  say  to  tho 
mountains,  Fall  on  us,  and  to  the  hills. 
Cover  us,”  Luke  xxiii.  30.  It  is  lan¬ 
guage  denoting  consternation,  and  an 
awful  fear  of  impending  wrath.  The 
state  of  mind  is  that  where  there  is  an 
apprehension  that  God  himself  is  coming 
forth  with  the  direct  instruments  of  his 
vengeance,  and  where  there  is  a  desire 
rather  to  be  crushed  by  falling  rocks 
and  hills  than  by  the  vengeance  of  his 
uplifted  arm.  f  From  the  face  of  Jam 


CHAPTER  VI. 


193 


A.  D.  96.] 


that  sitteth  on  the  throne.  The  face  of 
God — for  he  seems  to  be  coming  forth 
with  the  displays  of  his  vengeance.  It 
is  not  said  that  God  would  actually  come 
forth  in  a  visible  form,  but  their  con¬ 
sternation  would  be  as  great  as  if  he 
were  to  do  this  ;  the  state  of  mind  indi¬ 
cated  by  this  was  an  apprehension  that 
it  would  be  so.  ^  And  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb.  .The  Lamb  of  God;  the 
Lord  Jesus.  See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  6. 
There  seems  to  be  an  incongruity  be¬ 
tween  the  words  wrath  and  Lamb  ;  but 
the  word  Lamb  here  is  so  far  a  proper 
name  as  to  be  used  only  to  designate  the 
Redeemer.  He  comes  forth  to  execute 
wrath,  not  as  a  Lamb,  but  as  the  Son  of 
God,  who  bore  that  name.  It  would 
seem  from  this  that  they  who  thus 
dreaded  the  impending  terrors  were 
aware  of  their  source,  or  had  know¬ 
ledge  enough  to  understand  by  whom 
they  were  to  be  inflicted.  They  would 
see  that  these  were  divine  judgments, 
and  would  apprehend  that  the  end 
of  the  world  drew  near.  For  the 
great  day  of  hie  wrath  is  come,  ver.  17. 
The  threatening  judgments  would  be  so 
severe  and  awful  that  they  would  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  end  of  the  world  was 
coming.  And  who  shall  be  able  to 
stand  ?  To  stand  before  him,  or  to  with¬ 
stand  his  judgments. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  there 
has  been,  in  this  case,  as  in  reference  to 
every  other  part  of  the  book  of  Reve¬ 
lation,  a  great  diversity  of  opinion 
respecting  the  events  symbolized  by 
this  seal.  Grotius  applied  it  to  the 
wars  between  the  Jews  and  Romans 
under  Nero  and  Vespasian;  Dr.  Ham¬ 
mond  supposed  that  the  defeat  of  the 
Jewish  leaders  in  those  wars  was  par¬ 
ticularly  symbolized;  Mr.  Brightman 
referred  these  symbols  to  the  persecution 
under  Diocletian ;  Mr.  Mode,  Dr.  Cress- 
ner,  Dr.  More,  Mr.  Whiston,  Mr.  Jurien, 
Mr.  Danbez,  Mr.  Lowman,  Bishop  New¬ 
ton,  Mr.  Elliott,  and  others,  refer  it  to 
the  defeat  of  the  Pagan  powers,  and  the 
final  suppression  of  those  powers  as 
opposed  to  Christianity;  Vitringa  re¬ 
garded  it  as  foreshadowing  the  over¬ 
throw  of  the  anti-Christian  powers  of 
the  Western  Roman  empire;  Cocceius 
explains  it  of  the  wars  of  the  emperor 
Frederick  against  the  German  princes 
in  the  sixteenth  century;  Dean  Wood- 
house,  of  the  day  of  vengoanco  at  tho 
17 


end  of  the  world ;  Mr.  Cunninghame,  of 
the  same  period  as  the  seventh  trumpet, 
commencing  with  the  French  revolu¬ 
tion,  and  to  be  consummated  by  the 
visible  advent  of  the  Son  of  God;  Prof. 
Stuart,  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem; 
and  Mr.  Lord,  of  a  series  of  events,  part 
of  which  are .  fulfilled,  three  of  them 
corresponding  with  the  first  three  vials 
— the  first  expressive  of  the  revolution 
of  France,  the  second  of  a  despotism  ex¬ 
tending  through  several  years,  and  the 
third,  of  the  overthrow  of  that  violent 
dynasty,  at  the  fall  of  Bonaparte,  in 
1815.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  examine 
these  views ;  but  amidst  this  great 
variety  of  opinion  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  obvious  and  natural  application  of 
the  opening  of  the  seal  has  not  been 
adverted  to.  I  shall  suggest  it  because 
it  is  the  most  natural  and  obvious,  and 
seems  to  be  demanded  by  the  explana¬ 
tions  given  of  the  previous  seals.  It  is, 
in  one  word,  the  impending  judgments 
from  the  invasions  of  the  Northern 
hordes  of  Goths  and  Vandals,  threat¬ 
ening  the  breaking-up  of  the  Roman 
empire — the  gathering  of  the  storm,  and 
the  hovering  of  those  barbarians  on  the 
borders  of  the  empire;  the  approaches 
which  they  made  from  time  to  time 
towards  the  capital,  though  restrained 
as  yet  from  taking  it;  the  tempest  of 
wrath  that  was,  as  it  were,  suspended 
yet  on  the  frontiers,  until  the  events 
recorded  in  the  next  chapter  should 
occur,  then  bursting  forth  in  wrath  in 
successive  blasts,  as  denoted  by  the  first 
four  trumpets  of  the  seventh  seal  (ch. 
viii.),  when  the  empire  was  entirely 
overthrown  by  the  Goths  and  Vandals. 
The  precise  point  of  time  which  I  sup¬ 
pose  this  seal  occupies  is  that  succeed¬ 
ing  the  last  persecution.  It  embraces 
the  preparatory  arrangements  of  theso 
hordes  of  invaders — their  gathering  on 
the  frontiers  of  the  empire — their  threat¬ 
ened  approaches  toward  the  capital  — 
and  the  formation  of  such  vast  armies  as 
would  produce  universal  consternation. 
A  brief  notice  of  these  preparatory  scenes 
as  adapted  to  produce  the  alarm  referred 
to  in  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal, 
is  all  that  will  be  necessary  here;  tho 
more  complete  detail  must  bo  reserved 
for  the  explanation  of  the  four  trumpets 
of  the  seventh  seal,  when  the  work  of 
destruction  was  consummated.  These 
preparations  and  threatened  invasions 


194 


REVELATION, 


were  events  sufficiently  important  in 
their  relation  to  the  church,  to  what 
preceded,  and  to  the  future  history  of 
the  world,  to  be  symbolized  here ;  and 
they  are  events  in  which  all  the  par¬ 
ticulars  of  the  symbol  may  find  a  fulfil¬ 
ment.  Any  one  has  only  to  look  on  a 
chart  of  history  to  see  how  appropriately 
this  application  of  the  symbol  follows,  if 
the  previous  explanations  have  been 
correct.  In  the  illustration  of  this,  in 
order  to  show  the  probability  that  these 
events  are  referred  to  "by  the  symbols  of 
the  sixth  seal,  I  would  submit  the  fol¬ 
lowing  remarks  : — 

(1)  The  lime  is  that  which  would  be 
naturally  suggested  by  this  seal  in  its 
relation  to  the  others.  If  the  fifth  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  persecutions  under  Dio¬ 
cletian —  the  last  great  persecution  of 
the  Pagan  powers  in  attempting  to  ex¬ 
tinguish  the  Christian  name  —  then  we 
should  naturally  look  for  the  fulfilment 
of  the  opening  of  the  next,  in  some 
event,  or  series  of  events,  which  would 
succeed  that  at  no  very  distant  interval, 
and  that  pertained  to  the  empire  or 
power  that  had  been  the  prominent 
subject  of  the  predictions  in  the  pre¬ 
vious  seals.  It  would  also  be  natural 
to  look  for  some  events  that  might  be 
regarded  as  conveying  an  expression  of 
the  divine  feeling  in  regard  to  that 
power,  or  that  would  present  it  in  such 
an  aspect  that  it  would  be  seen  that  its 
power  to  persecute  was  at  an  end.  This 
natural  expectation  would  be  answered 
either  by  some  symbol  that  would  refer 
to  the  complete  triumph  of  the  Christian 
system,  or  by  such  a  series  of  judgments 
as  would  break  the  persecuting  power 
itself  in  pieces.  Now,  the  threatened 
irruption  of  the  Northern  barbarians 
followed  the  series  of  events  already 
described,  with  sufficient  nearness  to 
make  it  proper  to  regard  that  series  of 
events  as  referred  to. 

(2)  The  events  were  of  sufficient  im¬ 
portance  in  the  history  of  the  empire  to 
deserve  this  notice  in  the  foreshadowing 
of  what  would  occur.  They  were  con¬ 
nected  with  the  breaking-up  of  that 
mighty  power,  and  the  complete  change 
of  the  aspect  of  the  world,  in  a  political 
and  religious  point  of  view.  A  new 
order  of  things  arose  in  the  world’s  his¬ 
tory.  A  new  religion  became  established. 
New  kingdoms,  from  the  fragments  of 
the  once  mighty  Roman  empire,  were 


[A.  D.  96. 

founded,  and  the  affairs  of  the  world 
were  put  on  a  new  footing.  These 
mighty  Northern  hordes  not  only  spread 
consternation  and  alarm,  as  if  the  world 
were  coming  to  an  end,  but  they  laid 
the  foundations  of  kingdoms  which  con¬ 
tinue  to  this  day.  In  fact,  few  more 
important  events  have  occurred  in  his¬ 
tory. 

(3)  This  series  of  events  was  intro¬ 
duced  in  the  manner  described  in  the 
opening  of  the  sixth  seal.  I  have 
already  said  that  it  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose,  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  symbol, 
that  there  would  be  a  literal  earthquake ; 
but  nothing  in  the  symbol  forbids  us  to 
suppose  that  there  might  be,  and  if  there 
were,  we  could  not  but  consider  it  as 
remarkable.  Now  it  so  happens  that 
the  series  of  events  pertaining  to  the 
Gothic  invasions  is  introduced  by  Mr. 
Gibbon  in  the  following  language  :  “A. 
D.  365.  In  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of 
Yalentinian  and  Yalens,  on  the  morning 
of  the  twenty-first  day  of  J uly,  the  great¬ 
est  part  of  the  Roman  world  was  shaken 
by  a  violent  and  destructive  earthquake. 
The  impression  was  communicated  to 
the  waters ;  the  shores  of  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  were  left  dry  by  the  sudden 
retreat  of  the  sea;  great  quantities  of 
fish  were  caught  with  the  hand ;  large 
vessels  were  stranded  on  the  mud ;  and 
a  curious  spectator  amused  his  eye,  or 
rather  his  fancy,  by  contemplating  the 
various  appearances  of  valleys  and  moun¬ 
tains,  which  had  never  before,  since  the 
formation  of  the  globe,  been  exposed  to 
the  sun.  But  the  tide  soon  returned, 
with  the  weight  of  an  immense  and 
irresistible  deluge,  which  was  severely 
felt  on  the  coasts  of  Sicily,  of  Dalmatia, 
of  Greece,  and  of  Egypt :  large  boats 
were  transported,  and  lodged  on  the 
roofs  of  houses,  or  at  the  distance  of  two 
miles  from  the  shore ;  the  people  with 
their  habitations  were  swept  away  by 
the  waters ;  and  the  city  of  Alexandria 
annually  commemorated  the  day  on 
which  fifty  thousand  persons  had  lost 
their  lives  in  the  inundation.  This 
calamity,  the  report  of  which  was  mag¬ 
nified  from  one  province  to  another, 
astonished  and  terrified  the  subjects  of 
Rome  ;  and  their  affrighted  imagination 
enlarged  the  real  extent  of  the  momen¬ 
tary  evil.  They  recollected  the  pre¬ 
ceding  earthquakes  which  had  subverted 
the  cities  of  Palestine  and  Bythynia; 


A.  D.  96. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


195 


they  considered  these  alarming  strokes 
as  the  prelude  only  of  still  more  dread¬ 
ful  calamities,  and  their  fearful  vanity 
was  disposed  to  confound  the  symptoms 
of  a  declining  empire  and  a  sinking 
world,”  vol.  ii.  pp.  115,  116.  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon  then  proceeds  to  detail  the  evils  of 
war,  as  greatly  surpassing  the  cala¬ 
mities  produced  by  any  natural  causes, 
and  adds  (p.  116),  “In  the  disastrous 
period  of  the  fgll  of  the  Roman  empire, 
which  may  justly  be  dated  from  the 
reign  of  Valens,  the  happiness  and 
security  of  each  individual  was  person¬ 
ally  attacked;  and  the  arts  and  labors 
of  ages  were  rudely  defaced  by  the  bar¬ 
barians  of  Scythia  and  Germany.”  He 
then  proceeds  with  an  exceedingly  in¬ 
teresting  description  of  the  origin,  the 
habits,  and  the  movements  of  the  Tartar 
nations,  particularly  the  Huns,  as  they 
moved  to  the  West,  and  precipitated  the 
Gothic  nations  on  the  provinces  of  the 
Roman  empire,  until  Rome  itself  was 
thrice  besieged,  was  taken,  and  was 
sacked  (ii.  116-266).  The  earthquake 
referred  to  occurred  in  A.  D.  365.  The 
movements  of  the  Huns  from  their  ter¬ 
ritories  in  the  neighborhood  of  China 
had  commenced  about  A.  D.  100,  and  in 
A.  D.  375,  they  overcame  the  Goths, 
lying  along  the  Danube.  The  Goths, 
pressed  and  overcome  by  these  savage 
invaders,  asked  permission  of  the  Ro¬ 
mans  to  cross  the  Danube,  to  find  pro¬ 
tection  in  the  Roman  empire,  and  to 
cultivate  the  waste  lands  of  Thrace. 
Gibbon,  ii.  129,  130.  In  the  year  376, 
they  were  transported  over  the  Danube, 
by  the  permission  of  the  Roman  em¬ 
peror,  Valens;  an  event  which,  accord¬ 
ing  to  Mr.  Gibbon,  in  its  ultimate  result, 
was  the  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the 
empire :  for  they  learned  their  own 
strength;  they  were  attracted  by  the 
riches  of  the  capital  and  the  hope  of 
reward,  until  they  finally  drew  tho 
Western  emperor  to  Ravenna,  sacked 
Rome,  and  took  possession  of  Italy. 

(4)  A  slight  reference  to  the  series  of 
events  in  these  periods  of  consternation 
and  conquest,  may  show  more  closely  the 
nature  of  the  alarms  which  would  be 
caused  by  the  prospect  of  these  dreadful 
invasions,  and  may  prepare  us  for  a 
better  understanding  of  the  successive 
calamities  which  occurred  under  these 
invaders,  when  the  empire  fell,  as  de¬ 
scribed  by  tho  four,  first  trumpets  of  tho 


seventh  seal.  I  shall  copy  from  the 
tables  of  contents  of  Mr.  Gibbon’s  his¬ 
tory,  under  the  twenty-sixth-,  thirtieth, 
and  thirty-first  chapters  : — 

“  A.  D.  365.  Earthquakes. 

376.  The  Huns  and  Goths. 

100.  The  emigration  of  the 
Huns. 

375.  Their  victories  over  the 
Goths. 

376.  The  Goths  implore  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  Valens. 

“  They  are  transported  over 
the  Danube  into  the  Ro¬ 
man  empire. 

“  They  penetrate  into  Thrace. 

377.  Union  of  the  Goths  with 
Huns,  Alaric,  Ac. 

378.  Battle  of  Hadrianople. 

“  The  defeat  of  the  Romans. 

383-395.  The  settlement  of  the 
Goths  in  Thrace  and 
Asia. 

395.  Revolt  of  the  Goths. 

396.  Alaric  marches  into  Greece. 
398.  Is  proclaimed  king  of  the 

Visigoths. 

400-403.  He  invades  Italy. 

406.  Radagaisus  invades  Italy. 
“  Besieges  Plorence. 

“  Threatens  Rome. 

“  The  remainder  of  the  Ger¬ 
mans  invade  Gaul. 
Desolation  of  Gaul. 

Alaric  marches  to  Rome. 
First  siege  of  Rome  by  the 
Goths. 

Famine,  plague,  supersti- 
stition. 

Alaric  accepts  a  ransom 
and  raises  the  siege. 

“  Fruitless  negotiations  for 
peace. 

“  Second  siege  of  Rome  by 
the  Goths. 

410.  Third  siego  and  sack  of 
Rome  by  the  Goths. 

“  Respect  of  the  Goths  for 
the  Christian  religion. 

“  Pillage  and  fire  of  Romo. 

“  Captives  and  fugitives. 
411-416.  Fall  of  tho  usurpers 
Jovinus,  Sebastian,  and 
Attalus. 

409.  Invasion  of  Spain  by  the 
Suevi,  Vandals,  Alaric, 
Ac. 

415-418.  The  Goths  conquer  and 
restore  Spain.” 


407. 

408. 


409. 


196 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


(5)  This  would  coincide,  in  the  effects 
produced  on  the  empire,  with  the  con¬ 
sternation  and  alarm  described  in  the 
passage  before  us.  The  symbols  are 
such  as  would  be  employed  on  the  sup¬ 
position  that  these  are  the  events  referred 
to ;  they  are  such  as  the  events  are  fitted 
to  suggest.  The  mighty  preparations  in 
the  East  and  North — the  report  of  which 
could  not  but  spread  through  the  empire 
— would  be  appropriately  symbolized  by 
the  earthquake,  the  darkened  sun,  the 
moon  becoming  like  blood,  the  stars 
falling,  the  departing  heavens,  and  the 
kings  and  great  men  of  the  earth  fleeing 
in  alarm  to  find  a  place  of  safety,  as  if 
the  end  of  the  world  were  drawing  near. 
Nothing  could  have  been  so  well  adapted 
to  produce  the  consternation  described 
in  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal,  as 
the  dreaded  approach  of  vast  hosts  of 
barbarians  from  the  regions  of  the 
North.  This  alarm  would  be  increased 
by  the  fact  that  their  numbers  were 
unknown  ;  that  their  origin  was  hidden ; 
and  that  the  advancing  multitudes  would 
sweep  every  thing  before  them.  As  in 
other  cases,  also,  rumour  would  increase 
their  numbers  and  augment  their  fero¬ 
city.  The  sudden  shock  of  an  earth¬ 
quake  ;  the  falling  stars ;  the  departing 
heavens ;  the  removal  of  mountains  and 
islands,  and  the  consternation  of  kings 
and  all  classes  of  people,  would  be  the 
appropriate  emblems  to  represent  these 
impending  calamities.  In  confirmation 
of  this,  and  as  showing  the  effect  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  approach  of  the  Goths, 
and  the  dread  of  the  Gothic  arms,  in 
causing  universal  consternation,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  extract  may  be  adduced  from 
Mr.  Gibbon  when  describing  the  threat¬ 
ened  invasion  of  Alaric,  king  of  the 
Visigoths.  He  quotes  'from  Claudian. 
“  ‘  Fame,'  says  the  poet,  ‘  encircling  with 
terror  or  gloomy  wings,  proclaimed  the 
march  of  the  barbarian  army,  and  filled 
Italy  with  consternation.'  ”  Mr.  Gibbon 
adds,  “  the  apprehensions  of  each  indi¬ 
vidual  were  increased  in  just  proportion 
to  the  measure  of  his  fortune ;  and  the 
most  timid,  who  had  already  embarked 
their  valuable  effects,  meditated  their 
escape  to  the  island  of  Sicily,  or  to  the 
African  coast.  The  public  distress  was 
aggravated  by  the  fears  and  reproaches 
of  superstition.  Every  hour  produced 
some  horrid  tale  of  strange  and  par¬ 
ticular  accidents  •,  the  Pagans  deplored 


the  neglect  of  omens,  and  the  interrup¬ 
tion  of  sacrifices,-  but  the  Christians 
still  derived  some  comfort  from  the  pow¬ 
erful  intercession  of  the  saints  and 
martyrs,”  ii.  218,219.  See  further  illus¬ 
trations  in  the  Notes  on  ch.  viii.  7-13. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

The  state  of  things  represented  in  this 
chapter,  is  that  where  there  had  been 
awful  consternation  and  alarm,  as  if  the 
end  of  the  world  were  coming,  and  where 
the  signs  of  the  approaching  consum¬ 
mation  of  all  things  are,  as  it  were,  held 
back  until  there  should  be  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  sealing  the  number  that  was  to 
be  saved.  This  is  symbolized  by  four 
angels  standing  in  the  four  quarters  of 
the  earth,  and  holding  the  winds  and 
the  storms  that  they  should  not  blow  on 
the  earth,  until  the  servants  of  God 
should  be  sealed  in  their  foreheads.  The 
idea  is  that  of  sudden  destruction  about 
to  burst  on  the  world,  which,  if  unre¬ 
strained,  would  apparently  bring  on  the 
consummation  of  all  things,  but  which 
is  held  back  until  the  purposes  of  God 
in  regard  to  his  people  shall  be  accom¬ 
plished  :  that  is,  until  those  who  are 
the  true  servants  of  God  shall  be  desig¬ 
nated  by  some  appropriate  mark.  This 
furnishes  an  opportunity  of  disclosing  a 
glorious  vision  of  those  who  will  be 
saved,  alike  among  the  Jews  and  the 
Gentiles.  The  fact,  as  seen  in  the  sym¬ 
bol,  is,  that  the  end  of  the  world  does 
not  come  at  the  opening  of  the  sixth 
seal,  as  it  seemed  as  if  it  would,  and  as  it 
was  anticipated  in  the  time  of  the  con¬ 
sternation.  The  number  of  the  chosen 
was  not  complete,  and  the  impending 
wrath  was  therefore  suspended.  God  in¬ 
terposes  in  favor  of  his  people,  and  dis¬ 
closes  in  vision  a  vast  number  from  all 
lands  who  will  yet  be  saved,  and  the 
winds  and  storms  are  held  back  as  if  by 
angels. 

The  points,  then,  that  are  apparent  in 
.this  chapter,  without  any  reference  now 
to  the  question  of  the  application,  are  the 
following : — 

(1)  The  impending  ruin  that  seemed 
about  to  spread  over  the  earth,  appa¬ 
rently  bringing  on  the  consummation  of 
all  things,  restrained  or  suspended, 
ver.  1.  This  impending  ruin  is  sym¬ 
bolized  by  the  four  winds  of  heaven  that 
seemed  about  to  sweep  over  the  world ; 


CHAPTER  VII. 


197 


A.  D.  96.] 

the  interposition  of  God  is  represented 
by  the  four  angels  who  have  power  over 
those  winds  to  hold  them  back,  as  if  it 
depended  on  their  will  to  let  them  loose 
and  to  spread  ruin  over  the  earth  or 
not. 

(2)  A  suspension  of  these  desolating 
influences  and  agents  until  another  im¬ 
portant  purpose  could  be  accomplished ; 
— that  is,  until  the  servants  of  God  could 
be  sealed  in  .their  foreheads,  vs.  2,  3. 
Another  angel,  acting  independently  of 
the  four  first  seen,  and  having  power  to 
command,  appears  in  the  east,  having 
the  seal  of  the  living  God,  and  he  directs 
the  four  angels,  having  the  four  winds, 
not  to  let  them  loose  upon  tho  earth  until 
the  servants  of  God  should  be  sealed  in 
their  foreheads.  This  obviously  denotes 
some  suspension  of  the  impending  wrath, 
and  for  a  specific  purpose,  that  some¬ 
thing  might  be  done  by  which  the  true 
servants  of  God  would  be  so  marked  as 
to  be  publicly  known  —  as  if  they  had 
a  mark  or  brand  to  that  effect  imprinted 
on  their  foreheads.  Whatever  would 
serve  to  designate  them;  to  determine 
who  they  were ;  to  ascertain  their  num¬ 
ber,  would  be  a  fulfilment  of  this  act  of  the 
sealing  angel.  The  length  of  time  during 
which  it  would  be  done  is  not  desig¬ 
nated  ;  the  essential  thing  is,  that  there 
would  be  a  suspension  of  impending 
judgments  in  order  that  it  might  be  done. 
Whether  this  was  to  occupy  a  longer  or 
a  shorter  period,  is  not  determined  by 
the  symbol ;  nor  is  it  determined  when 
the  winds  thus  held  back  would  be  suf¬ 
fered  to  blow. 

(3)  The  number  of  the  sealed,  vs.  4-8. 
The  seer  does  not  represent  himself 
as  actually  beholding  the  process  of  seal¬ 
ing,  but  he  says  that  he  heard  the  num¬ 
ber  of  those  who  were  sealed.  That 
number  was  an  hundred  and  forty-four 
thousand,  and  they  were  selected  from 
tho  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel  —  Levi  being  reckoned,  who  was 
not  usually  numbered  with  the  tribes, 
and  the  tribe  of  Dan  being  omitted. 
The  number  from  each  tribe,  largo  or 
small,  was  the  same;  the  entire  portion 
selected  being  but  a  very  small  part  of 
the  whole.  Tho  general  idea  here,  what¬ 
ever  may  be  the  particular  application, 
is,  that  there  would  bo  a  selection,  and 
that  tho  whole  number  of  the  tribe  would 
not  bo  ombraced;  that  the  selection 
would  bo  made  from  each  tribe,  and  that 

17* 


all  would  have  the  same  mark  and  be 
saved  by  the  same  means.  It  would  not 
be  in  accordance  with  the  nature  of 
symbolic  representation  to  suppose  that 
the  saved  would  be  the  precise  number 
here  referred  to ;  but  some  great  truth  is 
designed  to  bo  represented  by  this  fact. 
We  should  look,  in  the  fulfilment,  to 
some  process  by  which  the  true  servants 
of  God  would  be  designated;  we  should 
expect  that  a  portion  of  them  would  be 
found  in  each  one  of  the  classes  here 
denoted  by  a  tribe;  we  should  suppose 
that  the  true  servants  of  God  thus  re¬ 
ferred  to  would  be  as  safe  in  the  times 
of  peril  as  if  they  were  designated  by  a 
visible  mark. 

(4)  After  this,  another  vision  presents 
itself  to  the  seer.  It  is  that  of  a  count¬ 
less  multitude  before  the  throne,  redeem¬ 
ed  out  of  all  nations,  with  palms  in  their 
hands,  vs.  9-17.  The  scene  is  transferred 
to  heaven,  and  there  is  a  vision  of  all 
the  redeemed — not  only  of  the  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand,  but  of  all  who 
would  be  rescued  and  saved  from  a  lost 
world.  The  design  is  doubtless  to  cheer 
the  hearts  of  the  true  friends  of  God  in 
times  of  gloom  and  despondency,  by  a 
view  of  the  great  numbers  that  will  bo 
saved,  and  the  glorious  triumph  that 
awaits  the  redeemed  in  heaven.  This 
portion  of  the  vision  embraces  the  fol¬ 
lowing  particulars : — 

(a)  A  vast  multitude,  which  no  man 
can  number,  is  seen  before  the  throne 
in  heaven.  They  are  clad  in  white 
robes  —  emblems  of  purity;  they  have 
palms  in  their  hands  —  emblems  of  vic¬ 
tory,  ver.  9. 

(h)  They  are  engaged  in  ascribing 
praise  to  God,  ver.  10. 

(e)  The  angels,  the  elders,  and  the 
four  living  creatures,  fall  down  before 
the  throne,  and  unite  with  the  rodeemed 
in  ascriptions  of  praise,  vs.  11,  12. 

(d)  A  particular  enquiry  is  made  of 
the  seer — evidently  to  call  his  attention 
to  it — respecting  those  who  appear  there 
in  white  robes,  ver.  13. 

(e)  To  this  enquiry  it  is  answered  that 
they  were  those  who  had  come  up  out 
of  great  tribulation,  and  who  had  washed 
their  robes,  and  had  made  them  pure  in 
tho  blood  of  tho  Lamb,  ver.  14. 

(/)  Then  follows  a  description  of 
their  condition  and  employment  in  hea¬ 
ven,  vs.  15-17.  They  are  constantly 
beforo  the  throne ;  they  servo  God  con- 


198 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  9G. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AND  after  these  things  I  saw 
four  angels  standing  on  the 


tinually ;  they  neither  hunger  nor  thirst; 
they  are  not  subjected  to  the  burning 
heat  of  the  sun ;  they  are  provided  for 
by  the  Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  ; 
and  all  tears  are  forever  wiped  away  from 
their  eyes.  —  This  must  be  regarded,  I 
think,  as  an  episode,  having  no  imme¬ 
diate  connexion  with  what  precedes  or 
with  what  follows.  It  seems  to  be 
thrown  in  here  —  while  the  impending 
judgments  of  the  sixth  seal  are  sus¬ 
pended,  and  before  the  seventh  is  opened 
—  to  furnish  a  relief  in  the  contempla¬ 
tion  of  so  many  scenes  of  woe,  and  to 
cheer  the  soul  with  inspiring  hopes  from 
the  view  of  the  great  number  that  would 
ultimately  be  saved.  While  these  judg¬ 
ments,  therefore,  are  suspended,  the 
mind  is  directed  on  to  the  world  of 
triumph,  as  a  view  fitted  to  sustain  and 
comfort  those  who  would  be  partakers 
in  the  scenes  of  woe.  At  the  same  time 
it  is  one  of  the  most  touching  and  beau¬ 
tiful  of  all  the  representations  of  heaven 
ever  penned,  and  is  eminently  adapted 
to  comfort  those,  in  all  ages,  who  are 
in  a  vale  of  tears. 

In  the  exposition,  it  will  be  proper 
(vs.  1-8)  to  enquire  into  the  fair  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  language  employed  in  the 
symbols ;  and  then  to  enquire  whether 
there  are  any  known  facts  to  which  the 
description  is  applicable.  The  first  en¬ 
quiry  may  and  should  be  pursued  inde¬ 
pendently  of  the  other ;  and,  it  may  be 
added,  that  the  explanation  offered  on 
this  may  be  correct  even  if  the  other 
should  be  erroneous.  The  same  remark, 
also,  is  applicable  to  the  remainder  of 
the  chapter  (vs.  9-17),  and  indeed  is  of 
general  applicability  in  the  exposition 
of  this  book. 

1.  And  after  these  things.  After  the 
vision  of  the  things  referred  to  in  the 
opening  of  the  sixth  seal.  The  natural 
interpretation  would  be,  that  what  is 
here  said  of  the  angels  and  the  winds, 
occurred  after  those  things  which  are 
described  in  the  previous  chapter.  The 
exact  chronology  may  not  be  always 
observed  in  these  symbolical  representa¬ 
tions,  but  doubtless  there  is  a  general 
order  which  is  observed.  I  sato  four 
augels.  He  does  not  describe  their  forms, 


four  comers  of  the  earth,  holding 
the  four  winds  °  of  the  earth, 
a  Da.  7.  2. 


but  merely  mentions  their  agency.  This 
is,  of  course,  a  symbolical  representation. 
We  are  not  to  suppose  that  it  would  be 
literally  fulfilled,  or  that,  at  the  time  re¬ 
ferred  to  by  the  vision,  four  celestial 
beings  would  be  stationed  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world,  for  the  purpose  of 
checking  and  restraining  the  winds  that 
blow  from  the  four  points  of  the  com¬ 
pass.  The  meaning  is,  that  events 
would  occur  which  would  be  properly 
represented  by  four  angels  standing 
in  the  four  quarters  of  the  world, 
and  having  power  over  the  winds. 
*[  Standing  on  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth.  This  language  is,  of  course,  ac¬ 
commodated  to  the  prevailing  mode 
of  speaking  of  the  earth  among  the 
Hebrews.  It  was  a  common  method 
among  them  to  describe  it  as  a  vast 
plain,  having  four  corners,  those  cor¬ 
ners  being  the  prominent  points — north, 
south,  east,  and  west.  So  we  speak 
now  of  the  four  winds,  the  four  quarters 
of  the  world,  &c.  The  Hebrews  spoke 
of  the  earth,  as  we  do  of  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  sun,  and  of  the  motions  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  according  to  ap¬ 
pearances,  and  without  aiming  at  philo¬ 
sophical  exactness.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Job  xxvi.  7.  With  this  view  they  spoke 
of  the  earth  as  an  extended  plain,  and 
as  having  boundaries  or  corners,  as  a 
plain  or  field  naturally  has.  Perhaps 
also  they  used  this  language  with  some 
allusion  to  an  edifice,  as  having  four 
corners;  for  they  speak  also  of  the  earth 
as  having  foundations.  The  language 
which  the  Hebrews  used  was  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  prevailing  ideas  and 
language  of  the  ancients  on  the  subject. 
*[  Holding  the  four  winds  of  the  earth. 
The  winds  blow  in  fact  from  every 
quarter,  but  it  is  convenient  to  speak  of 
them  as  coming  from  the  four  principal 
points  of  the  compass,  and  this  method 
is  adopted,  probably,  in  every  language. 
So  among  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  the 
winds  were  arranged  under  four  classes 
— Zephyrus,  Boreas,  Notus,  and  Eurus, 
— considered  as  under  the  control  of  a 
king,  TEolus.  See  Esohenburg,  Man. 
Class.  Lit.  §  78,  Comp.  §  108.  The 
angels  here  are  represented  os  “  holding ” 


CHAPTER  VII. 


199 


A.  D.  96.] 


that  the  wind  should  not  blow  on 
the  earth,  nor  on  the  sea,  nor  on 
any  tree. 


the  winds  —  (cparouvrtj.  That  is,  they 
held  them  back  when  about  to  sweep 
over  the  earth,  and  to  produce  far- 
spread  desolation.  This  is  an  allusion 
to  a  popular  belief  among  the  Hebrews, 
that  the  agency  of  the  angels  was  em¬ 
ployed  every  where.  It  is  not  suggested 
that  the  angels  had  raised  the  tempest 
here,  but  only  that  they  now  restrained 
and  controlled  it.  The  essential  idea  is, 
that  they  had  power  over  those  winds, 
and  that  they  were  now  exercising  that 
power  by  keeping  them  back  when  they 
were  about  to  spread  desolation  over  the 
earth.  That  the  wind  should  not  blow 
on  the  earth.  That  there  should  be  a 
calm,  as  if  the  winds  were  held  back. 

Nor  on  the  sea.  Nowhere — neither  on 
sea  nor  land.  The  sea  and  the  land 
constitute  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and 
the  language  here,  therefore,  denotes 
that  there  would  be  a  universal  calm. 

Nor  on  any  tree.  To  injure  it.  The 
language  here  used  is  such  as  would 
denote  a  state  of  profound  quiet,  as 
when  we  say  that  it  is  so  still  that  not  a 
leaf  of  the  trees  moves. 

In  regard  to  the  literal  meaning  of  the 
symbol  here  employed,  there  can  be  no 
great  difficulty ;  as  to  its  application  there 
may  be  more.  The  winds  are  the  proper 
symbols  of  wars  and  commotions.  Comp. 
Dan.  vii.  2.  In  Jer.  xlix.  36,  37,  the 
symbol  is  both  used  and  explained : 
“  And  upon  Elam  will  I  bring  the  four 
winds  from  the  four  quarters  of  heaven, 
and  will  scatter  them  towards  all  those 
winds;  and  there  shall  be  no  nation 
whither  the  outcasts  of  Elam  shall  not 
come.  For  I  will  cause  Elam  to  be  dis¬ 
mayed  before  their  enemies,  and  before 
them  that  seek  their  life.”  So  in  Jer. 
li.  1,  2,  a  destroying  wind  is  an  emblem 
of  destructive  war :  “  I  will  raise  up 
against  Babylon  a  destroying  wind,  and 
will  send  unto  Babylon  fanners,  that 
shall  fan  her,  and  shall  empty  her 
land.”  Comp.  Horace,  Odes,  B.  i.  14. 
The  essential  ideas,  therefore,  in  this 
portion  of  tho  symbol,  cannot  be  mis¬ 
taken.  They  are  two :  (1)  that  at  the 
period  of  time  here  referred  to  —  after 
the  opening  of  tho  6ixth  seal  and  before 
the  opening  of  tho  seventh — there  would 


2  And  I  saw  another  angel  as¬ 
cending  from  the  east,  having  the 
seal  0  of  the  living  God :  and  he 

a  2  Ti.  2. 19. 

be  a  state  of  things  which  would  bo 
well  represented  by  rising  tempests  and 
storms,  which  if  unrestrained  would 
spread  desolation  afar;  and  (2)  that  this 
impending  ruin  was  held  back  as  if  by 
angels  having  control  of  those  winds  ; 
that  is,  those  tempests  wero  not  suffered 
to  go  forth  to  spread  desolation  over  the 
world.  A  suspended  tempest ;  calamity 
held  in  check ;  armies  hovering  on  tho 
borders  of  a  kingdom,  but  not  allowed 
to  proceed  for  a  time ;  hordes  of  invaders 
detained,  or  stayed  in  their  march,  as  if 
by  some  restraining  power  not  their 
own,  and  from  causes  not  within  them 
selves  —  any  of  these  things  would  be 
an  obvious  fulfilling  of  the  meaning  of 
the  symbol. 

2.  And  I  saw  another  angel.  Evidently 
having  no  connexion  with  the  four,  and 
employed  for  another  purpose.  This 
angel,  also,  must  have  been  symbolic, 
and  all  that  is  implied  is,  that  something 
would  be  done  as  if  an  angel  had  done 
it.  Ascending  from  the  east.  He  ap¬ 
peared  in  the  east,  and  seemed  to  rise 
like  the  sun.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine 
what  is  the  special  significancy,  if  any, 
of  the  east  here,  or  why  this  quarter  of 
tho  heavens  is  designated  rather  than 
tho  north,  the  south,  or  the  west.  It 
may  be  that  as  light  begins  in  the  east, 
this  would  bo  properly  symbolic  of 
something  that  could  be  compared  with 
the  light  of  the  morning ;  or  that  some 
influence  in  “sealing”  the  servants  of 
God  would  in  fact  go  out  from  the  east; 
or  perhaps  no  special  significance  is  to 
be  attached  to  the  quarter  from  which 
the  angel  is  seen  to  come.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  suppose  that  every  minute 
thing  in  a  symbol  is  to  receive  a  com¬ 
plete  fulfilment,  or  that  there  will  be 
some  particular  thing  to  correspond  with 
it.  Perhaps  all  that  is  meant  here  is, 
that  as  the  sun  comes  forth  with  splendor 
from  the  east,  so  the  angel  oame  with 
magnificence  to  perform  a  task — that  of 
sealing  the  servants  of  God  —  cheerful 
and  joyous  like  that  which  the  sun  per¬ 
forms.  It  is  certain  that  from  no  other 
quarter  of  tho  heavens  would  it  be  so 
appropriate  to  represent  an  angel  os 
coming  forth  to  perform  a  purpose  of 


200 


KEY  EL  ATION, 


cried  with  a  loud  voice  to  the  four 
angels,  to  whom  it  was  given  to 
hurt  the  earth  and  the  sea, 


light  and  mercy  and  salvation.  It  does  not 
seem  to  me,  therefore,  that  we  are  to  look, 
in  the  fulfilment  of  this,  for  any  special 
influence  setting  in  from  the  east  as 
that  which  is  symbolized  here.  Ha  ving 
the  seal  of  the  living  God.  Bearing  it 
in  his  hands.  In  regard  to  this  seal 
the  following  remarks  may  be  made : 

(a)  The  phrase  “  seal  of  the  living  God” 
doubtless  means  that  which  God  had 
appointed,  or  which  he  would  use ;  that 
is,  if  God  himself  came  forth  in  this 
manner  he  would  use  this  seal  for  these 
purposes.  Men  often  have  a  seal  of 
their  own,  with  some  name,  symbol,  or 
device,  which  designates  it  as  theirs,  and 
which  no  other  one  has  a  right  to  use. 
A  seal  is  sometimes  used  by  the  person 
himself;  sometimes  entrusted  to  a  high 
officer  of  state ;  sometimes  to  the  secre¬ 
tary  of  a  corporation ;  and  sometimes, 
as  a  mark  of  special  favor,  to  a  friend. 
In  this  case  it  was  entrusted  to  an  angel 
who  was  authorized  to  use  it,  and  whose 
use  of  it  would  be  sanctioned,  of  course, 
wherever  he  applied  it,  by  the  living 
God,  as  if  he  had  employed  it  himself. 

(b)  As  to  the  form  of  the  seal,  we  have 
no  information.  It  would  be  most  na¬ 
tural  to  suppose  that  the  name  “  of  the 
living  God”  would  be  engraven  on  it,  so 
that  that  name  would  appear  on  any  one 
to  whom  it  might  be  affixed.  Comp. 
Notes  on  2  Tim.  ii.  19.  It  was  custom¬ 
ary  in  the  East  to  brand  the  name  of 
the  master  on  the  forehead  of  a  slave 
(Grotius,  in  loc.) ;  and  such  an  idea  would 
meet  all  that  is  implied  in  the  language 
here,  though  there  is  no  certain  evidence 
that  there  is  an  allusion  to  that  custom. 
In  subsequent  times  in  the  church  it  was 
common  for  Christians  to  impress  the 
sign  of  the  cross  on  their  foreheads. 
Tertullian  de  Corona;  Cyrill.  lib.  vi. 
See  Grotius.  As  nothing  is  said  here, 
however,  about  any  mark  or  device  on 
the  seal,  conjecture  is  useless  as  to  what 
it  was.  (c)  As  to  what  was  to  be  desig¬ 
nated  by  the  seal,  the  main  idea  is  clear, 
that  it  was  to  place  some  such  mark 
upon  his  friends  that  they  would  be 
known  to  be  his,  and  that  they  would  be 
safe  in  the  impending  calamities.  There 
is  perhaps  allusion  here  to  Ezek.  ix.  4, 


[A.  D.  96. 

3  Saying,  Hurt  a  not  the  earth, 
neither  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till 
a  c.  6.  6. 

5,  6,  where  the  following  direction  to  the 
prophet  occurs,  “  Go  through  the  midst 
of  the  city,  through  the  midst  of  Jerusa¬ 
lem,  and  set  a  mark  upon  the  foreheads 
of  the  men  that  sigh,  and  that  cry,  for  all 
the  abominations  that  be  done  in  the 
midst  thereof.  And  to  the  others  he 
said  in  mine  hearing.  Go  ye  after  him 
through  the  city,  and  smite  ;  let  not  your 
eye  spare,  neither  have  ye  pity :  slay 
utterly  old  and  young,  both  maids,  and 
little  children,  and  women ;  but  come 
not  near  any  man  upon  whom  is  the 
mark.”  The  essential  ideas  in  the  seal¬ 
ing  in  the  passage  before  us  would,  there¬ 
fore,  seem  to  be  (1)  that  there  would 
be  some  mark,  sign,  or  token,  by  which 
they  who  were  the  people  of  God  would 
be  known ;  that  is,  there  would  be  some¬ 
thing  which  would  answer,  in  this  re¬ 
spect,  the  same  purpose  as  if  a  seal  had 
been  impressed  upon  their  foreheads. 
Whether  this  was  an  outward  badge ;  or 
a  religious  rite;  or  the  doctrines  which 
they  would  hold,  and  by  which  they 
would  be  known;  or  something  in  their 
spirit  and  manner  which  would  cha¬ 
racterize  his  true  disciples,  may  be  a  fair 
subject  of  enquiry.  It  is  not  specifi¬ 
cally  designated  by  the  use  of  the  word. 
(2)  It  would  be  something  that  would 
be  conspicuous  or  prominent,  as  if  it 
were  impressed  on  the  forehead.  It 
would  not  be  merely  some  internal  seal¬ 
ing,  or  some  designation  by  which  they 
would  be  known  to  themselves  and  to 
God,  but  it  would  be  something  apgoa- 
rent,  as  if  engraved  on  the  forehead. 
What  this  would  be,  whether  a  profes¬ 
sion,  or  a  form  of  religion,  or  the  holding 
of  some  doctrine,  or  the  manifestation 
of  a  particular  spirit,  is  not  here  desig¬ 
nated.  (3)  This  would  be  something  ap¬ 
pointed  by  God  himself.  It  would  not  be 
of  human  origin,  but  would  be  as  if  an 
angel  sent  from  heaven  should  impress  it 
on  the  forehead.  If  it  refers  to  the  doc¬ 
trines  which  they  would  hold,  they  could 
not  be  doctrines  of  human  origin  ;  if  to 
the  spirit  which  they  would  manifest,  it 
would  be  a  spirit  of  heavenly  origin ;  if 
to  some  outward  protection,  it  would  be 
manifest  that  it  were  from  God.  (4)  This 
would  be  a  pledge  of  safoty.  The  design 


CHAPTER  VII. 


201 


A.  D.  96.] 


■we  have  a  sealed  the  servants  of  our 
God  in  their  foreheads. b 

4  And  I  heard  the  number  of 
them  which  were  sealed :  and  there 


of  sealing  the  persons  referred  to  seems 
to  have  been  to  secure  their  safety  in 
the  impending  calamities.  Thus  the 
■winds  were  held  back  until  those  who 
were  to  he  sealed  could  be  designated, 
and  then  they  were  to  be  allowed  to 
sweep  over  the  earth.  These  things, 
therefore,  we  are  to  look  for  in  the  ful¬ 
filment  of  the  symbol.  And  Tie  cried 
with  a  loud  voice.  As  if  he  had  autho¬ 
rity  to  command,  and  as  if  the  four 
winds  were  about  to  be  let  forth  upon  the 
world.  To  whom  it  was  given  to  hurt 
the  earth  and  the  sea.  Who  had  power 
committed  to  them  to  do  this  by  means 
of  the  four  winds. 

3.  Saying,  Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither 
the  sea,  &e.  Let  the  winds  bo  restrained 
until  what  is  hero  designated  shall  be 
done.  These  destroying  angels  were 
.commanded  to  suspend  the  work  of 
destruction  until  the  servants  of  God 
could  be  rendered  secure.  The  division 
here,  as  in  ver.  1,  of  the  “  earth,  the  sea, 
and  the  trees,”  seems  to  include  every 
thing — water,  land,  and  the  productions 
of  the  earth.  Nothing  was  to  be  injured 
until  the  angel  should  designate  the  true 
servants  of  God.  Till  toe  have  sealed 
the  servants  of  God.  The  use  of  the 
plural  “we”  seems  to  denote  that  he  did 
not  expect  to  do  it  alone.  Who  were  to 
be  associated  with  him,  whether  angels 
or  men,  he  does  not  intimate,  but  the 
work  was  evidently  such  that  it  de¬ 
manded  the  agency  of  more  than  one. 

In  their  foreheads.  See  Notes  on  ver. 
2 ;  comp.  Ezek.  ix.  4,  5.  A  mark  thus 
placed  on  the  forehead  would  be  con¬ 
spicuous,  and  would  be  something  which 
could  at  once  be  recognized  if  destruc¬ 
tion  should  spread  over  the  world.  The 
fulfilment  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  two 
things:  (a)  in  something  which  would 
be  conspicuous  or  prominent — so  that  it 
could  be  seen  ,•  and  (b)  in  the  mark  being 
of  such  a  nature  or  character  that  it 
would  be  a  proper  designation  of  the  fact 
that  they  were  the  true  servants  of  God. 

4.  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them 
which  were  sealed.  He  does  not  say 
where  ho  heard  that,  or  by  whom  it  was 
communicated  to  him,  or  token  it  was 


were  sealed  an  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  c  thousand  of  all  the  tribes 
of  the  children  of  Israel. 

a  Eze.  9.  4.  b  c.  22.  4.  c  c.  14. 1. 


done.  The  material  point  is,  that  he 
heard  it ;  he  did  not  see  it  done.  Either 
by  the  angel,  or  by  some  direct  commu¬ 
nication  from  God,  he  was  told  of  the 
number  that  would  be  sealed,  and  of  the 
distribution  of  the  whole  number  into 
twelve  equal  parts,  represented  by  the 
tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel.  *j  And 
there  were  sealed  an  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  thousand  of  all  the  tribes  of  the 
children  of  Israel.  In  regard  to  this 
number,  the  first  and  the  main  question 
is,  whether  it  is  meant  that  this  was  to 
be  the  literal  number,  or  whether  it  was 
symbolical ;  and,  if  the  latter,  of  what  it 
is  a  symbol  ?  I.  As  to  the  first  of  these  en¬ 
quiries,  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
good  reason  for  doubt.  The  fair  inter¬ 
pretation  seems  to  require  that  it  should 
be  understood  as  symbolical,  or  as  de¬ 
signed  not  to  be  literally  taken ;  for 
(a)  the  whole  scene  is  symbolical  —  the 
winds,  the  angels,  the  sealing;  ( b )  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  this  num¬ 
ber  will  include  all  who  will  be  sealed 
and  saved.  In  whatever  way  this  is 
interpreted,  and  whatever  we  may  sup¬ 
pose  it  to  refer  to,  we  cannot  but  sup¬ 
pose  that  more  than  this  number  will  be 
saved,  (c)  The  number  is  too  exact  and 
artificial  to  suppose  that  it  is  literal.  It 
is  inconceivable  that  exactly  the  same 
number  —  precisely  twelve  thousand  — 
should  be  selected  from  each  tribe  of  the 
childron  of  Israel,  (d)  If  literal,  it  is 
necessary  to  suppose  that  this  refers  to 
the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel.  But  on  every  supposition  this 
is  absurd.  Ten  of  their  tribes  had  been 
long  before  carried  away,  and  the  dis¬ 
tinction  of  the  tribes  was  lost,  no  more  to 
be  recovered,  and  the  Hebrew  people 
never  have  been,  since  the  time  of  John, 
in  circumstances  to  which  the  descrip¬ 
tion  here  could  be  applicable.  These 
considerations  make  it  clear  that  the 
description  here  is  symbolical.  But 
II.  Of  what  is  it  symbolical  ?  Is  it  of  a 
large  number,  or  of  a  small  number? 
Is  it  of  those  who  would  be  saved  from 
among  the  Jews,  or  of  all  who  would  bo 
saved  in  the  Christian  church  —  repre¬ 
sented  as  tho  “  tribes  of  the  childron  of 


202 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


Israel?”  To  these  enquiries  we  may 
answer:  (1)  That  the  representation 
seems  to  be  rather  that  of  a  compara¬ 
tively  small  number  than  a  large  one : — 
for  these  reasons,  (a)  The  number  of 
itself  is  not  large,  (b)  The  number  is  not 
large  as  compared  with  those  who  must 
have  constituted  the  tribes  here  referred 
to  —  the  number  twelve  thousand,  for 
example,  as  compared  with  the  whole 
number  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  of  the 
tribe  of  Reuben,  Ac.  (c)  It  would  seem 
from  the  language  that  there  would  be 
some  selection  from  a  much  greater  num¬ 
ber.  Thus,  not  all  in  the  tribes  were 
sealed,  but  those  who  were  sealed  were 
“  of  all  the  tribes” — U  -rracrtis  <t>o\fjs ;  that 
is,  out  of  these  tribes.  So  in  the  speci¬ 
fication  in  each  tribe  —  Ik  <pv\rjs  ’Mvoa, 
’Pov(3!)v,  Ac.  Some  out  of  the  tribe,  to 
wit,  twelve  thousand,  were  sealed.  It  is 
not  said  of  the  twelve  thousand  of  the 
tribes  of  Judah,  Reuben,  Ac.,  that  they 
constituted  the  tribe,  but  that  they  were 
sealed  out  of  the  tribe,  as  a  part  of  it 
preserved  and  saved.  “  When  the  pre¬ 
position  he,  or  out  of,  stands  after  any 
such  verb  as  sealed,  between  a  definite 
numeral  and  a  noun  of  multitude  in 
the  genitive,  sound  criticism  requires, 
doubtless,  that  the  numeral  should  be 
thus  construed,  as  signifying,  not  the 
whole,  but  a  part  taken  out,”  Elliott, 
i.  237.  Comp.  Ex.  xxxii.  28 ;  1  Sam. 
iv.  10  ;  Num.  i.  21.  The  phrase,  then, 
would  properly  denote  those  taken 
out  of  some  other  and  greater  number  — 
as  a  portion  of  a  tribe,  and  not  the 
whole  tribe.  If  the  reference  here  is 
to  the  church,  it  would  seem  to  denote 
that  a  portion  only  of  that  church  would 
be  sealed.  ( d )  For  the  same  reason  the 
idea  would  seem  to  be,  that  compara¬ 
tively  a  small  portion  is  referred  to — as 
twelve  thousand  would  be  comparatively 
a  small  part  of  ono  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel ;  and  if  this  refers  to  the  church, 
we  should  expect  to  find  its  fulfilment  in 
a  state  of  things  in  which  the  largest 
proportion  would  not  bo  sealed  : — that  is, 
In  a  corrupt  state  of  the  church  in  which 
there  would  be  many  professors  of  reli¬ 
gion,  but  comparatively  few  who  had 
real  piety.  (2)  To  the.  other  enquiry — 
whether  this  refers  to  those  who  would 
be  sealed  and  saved  among  the  Jews,  or 
to  those  in  the  Christian  church,  we  may 
answer  (a),  that  there  are  strong  reasons 
for  supposing  the  latter  to  bo  the  correct 


opinion.  Long  before  the  time  of  John 
all  these  distinctions  of  tribe  were 
abolished.  The  ten  tribes  had  been 
carried  away  and  scattered  in  distant 
lands,  never  more  to  be  restored,  and  it 
cannot  be  supposed  that  there  was  any 
such  literal  selection  from  the  twelve 
tribes  as  is  here  spoken  of,  or  any  such 
designation  of  twelve  thousand  from 
each.  There  was  no  occasion  —  either 
when  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  or  at  any 
other  time  —  on  which  there  were  such 
transactions  as  are  here  referred  to  oc¬ 
curring  in  reference  to  the  children  of 
Israel,  (b)  The  language  is  such  as  a 
Christian,  who  had  been  by  birth  and 
education  a  Hebrew,  would  naturally 
use  if  he  wished  to  designate  the  church. 
Comp.  Notes  on  James  i.  1.  Accustomed 
to  speak  of  the  people  of  God  as  “the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel,”  nothing  was 
more  natural  than  to  transfer  this  lan¬ 
guage  to  the  church  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  to  speak  of  it  in  that  figurative  man¬ 
ner.  Accordingly,  from  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  the  language  is  universally 
understood  to  have  reference  to  the 
Christian  church.  Even  Prof.  Stuart, 
who  supposes  that  the  reference  is  to 
the  siege  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
by  the  Romans,  interprets  it  of  the  pre¬ 
servation  of  Christians,  and  their  flight 
to  Pella,  beyond  Jordan.  Thus  inter¬ 
preted,  moreover,  it  accords  with  the 
entire  symbolical  character  of  the  repre¬ 
sentation.  (c)  The  reference  to  the  par 
ticular  tribes  may  be  a  designed  allusion 
to  the  Christian  church  as  it  would  be 
divided  into  denominations,  or  known 
by  different  names ;  and  the  fact  that  a 
certain  portion  would  be  sealed  from 
every  tribe,  would  not  be  an  unfit 
representation  of  the  fact  that  a  portion 
of  all  the  various  churches  or  denomi¬ 
nations  would  be  sealed  and  saved. 
That  is,  salvation  would  be  confined  to 
no  one  church  or  denomination,  but 
among  them  all  there  would  be  found 
true  servants  of  God.  It  would  bo  im¬ 
proper  to  suppose  that  the  division  into 
tribes  among  the  children  of  Israel  was 
designed  to  be  a  type  of  the  sects  and 
denominations  in  the  Christian  church, 
and  yet  the  fact  of  such  a  division  may 
not  improperly  be  employed  as  an  illus¬ 
tration  of  that;  for.  the  whole  church  is 
made  up  not  of  any  one  denomination 
alone,  but  of  all  who  hold  the  truth  com¬ 
bined,  as  the  people  of  God  in  ancient 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  VII.  203 


5  Of  the  tribe  of  Juda  were  sealed 
twelve  thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of 
Reuben  were  sealed  twelve  thou- 

times  consisted  not  solely  of  any  one 
tribe,  however  large  and  powerful,  but 
of  all  combined.  Thus  understood,  the 
symbol  would  point  to  a  time  when 
there  would  be  various  denominations 
in  the  church,  and  yet  with  the  idea  that 
true  friends  of  God  would  be  found 
among  them  all.  (d)  Perhaps  nothing 
can  be  argued  from  the  fact  that  exactly 
twelve  thousand  were  selected  from  each 
of  the  tribes.  In  language  so  figurative 
and  symbolical  as  this,  it  could  not  be 
maintained  that  this  proves  that  the 
same  definite  number  would  be  taken 
from  each  denomination  of  Christians. 
Perhaps  all  that  can  be  fairly  inferred 
is  that  there  would  be  no  partiality  or 
preference  for  one  more  than  another ; 
that  there  would  be  no  favoritism  on 
account  of  the  tribe  or  denomination 
to  which  any  one  belonged;  but  that 
the  seal  would  be  impressed  on  all,  of 
any  denomination,  who  had  the  true 
spirit  of  religion.  No  one  would  receive 
the  token  of  the  divino  favor  because  he 
was  of  the  tribe  of  J udah  or  Reuben ; 
no  one  because  he  belonged  to  any 
particular  denomination  of  Christians. 
Large  numbers  from  every  branch  of  the 
church  would  be  sealed;  none  would  be 
sealed  because  he  belonged  to  one  form 
of  external  organization  rather  than  to 
another;  none  would  be  excluded  because 
he  belonged  to  any  one  tribe,  if  he  had  the 
spirit,  and  held  the  sentiments  which 
made  it  proper  to  recognize  him  as  a 
servant  of  God.  Theso  views  seem  to  me 
to  express  the  true  sense  of  this  passage. 
No  one  can  seriously  maintain  that  the 
writer  meant  to  refer  literally  to  the 
Jewish  people;  and  if  he  referred  to  the 
Christian  church,  it  seems  to  bo  to  some 
selection  that  would  be  made  out  of  the 
whole  church,  in  which  there  would  bo 
no  favoritism  or  partiality,  and  to  the 
fact  that,  in  regard  to  them,  there  would 
be  something  which,  in  the  midst  of 
abounding  corruption,  or  impending 
danger,  would  designate  them  as  the 
chosen  people  of  God,  and  would  furnish 
evidence  that  they  would  be  safe. 

5-8.  Of  the  tribe  of  Juda  were  sealed 
twelve  thousand.  That  is,  a  selection  was 
made,  or  a  number  sealed,  as  if  it  had 
been  made  from  ono  of  the  tribes  of  the 


sand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Gad  were 
sealed  twelve  thousand. 

6  Of  the  tribe  of  Aser  were  sealed 

children  of  Israel  —  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
If  the  remarks  above  made  are  correct, 
this  refers  to  the  Christian  church,  and 
means,  in  connexion  with  what  follows, 
that  each  portion  of  the  church  would 
furnish  a  definite  part  of  the  whole  num- 
■'ber  sealed  and  saved.  We  are  not  re¬ 
quired  to  understand  this  of  the  exact 
number  of  twelve  thousand,  but  that  the 
designation  would  be  made  from  all  parts 
and  branches  of  the  church  as  if  a  selec¬ 
tion  of  the  true  servants  of  God  were 
made  from  the  whole  number  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel.  —  There  seems  to  be  no  parti¬ 
cular  reason  why  the  tribe  of  Judah  was 
mentioned  first.  Judah  was  not  the 
oldest  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  there 
was  no  settled  order  in  which  the  tribes 
were  usually  mentioned.  The  order  of 
their  birth,  as  mentioned  in  Gen.  xxix., 
xxx.,  is  as  follows :  —  Reuben,  Simeon, 
Levi,  Judah,  Dan,  Naphtali,  Gad,  Asher, 
Issachar,  Zebulon, Joseph, Benjamin.  In 
the  blessing  of  Jacob,  Gen.xlix.,  this  order 
is  changed,  and  is  as  follows,  Reuben,  Si¬ 
meon,  Levi,  Judah,  Zebulon,  Issachar, 
Dan,  Gad,  Asher,  Naphtali,  Joseph,  Ben¬ 
jamin. — In  the  blessing  of  Moses,  Deut. 
xxxiii.,  a  different  order  still  is  observed : 
Reuben,  Judah,  Levi,  Benjamin,  Joseph, 
Zebulon,  Issachar,  Gad,  Dan,  Naphtali, 
Asher;  and  in  this  last, moreover,  Simeon 
is  omitted.  So  again  in  Ezek.  xlviii.,  there 
are  two  enumerations  of  the  twelve  tribes, 
differing  from  each  other,  and  both  differ¬ 
ing  from  the  arrangements  above  referred 
to ;  viz.  in  vs.  31-34,  where  Levi  is  reck¬ 
oned  as  one,  and  Joseph  as  only  one;  and 
in  vs.  1-27,  referring  to  the  division  of 
the  country,  where  Levi,  who  had  no 
heritage  in  land,  is  omitted,  and  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh  are  counted  as  two  tribes. 
Prof.  Stuart,  ii.  172, 173.  From  facts  like 
these,  it  is  clear  that  there  was  no  certain 
and  settled  order  in  which  the  tribes  wore 
mentioned  by  the  sacred  writers.  The 
same  thing  seems  to  have  occurred  in  the 
enumeration  of  the  tribes,  which  would 
occur,  for  example,  in  the  enumeration  of 
the  several  States  of  the  American  Union. 
There  is  indeed  an  order  which  is  usually 
observed,  beginning  with  Maine,  <fcc.,  but 
almost  no  two  writers  would  observe 
throughout  thp  same  order,  nor  should  we 
deem  it  strange  if  the  order  should  be 


204 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


twelve  thousand.  Of  the  tritye  of 
Nephthalim  were  sealed  twelve  thou- 


materially  varied  by  even  the  same  writer 
in  enumerating  them  at  different  times. 
Thus,  at  one  time,  it  might  be  convenient 
to  enumerate  them  according  to  their 
geographical  position ;  at  another  in  the 
order  of  their  settlement ;  at  another  in 
the  order  of  their  admission  into  the 
Union ;  at  another  in  the  order  of  their 
size  and  importance ;  at  another  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  arranged  in  re¬ 
ference  to  political  parties,  Ac.  Some¬ 
thing  of  the  same  kind  may  have  oc¬ 
curred  in  the  order  in  which  the  tribes 
were  mentioned  among  the  Jews.  Per¬ 
haps  this  may  have  occurred  also  of  de¬ 
sign,  in  order  that  no  one  tribe  might 
claim  the  precedence  or  the  pre-eminence 
by  being  always  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  list.  —  If,  as  is  supposed  above,  the 
allusion  in  this  enumeration  of  the  tribes 
was  to  The  various  portions  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  church,  then  perhaps  the  idea  in¬ 
tended  to  be  conveyed  is,  that  no  one 
division  of  that  church  is  to  have  any  pre¬ 
ference  on  account  of  its  locality,  or  its 
occupying  any  particular  country,  or  be¬ 
cause  it  has  more  wealth,  learning,  or 
numbers  than  others,  but  that  all  are  to 
be  regarded,  where  there  is  the  true  spirit 
of  religion,  as  on  a  level. 

There  are,  however,  three  peculiarities 
in  this  enumeration  of  the  tribes,  which 
demand  a  more  particular  explanation. 
The  numbor  indeed  is  twelve,  but  that 
number  is  made  up  in  a  peculiar  manner. 
(1)  Joseph  is  mentioned,  and  also  Ma¬ 
nassah.  The  matter  of  fact  was,  that 
Joseph  had  two  sons,  Ephraim  and  Ma- 
nassah  (Gen.  xlviii.  1.),  and  that  these  two 
sons  gave  name  to  two  of  the  tribes, 
the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and  Manassah. 
There  was,  properly  speaking,  no  tribe 
of  the  namo  Joseph.  In  Numbers  xiii. 
the  name  Levi  is  omitted,  as  it  usually 
is,  because  that  tribe  had  no  inheritance 
in  the  division  of  the  land,  and  in  order 
that  the  number  twelve  might  be  com¬ 
plete,  Ephraim  and  Joseph  are  mentioned 
as  two  tribes,  vs.  8,  11.  In  ver.  11,  the 
writer  states  expressly  that  by  the  tribe 
Joseph  he  meant  Manassah — “Of  the 
tribe  of  Joseph,  namely ,  of  the  tribe  of 
Manassah,”  Ac.  From  this  it  would  seem 
that,  as  Manassah  was  the  oldest  (Gen. 
xlviii.  14),  the  name  Joseph  was  some¬ 


sand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Manasses 
were  sealed  twelve  thousand. 


times  given  to  that  tribe.  As  Ephraim, 
however,  became  the  largest  tribe,  and 
as  Jacob  in  blessing  the  two  sons  of  Jo¬ 
seph  (Gen.  xlviii.  14)  laid  his  right  hand 
on  Ephraim,  and  pronounced  a  special 
blessing  on  him  (vs.  19, 20),  it  would  seem 
not  improbable  that,  when  not  particu¬ 
larly  designated,  the  name  Joseph  was 
given  to  that  tribe,  as  it  is  evidently  in 
this  place.  Possibly  the  name  Joseph  inay 
have  been  a  general  name  which  was  occa¬ 
sionally  applied  to  either  of  these  tribes. 
In  the  long  account  of  the  original  di¬ 
vision  of  Canaan,  in  Joshua  xiii.-xix., 
Levi  is  omitted,  because  he  had  no  herit¬ 
age,  and  Ephraim  and  Manassah  are 
mentioned  as  two  tribes.  The  name  Jo¬ 
seph  in  the  passage  before  us  (ver.  8)  is 
doubtless  designed,  as  remarked  above, 
to  refer  to  Ephraim.  (2)  In  this  list  (ver. 
7)  the  name  of  Levi  is  inserted  among  the 
tribes.  As  already  remarked,  this  namo 
is  not  commonly  inserted  among  the 
tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel,  because 
that  tribe,  being  devoted  to  the  sacerdo¬ 
tal  office,  had  no  inheritance  in  the  di¬ 
vision  of  the  country,  but  was  scattered 
among  the  other  tribes.  See  Joshua  xiv. 
3,  4,  xviii.  7.  It  may  have  been  inserted 
here,  if  this  refers  to  the  Christian  church, 
to  denote  that  the  ministers  of  the  gospel 
as  well  as  other  members  of  the  church, 
would  share  in  the  protection  implied  by 
the  sealing ;  that  is,  to  denote  that  no 
class  in  the  church  would  be  excluded 
from  the  blessings  of  salvation.  (3)  The 
name  of  one  of  the  tribes — Dan — is  omit¬ 
ted;  so  that  by  this  omission,  and  the  in¬ 
sertion  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  the  original 
number  of  twelve  is  preserved.  There 
have  been  numerous  conjectures  as  to 
the  reason  why  the  tribe  of  Dan  is  omit¬ 
ted  here,  but  none  of  the  solutions  pro¬ 
posed  are  without  difficulty.  All  that 
can  be  known,  or  regarded  as  probable, 
on  the  subject,  seems  to  be  this  : — (a)  As 
the  tribe  of  Levi  was  usually  omitted  in 
an  enumeration  of  the  tribes,  because  that 
tribe  had  no  part  in  the  inheritance  of 
the  Hebrew  people  in  the  division  of  the 
land  of  Canaan,  so  there  appear  to  have 
been  instances  in  which  the  names  of 
some  of  the  other  tribes  were  omitted,  the 
reason  for  which  is  not  given.  Thus,  in 
Deut.  xxxiii.,  in  the  blessing  pronounced 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  VII.  205 


7  Of  the  tribe  of  Simeon  ivere 
sealed  twelve  thousand.  Of  the 
tribe  of  Levi  were  sealed  twelve 


by  Moses  on  the  tribes  just  before  his 
death,  the  name  Simeon  is  omitted.  In 
I.  Chron.  iv.-viii.  the  names  of  Zebulon 
and  Dan  are  both  omitted.  It  would 
seem,  therefore,  that  the  name  of  a  tribe 
might  be  sometimes  omitted  without  any 
particular  reason  being  specified.  (6)  It 
has  been  supposed  by  some  that  the  name 
Ban  was  omitted  because  that  tribe  was 
early  devoted  to  idolatry,  and  continued 
idolatrous  to  the  time  of  the  captivity. 
Of  that  fact  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  it 
is  expressly  affirmed  in  Judges  xviii.  30; 
and  that  fact  seems  to  be  a  sufficient  rea¬ 
son  for  the  omission  of  the  name.  As 
being  thus  idolatrous,  it  was  in  a  mea¬ 
sure  separated  from  the  people  of  God, 
and  deserved  not  to  he  reckoned  among 
them ;  and  in  enumerating  those  who 
were  the  servants  of  God,  there  seemed  to 
he  a  propriety  that  a  tribe  devoted  to 
idolatry  should  not  bo  reckoned  among 
the  number.  —  This  will  account  for  the 
omission  without  resorting  to  the  suppo¬ 
sition  of  Grotius,  that  the  tribe  of  Dan 
.  was  extinct  at  the  time  when  the  Apoca¬ 
lypse  was  written  —  a  fact  which  also 
existed  in  regard  to  all  the  ten  tribes ; 
or  to  the  supposition  of  Andreas  and 
others,  that  Dan  is  omitted  because  An¬ 
tichrist  was  to  spring  from  that  tribe  — 
a  supposition  which  is  alike  without  proof 
and  without  probability.  —  The  fact  that 
Dan  was  omitted,  cannot  be  supposed  to 
have  any  special  significancy  in  the  case 
before  us.  Such  an  omission  is  what, 
as  we  havo  seen,  might  have  occurred  at 
any  time,  in  the  enumeration  of  the  tribes. 

In  reference  to  the  application  of  this 
portion  of  the  book  (vs.  1-8),  or  of  what 
is  designed  to  be  hero  represented,  there 
has  been,  as  might  bo  expected,  a  great 
variety  of  opinions.  From  the  exposi¬ 
tion  of  the  words  and  phrases  which  has 
been  given,  it  is  manifest  that  we  are  to 
look  for  a  series  of  events  like  the  follow¬ 
ing: —  (1)  Some  impending  danger,  or 
something  that  threatened  to  sweep  every 
thing  away — like  winds  that  were  ready 
to  blow  on  the  earth.  (2)  That  tempest 
restrained  or  held  back,  as  if  the  winds 
were  held  in  check  by  an  angel,  and  were 
not  suffered  to  sweep  over  the  world. 
(3)  Some  new  influence  or  power,  repro- 
18 


thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Isaschar 
were  sealed  twelve  thousand. 

8  Of  the  tribe  of  Zabulon  ivere 


sentod  by  an  angel  coming  from  the  east 
— the  great  source  of  light — that  should 
designate  the  true  church  of  God — the 
servants  of  the  Most  High.  (4)  Some 
mark  or  note  by  which  the  true  people 
of  God  could  bo  designated,  or  by  which 
they  could  be  known — as  if  some  name 
were  impressed  on  their  foreheads.  (5) 
A  selection  or  election  of  the  number  from 
a  much  greater  number  who  were  the 
professed,  but  were  not  the  true  servants 
of  God.  (6)  A  definite,  though  compa¬ 
ratively  a  small  number  thus  designated 
out  of  the  whole  mass.  (7)  This  num¬ 
ber  taken  from  all  the  divisions  of  the 
professed  people  of  God,  in  such  num¬ 
bers  and  in  such  a  manner,  that  it  would 
be  apparent  that  there  would  be  no  par¬ 
tiality  or  favoritism ;  that  is,  that  wher¬ 
ever  the  true  servants  of  God  were  found, 
they  would  be  sealed  and  saved.  These 
are  things  which  lie  on  the  face  of  the 
passage,  if  the  interpretation  above  given 
is  correct,  and  in  its  application  it  is  ne¬ 
cessary  to  find  some  facts  that  will  pro¬ 
perly  correspond  with  these  things. 

If  the  interpretation  of  the  sixth  seal 
proposed  above  is  correct,  then  we  are  to 
look  for  the  fulfilment  of  this  in  events 
that  soon  succeeded  those  which  are  there 
referred  to,  or  at  least  which  had  their 
commencement  at  about  that  time,  and 
the  enquiry  now  is,  whether  there  w ere 
any  events  that  would  accord  properly 
with  the  interpretation  here  proposed : — 
that  is,  any  impending  and  spreading 
danger;  any  restraining  of  that  danger; 
any  process  of  designating  the  servants 
of  God  so  as  to  preserve  them  ;  any  thing 
like  a  designation  or  selection  of  them 
from  among  the  masses  of  the  professed 
people  of  God  ? — Now,  in  respect  to  this, 
the  following  facts  accord  so  well  with 
what  is  demanded  in  the  interpretation, 
that  it  may  be  regarded  as  morally  cer¬ 
tain  that  they  were  the  things  which  were 
thus  made  to  pass  in  vision  before  the 
mind  of  John.  They  have  at  least  this 
degree  of  probability,  that  if  it  were  ad¬ 
mitted  that  he  intended  to  describe  them, 
the  symbols  which  are  actually  employed 
are  those  which  it  would  have  been  pro¬ 
per  to  select  to  represent  them. 

I.  The  impending  danger,  like  winds 


206 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


sealed  twelve  thousand.  Of  the 
tribe  of  Joseph  were  sealed  twelve 

restrained,  that  threatened  to  sweep 
every  thing  away,  and  to  hasten  on  the 
end  of  the  world.  —  In  reference  to  this, 
there  may  have  been  two  classes  of  im¬ 
pending  danger — that  from  the  invasion 
of  the  northern  hordes,  referred  to  in  the 
sixth  seal  (ch.  vi.),  and  that  from  the  in¬ 
flux  of  error,  that  threatened  the  ruin  of 
the  church,  (a)  As  to  the  former,  the 
language  used  by  John  will  accurately 
express  the  state  of  things  as  it  existed 
at  the  period  supposed  at  the  time  of  the 
sixth  seal  — the  series  of  events  intro¬ 
duced,  now  suspended,  like  the  opening 
of  the  seventh  seal.  The  idea  is  that  of 
nations  pressing  on  to  conquest;  heaving 
like  tempests  on  the  borders  of  the  em¬ 
pire  ;  overturning  every  thing  in  their 
way  ;  spreading  desolation  by  fire  and 
sword,  as  ?/the  world  were  about  to  come 
to  an  end.  The  language  used  by  Mr. 
Gibbon  in  describing  the  times  here  re¬ 
ferred  to,  is  so  applicable  that  it  would 
seem  almost  as  if  he  had  the  symbols 
used  by  John  in  his  eye.  Speaking  of 
the  time  of  Constantine,  he  says,  “  The 
threatening  tempest  of  barbarians,  which 
so  soon  subverted  the  foundations  of  Ro¬ 
man  greatness,  was  still  repelled,  or  sus¬ 
pended,  on  the  frontiers.”  i.  362.  This 
language  accurately  expresses  the  con¬ 
dition  of  the  Roman  world  at  the  period 
succeeding  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal; 
the  period  of  suspended  judgments  in 
order  that  the  servants  of  God  might  bo 
sealed.  See  the  Notes  on  ch.  vi.  12-17. 
The  nations  which  ultimately  spread  de¬ 
solation  through  the  empire,  hovered 
around  its  borders,  making  occasional 
incursions  into  its  territory  ;  even  carry¬ 
ing  their  arms,  as  we  have  seen  in  some 
instances,  as  far  as  Rome  itself,  but  still 
restrained  from  accomplishing  the  final 
purpose  of  overthrowing  the  city  and  the 
empire.  The  church  and  the  state  alike 
were  threatened  with  destruction,  and 
the  impending  wrath  seemed  only  to  be 
held  back  as  if  to  give  time  to  accom¬ 
plish  some  other  purpose.  (6)  At  the 
same  time  there  was  another  class  of  evils 
which  threatened  to  sweep  like  a  tem¬ 
pest  over  the  church — the  evils  of  error 
in  doctrine  that  sprang  up  on  the  es¬ 
tablishment  of  Christianity  by  Constan¬ 
tine.  That  fact  was  followed  with  a 
great  increase  of  professors  of  religion, 


thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Benja- 
min  were  sealed  twelve  thousand. 

who,  for  various  purposes,  crowded  into 
a  church  patronized  by  the  state — a  con¬ 
dition  of  things  which  tended  to  do  more 
to  destroy  the  church  than  all  that  had 
been  done  by  persecution  had  accom¬ 
plished.  This  effect  was  natural;  and 
the  church  became  filled  with  those  who 
had  yielded  themselves  to  the  Christian 
faith  from  motives  of  policy,  and  who, 
having  no  true  spiritual  piety,  were  ready 
to  embrace  the  most  lax  views  of  reli¬ 
gion,  and  to  yield  themselves  to  any  form 
of  error.  Of  this  period,  and  of  the  effect 
of  the  conversion  of  Constantine  in  this 
respect,  Mr.  Gibbon  makes  the  following 
remarks,  strikingly  illustrative  of  the 
view  now  taken  of  the  meaning  of  this 
passage.  “  The  hopes  of  wealth  and  ho¬ 
nor,  the  example  of  an  emperor,  his  ex¬ 
hortations,  his  irresistible  smiles,  dif¬ 
fused  conviction  among  the  venal  and 
obsequious  crowds  which  usually  fill  the 
departments  of  a  palace.  The  cities 
which  signalized  a  forward  zeal,  by  the 
voluntary  destruction  of  their  temples, 
were  distinguished  by  municipal  privi¬ 
leges,  and  rewarded  with  popular  dona¬ 
tives  ;  and  the  new  capital  of  the  East 
gloried  in  the  singular  advantage,  that 
Constantinople  was  never  profaned  by 
the  worship  of  idols.  As  the  lower  ranks 
of  society  are  governed  by  imitation,  the 
conversion  of  those  who  possessed  any 
eminence  of  birth,  of  power,  or  of  riches, 
was  soon  followed  by  dependent  multi¬ 
tudes.  The  salvation  of  the  common 
people  was  purchased  at  an  easy  rato,  if 
it  be  true,  that,  in  one  year,  twelve  thou¬ 
sand  men  were  baptized  at  Rome,  be¬ 
sides  a  proportionable  number  of  women 
and  children,  and  that  a  white  garment, 
with  twenty  pieces  of  gold,  had  been 
promised  by  the  emperor  to  every  con¬ 
vert.”  i.  425.  At  a  time,  therefore,  when 
it  might  have  been  supposed  that,  under 
the  patronage  of  a  Christian  emperor, 
the  truth  would  have  spread  around  the 
world,  the  church  was  exposed  to  one  of 
its  greatest  dangers  —  that  arising  from 
the  fact  that  ithad  become  united  with  the 
state.  About  the  same  time,  also,  thero 
sprang  up  many  of  those  forms  of  error 
which  have  spread  farthest  over  the 
Christian  world,  and  which  then  threat¬ 
ened  to  become  the  universal  form  of 
belief  in  the  church.  Of  this  class  of 


CHAPTER  VII. 


207 


A.  D.  96.] 

doctrine  were  the  views  of  Arius,  and 
the  views  of  Pelagius — forms  of  opinion 
which  there  were  strong  reasons  to  fear 
might  become  the  prevailing  belief  of  the 
church,  and  essentially  change  its  cha¬ 
racter.  About  this  time,  also,  the  church 
was  passing  into  the  state  in  which  the  Pa¬ 
pacy  would  arise — that  dark  and  gloomy 
period  in  which  error  would  spread  over 
the  Christian  world,  and  the  true  ser¬ 
vants  of  God  would  retire  for  a  long  pe¬ 
riod  into  obscurity.  “We  are  now  but 
a  little  way  off  from  the  commencement 
of  that  noted  period  —  obscurely  hinted 
at  by  Daniel,  plainly  announced  by  John 
— the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  pro¬ 
phetic  days  or  years,  for  which  prepara¬ 
tions  of  a  very  unusual  kind,  but  re¬ 
quisite,  doubtless,  are  made.  This  period 
was  to  form  the  gloomiest,  without  ex¬ 
ception,  in  the  annals  of  the  world — the 
period  of  Satan’s  highest  success,  and  of 
tho  church’s  greatest  depression ;  and 
lest  she  should  become  during  it  utterly 
extinct,  her  members,  never  so  few  as 
then,  were  all  specially  sealed.  The 
long  night  passes  on,  darkening  as  it 
advances ;  but  the  sealed  company  are 
not  visible;  they  disappear  from  the 
Apocalyptic  stage,  just  as  they  then  dis¬ 
appeared  from  the  observation  of  the 
world;  for  they  fled  away  to  escape  the 
fire  and  the  dungeons  of  their  persecu¬ 
tors,  to  hide  in  the  hoary  caves  of  the 
earth,  or  to  inhabit  the  untrodden  re¬ 
gions  of  the  wilderness,  or  to  dwell  be¬ 
neath  the  shadow  of  the  Alps,  or  to  enjoy 
fellowship  with  God,  emancipated  and 
unknown,  in  the  deep  seclusion  and 
gloom  of  some  convent.”  The  Seventh 
Vial,  London,  1S48,  pp.  27,  28. — These 
facts  seem  to  me  to  show,  with  a  con¬ 
siderable  degree  of  probability,  what  was 
designated  by  the  suspense  which  occur¬ 
red  after  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal — 
when  the  affairs  of  the  world  seemed  to 
bo  hastening  on  to  the  great  catastrophe. 
At  that  period,  the  prophetic  eye  sees 
tho  tendency  of  things  suddenly  ar¬ 
rested;  tho  winds  held  back,  the  church 
preserved,  and  a  series  of  events  intro¬ 
duced,  intended  to  designate  and  to  save 
from  the  great  mass  of  those  who  pro¬ 
fessedly  constituted  the  “  tribes  of  Is¬ 
rael,”  a  definite  number  who  should  be 
in  fact  the  true  church  of  God. 

II.  The  facts,  then,  to  which  there  is 
reference  in  checking  tho  tendency  of 
things,  and  scaling  tho  servants  of  God, 


I  may  have  been  the  following : — (a)  The 
preservation  of  the  church  from  ex¬ 
tinction  during  those  calamitous  periods 
when  ruin  seemed  about  to  sweep  over 
the  Roman  world.  Not  only  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  was  there  a  suspension 
of  those  impending  judgments  that 
seemed  to  threaten  the  very  extinction 
of  the  empire  by  the  invasion  of  the 
Northern  hordes  (see  Notes  on  ch.  vi.), 
but  there  were  special  acts  in  favor  of 
the  church,  by  which  these  fierce  bar¬ 
barians  appeared  not  only  to  be  restrain¬ 
ed  from  destroying  the  church,  but  to  be 
influenced  by  tenderness  and  sympathy 
for  it,  as  if  they  were  raised  up  to  pre¬ 
serve  it  when  Rome  had  done  all  it 
could  to  destroy  it.  It  would  seem  as  if 
God  restrained  the  rage  of  these  hordes 
for  the  sake  of  preserving  his  church; 
as  if  he  had  touched  their  hearts  that 
they  might  give  to  Christians  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  escape  in  the  impending  storm. 
We  may  refer  here  particularly  to  the 
conduct  of  Alaric,  king  of  the  Goths,  in 
the  attack  on  Rome  already  referred  to, 
and,  as  usual,  we  may  quote  from  Mr. 
Gibbon,  who  will  not  be  suspected  of  a 
design  to  contribute  any  thing  to  the 
illustration  of  the  Apocalypse  :  “At  the 
hour  of  midnight,”  says  he,  (vol.  ii.  pp. 
260,  261,)  “  the  Salarian  gate  was 
silently  opened,  and  the  inhabitants  were 
awakened  by  the  tremendous  sound  of 
the  Gothic  trumpet.  Eleven  hundred 
and  sixty-three  years  after  tho  founda¬ 
tion  of  Rome,  the  imperial  city,  which 
had  subdued  and  civilized  so  consider¬ 
able  a  part  of  mankind,  was  delivered  to 
the  licentious  fury  of  the  tribes  of  Ger¬ 
many  and  Scythia.  The  proclamation 
of  Alaric,  when  ho  forced  his  entrance 
into  the  vanquished  city,  discovered, 
however,  some  regard  for  the  laws  of 
humanity  and  religion.  He  encouraged 
his  troops  boldly  to  seize  the  rewards  of 
valor,  and  to  enrich  themselves  with  the 
spoils  of  a  wealthy  and  effeminato  people  ; 
but  he  exhorted  them,  at  the  same  time, 
to  spare  the  lives  of  the  unresisting 
citizens,  and  to  respect  the  churches  of 
the  Apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  as 
holy  and  inviolable  sanctuaries.  Wliilo 
the  barbarians  roamed  through  tho  city 
in  quest  of  prey,  the  humble  dwelling  of 
an  aged  virgin,  who  had  devoted  her  life 
to  tho  service  of  the  altar,  was  forced 
open  by  one  of  the  powerful  Goths.  Ho 
immediately  demanded,  though  in  civil 


208 


REVELATION, 


language,  all  the  gold  and  silver  in  her 
possession;  and  was  astonished  at  the 
readiness  with  which  she  conducted  him 
to  a  splendid  hoard  of  massy  plate,  of 
the  richest  materials,  and  the  most 
curious  workmanship.  The  barbarian 
viewed  with  wonder  and  delight  this 
valuable  acquisition,  till  he  was  inter¬ 
rupted  by  a  serious  admonition,  ad¬ 
dressed  to  him  in  the  following  words  : 
‘  These,’  said  she,  ‘  are  the  consecrated 
vessels  belonging  to  St.  Peter;  if  you 
presume  to  touch  them,  the  sacrilegious 
deed  will  remain  on  your  consciences ; 
for  my  part,  I  dare  not  keep  what  I  am 
unable  to  defend.’  The  Gothic  captain, 
struck  with  reverential  awe,  despatched 
a  messenger  to  inform  the  king  of  the 
treasure  which  he  had  discovered;  and 
received  a  peremptory  order  from  Alaric, 
that  all  the  consecrated  plate  and  orna¬ 
ments  should  be  transported,  without 
damage  or  delay,  to  the  church  of  the 
apostle.  From  the  extremity,  perhaps, 
of  the  Quirinal  hill,  to  the  distant  quarter 
of  the  Vatican,  a  numerous  detachment 
of  the  Goths,  marching  in  order  of  battle, 
through  the  principal  streets,  protected, 
with  glittering  arms,  the  long  train  of 
their  devout  companions,  who  bore  aloft 
on  their  heads,  tjie  sacred  vessels  of  gold 
and  silver;  and  the  martial  shouts  of  the 
barbarians  were  mingled  with  tho  sound 
of  religious  psalmody.  From  all  tho 
adjacent  houses,  a  crowd  of  Christians 
hastened  to  join  this  edifying  procession  ; 
and  a  multitude  of  fugitives,  without 
distinction  of  age,  or  rank,  or  even  of 
sect,  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  to 
the  secure  and  hospitable  sanctuary  of 
the  Vatican.”  In  a  note,  Mr.  Gibbon 
adds :  “  According  to  Isidore,  Alaric 
himself  wa-s  heard  to  say,  that  he  waged 
war  with  the  Romans,  and  not  with  tho 
apostles.”  Ho  adds  also  (p.  261),  “The 
learned  work  concerning  the  City  of 
God,  was  professedly  composed  by  St. 
Augustin  to  justify  the  ways  of  Provi¬ 
dence  in  the  destruction  of  the  Roman 
greatness.  He  celebrates  with  peculiar 
satisfaction  this  memorable  triumph  of 
Christ;  and  insults  his  adversaries  by 
challenging  them  to  produce  some  simi¬ 
lar  example  of  a  town  taken  by  storm, 
in  which  the  fabulous  gods  of  antiquity 
had  been  able  to  protect  either  them¬ 
selves  or  their  deluded  votaries.”  We 
may  rofer  here,  also,  to  that  work  of 
Augustin  as  illustrating  the  passage 


[A.  D.  96. 

before  us.  In  B.  i.,  ch.  2,  he  defends 
this  position,  “  That  there  never  was 
war  in  which  the  conquerors  would  spare 
them  whom  they  conquered  for  the  gods 
they  worshipped” — referring  particularly 
to  the  sacking  of  Troy ;  in  ch.  3,  he  ap¬ 
peals  to  the  example  of  Troy  ;  in  ch.  4, 
he  appeals  to  the  sanctuary  of  Juno,  in 
Troy;  in  ch.  5,  he  shows  that  the  Ro¬ 
mans  never  spared  the  temples  of  those 
cities  which  they  destroyed;  and  in 
ch.  6,  he  maintains  that  the  fact  that 
mercy  was  shown  by  the  barbarians  in 
the  sacking  of  Rome,  was  “through  the 
power  of  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.”  In 
illustration  of  this,  he  says,  “  Therefore, 
all  the  spoil,  murder,  violence,  and 
affliction,  that  in  this  fresh  calamity 
came  upon  Rome,  were  nothing  but  the 
ordinary  effects  following  the  custom  of 
war.  But  that  which  was  so  unaccus¬ 
tomed,  that  the  savage  nature  of  the 
barbarians  should  put  on  a  new  shape, 
and  appear  so  merciful,  that  it  would 
make  choice  of  great  and  spacious 
churches,  to  fill  with  such  as  it  meant  to 
show  pity  on,  from  which  none  should 
be  haled  to  slaughter  or  slavery,  in 
which  none  should  be  hurt,  to  which 
many  by  their  courteous  foes  should  be 
conducted,  and  out  of  which  none  should 
be  led  into  bondage ;  this  is  due  to  the 
name  of  Christ,  this  is  due  to  the 
Christian  profession ;  he  that  seeth  not 
is  blind ;  he  that  seeth  and  praiseth  it 
not,  is  unthankful ;  he  that  hinders  him 
that  praiseth  it,  is  mad.”  City  of  God, 
London,  1620,  p.  11.  Such  a  preserva¬ 
tion  of  Christians  ;  such  a  suspension  of 
judgments,  when  all  things  seemed  to  bo 
on  the  verge  of  ruin,  would  not  be  inap- 
propriately  represented  by  winds  that 
threatened  to  sweep  over  the  world;  by 
the  staying  of  those  winds  by  some  ro- 
markable  power,  as  by  an  angel ;  and  by 
the  special  interposition  which  spared 
the  church  in  the  tumults  and  terrors 
of  a  siege,  and  of  the  sacking  of  a  city. 
(6)  There  may  have  been  a  reference  to 
another  class  of  divine  interpositions  at 
about  the  same  time,  to  designate  the 
true  servants  of  God.  It  has  been 
already  remarked  that,  from  the  time 
when  Constantine  took  the  church  under 
his  patronage,  and  it  became  connected 
with  the  state,  there  was  a  large  acces¬ 
sion  of  nominal  professors  in  the  church, 
producing  a  great  corruption  in  regard 
to  spiritual  religion,  and  an  extended 


CHAPTER  VII. 


209 


A.  D.  96.] 

prevalence  of  error.  Now,  tht  delay 
here  referred  to,  between  the  opening 
of  the  sixth  and  seventh  seals,  may  have 
referred  to  the  fact  that,  during  this 
period,  the  true  doctrines  of  Christianity 
would  be  vindicated  and  established  in 
such  a  way  that  the  servants  of  God 
would  be  “  sealed”  and  designated  in 
contradistinction  from  the  great  mass  of 
the  professed  followers  of  Christ,  and 
from  the  numerous  advocates  of  error. 
From  that  mass,  a  certain  and  definite 
number  was  to  be  sealed — implying,  as 
we  have  seen,  that  there  would  be  a 
selection,  or  that  there  would  be  some¬ 
thing  which  would  discriminate  them 
from  the  multitudes,  as  the  true  ser¬ 
vants  of  God.  This  is  represented  by  an 
angel  coming  from  the  east : — the  angel 
representing  the  new  heavenly  influence 
coming  upon  the  church ;  and  the  coming 
from  the  east — as  the  east  is  the  quarter 
where  the  sun  arises  —  denoting  that  it 
came  from  the  source  and  fountain  of 
light  —  that  is  God.  The  “sealing” 
would  denote  any  thing  in  this  new  in¬ 
fluence  or  manifestation  which  would 
mark  the  true  children  of  God,  and 
would  be  appropriately  employed  to 
designate  any  doctrines  which  would 
keep  up  true  religion  in  the  world; 
which  would  preserve  correct  views 
about  God,  the  way  of  salvation,  and 
the  nature  of  true  religion,  and  which 
would  thus  determine  where  the  church 
of  God  really  was.  If  there  should  be 
a  tendency  in  tho  church  to  degenerate 
into  formality ;  if  the  rules  of  discipline 
should  bo  relaxed ;  if  error  should  pre¬ 
vail  as  to  what  constitutes  spiritual 
religion ;  and  if  there  should  be  a  now 
influence  at  that  time  which  would  dis¬ 
tinguish  those  who  were  the  children  of 
God  from  those  who  were  not,  this  would 
be  appropriately  represented  by  the 
angel  from  the  east,  and  by  the  sealing 
of  the  servants  of  God.  Now,  it  requires 
but  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  history  of 
the  Roman  empire,  and  of  the  church,  at 
the  period  supposed  here  to  be  referred 
to,  to  perceive  that  all  this  occurred. 
There  was  a  largo  influx  of  professed 
converts.  Thero  was  a  vast  increase  of 
worldliness.  There  was  a  wide  diffusion 
of  error.  Religion  was  fast  becoming 
mere  formalism.  The  true  church  was 
apparently  fast  verging  to  ruin.  At  this 
period  God  raised  up  distinguished  men 
— as  if  they  had  been  angels  ascending 
18* 


from  the  east  —  who  came  as  with  the 
“  seal  of  the  living  God” — the  doctrines 
of  grace,  and  just  views  of  spiritual  reli¬ 
gion — to  designate  who  were,  and  who 
were  not  the  “  true  servants  of  God” 
among  the  multitudes  who  professed  to  be 
his  followers.  Such  were  the  doctrines  of 
Athanasius  and  Augustine — those  great 
doctrines  on  which  the  very  existence  of 
the  true  church  has  in  all  ages  depended. 
Tho  doctrines  thus  illustrated  and  de¬ 
fended,  were  fitted  to  make  a  broad  line 
of  distinction  between  the  true  church 
and  the  world,  and  this  would  be  well 
represented  by  the  symbol  employed 
here  —  for  it  is  by  these  doctrines  that 
the  true  people  of  God  are  sealed 
and  confirmed.  On  this  subject,  comp. 
Elliott,  i.  279-292.  The  general  sense 
here  intended  to  be  expressed  is,  that 
there  was  at  the  period  referred  to, 
after  the  conversion  of  Constantjne,  a 
decided  tendency  to  a  worldly,  formal, 
lax  kind  of  religion  in  the  church ;  a 
very  prevalent  denial  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  and  of  the  doctrines  of  grace ; 
a  lax  mode  of  admitting  members  to  the 
church,  with  little  or  no  evidence  of  true 
conversion;  a  disposition  to  attribute 
saving  grace  to  the  ordinances  of  religion, 
and  especially  to  baptism;  a  disposition 
to  rely  on  the  outward  ceremonies  of 
religion,  with  little  acquaintance  with 
its  spiritual  power ;  and  a  general  break¬ 
ing  down  of  the  barriers  between  tho 
church  and  the  world,  as  there  is  usually 
in  a  time  of  outward  prosperity,  and 
especially  when  the  church  is  connected 
with  the  state.  At  this  time  there  arose 
another  set  of  influences  well  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  angel  coming  from  the 
east,  and  sealing  the  true  servants  of 
God,  in  the  illustration  and  confirmation 
of  the  true  doctrines  of  Christianity — 
doctrines  on  which  the  spirituality  of 
the  church  has  always  depended: — the 
doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  tho  atonement, 
the  depravity  of  man,  regeneration  by 
the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  justifica¬ 
tion  by  faith,  the  sovereignty  of  God,  and 
kindred  doctrines.  Such  doctrines  have 
in  all  ages  served  to  determine  whoro 
tho  true  church  is,  and  to  designate  and 
“  seal”  the  servants  of  the  Most  High, 
(c)  This  process  of  “sealing”  may  be 
regarded  as  continued  during  tho  long 
night  of  Papal  darkness  that  was  coming 
upon  the  church,  when  error  would 
abound,  and  the  religion  of  forms  would 


210  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


9  After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a 


be  triumphant.  Even  then,  in  places 
obscui-e  and  unknown,  the  work  of 
“  sealing”  the  true  servants  of  God 
might  be  going  forward  —  for  even  in 
those  times  of  gloomy  night  there  were 
those,  though  comparatively  few  in 
number,  who  loved  the  truth,  and  who 
were  the  real  servants  of  God.  The 
number  of  the  elect  were  filling  up,  for 
even  in  the  darkest  times  there  were 
those  who  loved  the  causo  of  spiritual 
religion,  and  who  bore  upon  them 
the  impress  of  the  “  seal  of  the  living 
God.”  Such  appears  to  have  been  the 
intent  of  this  sealing  vision : — a  staying 
of  the  desolation  that,  in  various  forms, 
was  sweeping  over  the  world,  in  order 
that  the  true  ehurch  might  bo  safe, 
and  that  a  large  number,  from  all  parts 
of  the  church,  might  be  sealed  and 
designated  as  the  true  servants  of  God. 
The  winds,  that  blowed  from  all  quar¬ 
ters,  were  stayed  as  if  by  mighty  angels. 
A  now  influence,  from  the  great  source 
of  light,  came  in  to  designate  those  who 
were  the  true  servants  of  the  Most  High, 
as  if  an  angel  had  come  from  the  rising 
sun  with  the  seal  of  the  living  God,  to 
impress  it  on  their  foreheads.  A  selec¬ 
tion  was  made  out  of  a  church  filling  up 
with  formalists,  and  in  which  the  true 
doctrines  of  spiritual  religion  were  fast 
fading  away,  of  those  who  could  be 
designated  as  the  true  servants  of  God. 
By  their  creed,  and  their  lives,  and  their 
spirit,  and  their  profession,  they  could 
bo  designated  as  the  true  servants  of 
God,  as  if  a  visible  mark  was  impressed 
on  their  foreheads.  This  selection  was 
confined  to  no  place,  no  class,  no  tribe, 
no  denomination.  It  was  taken  from 
the  whole  of  Israel,  in  such  numbers  that 
it  could  be  seen  that  none  of  the  tribes 
were  excluded  from  the  honor,  but  that, 
wherever  the  true  spirit  of  religion  was, 
God  was  acknowledging  these  tribes  — 
or  churches  —  as  his,  and  there  he  was 
gathering  a  people  to  himself.  This 
would  be  long  continued,  until  new 
scenes  would  open,  and  the  eye  would 
rest  on  other  developments  in  the  series 
of  symbols,  revealing  the  glorious  host 
of  the  redeemed  emerging  from  dark¬ 
ness,  and  in  countless  numbers  triumph¬ 
ing  before  the  throne. 

9.  After  this.  Gr.,  “  After  these 


great  multitude,  which  no  man 


things  —  Msra  raura;  —  that  is,  after  I 
saw  these  things  thus  represented,  I  had 
another  vision.  This  would  undoubtedly 
imply,  not  only  that  he  saw  these  things 
after  he  had  seen  the  sealing  of  the  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty-four  thousand,  but  that 
they  would  occur  subsequently  to  that. 
But  he  does  not  state  whether  they 
would  immediately  occur,  or  whether 
other  things  might  not  intervene.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  vision  seems  to  be 
transferred  from  earth  to  heaven  —  for 
the  multitudes  which  he  saw  appeared 
“before  the  throne”  (ver.  9);  that  is, 
before  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven. 
The  design  seems  to  be  to  carry  the 
mind  forward  quite  beyond  the  storms 
and  tempests  of  earth  —  the  scenes  of 
woe  and  sorrow — the  days  of  error,  dark¬ 
ness,  declension  and  persecution — to  that 
period  when  the  church  should  be  tri¬ 
umphant  in  heaven.  Instead,  therefore, 
of  leaving  the  impression  that  the  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty-four  thousand  would  be 
all  that  would  be  saved,  the  eye  is 
directed  to  an  innumerable  host  gather¬ 
ed  from  all  ages,  all  climes,  and  all 
people,  triumphant  in  glory.  Tho  mul¬ 
titude  that  John  thus  saw  was  not, 
therefore,  I  apprehend,  the  same  as  the 
hundred  and  forty-four  thousand,  but  * 
far  greater  number  —  the  whole  assem 
bled  host  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven, 
gathered  there  as  victors,  with  palm- 
branches,  the  symbols  of  triumph,  in 
their  hands.  The  object  of  the  vision  is 
to  cheer  those  who  are  desponding  in 
times  of  religious  declension  and  in  sea¬ 
sons  of  persecution,  and  when  the  num¬ 
ber  of  true  Christians  seems  to  be  small, 
with  the  assurance  that  an  immense 
host  shall  be  redeemed  from  our  world, 
and  bo  gathered  triumphant  before  the 
throne.  I  beheld.  That  is,  he  saw 
them  before  the  throne.  The  vision  is 
transferred  from  earth  to  heaven ;  from 
the  contemplation  of  the  scene  when 
desolation  seemed  to  impend  over  the 
world,  and  when  comparatively  few  in 
number  were  “  sealed”  as  the  servants 
of  God,  to  the  time  when  the  redeemed 
would  be  triumphant,  and  when  a  host 
which  no  man  can  number  would  stand 
before  God.  And  lo.  Indicating  sur¬ 
prise.  A  vast  host  burst  upon  the  view. 
Instead  of  tho  comparatively  few  who 


CHAPTER  VII 


211 


A.  D.  96.] 


could  number,  of  °  all  nations,  and 
kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues, 


were  sealed,  an  innumerable  company 
were  presented  to  his  vision,  and  sur¬ 
prise  was  the  natural  effect.  A  great 
multitude.  Instead  of  the  comparatively 
small  number  on  which  the  attention 
had  been  fixed.  Which  no  man  could 
number.  The  number  was  so  great  that 
no  one  could  count  them,  and  John, 
therefore,  did  not  attempt  to  do  it.  This 
is  such  a  statement  as  one  would  make 
who  should  have  a  view  of  all  the  re¬ 
deemed  in  heaven.  It  would  appear  to 
be  a  number  beyond  all  power  of  compu¬ 
tation.  This  representation  is  in  strong 
contrast  with  a  very  common  opinion 
that  only  a  few  will  be  saved.  The  repre¬ 
sentation  in  the  Bible  is,  that  immense 
hosts  of  the  human  race  will  be  saved  ; 
and  though  vast  numbers  will  be  lost, 
and  though  at  any  particular  period  of 
the  world  hitherto  it  may  seem  that  few 
have  been  in  the  path  to  life,  yet  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that,  taking  the 
race  at  large,  and  estimating  it  as  a 
whole,  a  vast  majority  of  the  wholo  will 
be  brought  to  heaven.  For  the  true 
religion  is  yet  to  spread  all  over  the 
world,  and  perhaps  for  many,  many 
thousands  of  years,  piety  is  to  be 
as  prevalent  as  sin  has  been ;  and  in  that 
long  and  happy  time  of  the  world’s  his¬ 
tory  we  may  hope  that  the  numbers  of 
the  saved  may  surpass  all  who  have  been 
lost  in  past  periods,  beyond  any  power 
of  computation.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xx. 
3-6.  Of  all  nations.  Not  only  of 
Jews;  not  only  of  the  nations  which  in 
the  time  of  the  sealing  vision  had  em¬ 
braced  the  gospel,  but  of  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  This  implies  two  things  : 
(a)  that  the  gospel  would  be  preached 
among  all  nations;  and  (5)  that  even 
when  it  was  thus  preached  to  them  they 
would  keep  up  their  national  charac¬ 
teristics.  There  can  be  no  hope  of 
blending  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
under  one  visible  sovereignty.  They 
may  all  be  subjected  to  the  spiritual 
reign  of  the  Redeemer,  but  still  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  will  not 
have  their  distinct  organizations  and 
laws.  ^  And  kindreds  —  <pv\i. ov.  This 
word  properly  refers  to  those  who  are 
descended  from  a  common  ancestry,  and 
henco  denotos  a  race,  lineage,  kindred. 


stood  before  the  throne,  and  before 

a  Bo.  11.  25 ;  e.  5.  9. 

It  was  applied  to  the  tribes  of  Israel,  as 
derived  from  the  same  ancestor,  and  for 
the  same  reason  might  be  applied  to  a 
clan,  and  thence  to  any  division  in  a 
nation,  or  to  a  nation  itself — properly 
retaining  the  notion  that  it  was  de¬ 
scended  from  a  common  ancestor.  Here 
it  would  seem  to  refer  to  a  smaller  class 
than  a  nation  —  the  different  clans  of 
which  a  nation  might  be  composed. 

And  people  —  Xaiav.  This  word  refers 
properly  to  a  people  or  community  as  a 
mass,  without  reference  to  its  origin  or 
any  of  its  divisions.  The  former  word 
would  be  used  by  one  who  should  look 
upon  a  nation  as  made  up  of  portions  of 
distinct  languages,  clans,  or  families ; 
this  word  would  be  used  by  one  who 
should  look  on  such  an  assembled  people 
as  a  mere  mass  of  human  beings,  with 
no  reference  to  their  difference  of  clan¬ 
ship,  origin,  or  language.  And  tongues. 
Languages.  This  word  would  refer  also 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  con¬ 
sidered  with  respect  to  the  fact  that  they 
speak  different  languages.  The  use  of 
particular  languages  does  not  designate 
the  precise  boundaries  of  nations  —  for 
often  many  people  speaking  different 
languages  are  united  as  one  nation,  and 
often  those  who  speak  the  same  language 
constitute  distinct  nations.  The  view, 
therefore,  with  which  one  would  look 
upon  the  dwellers  on  the  earth,  in  the 
use  of  the  word  tongues  or  languages, 
would  be,  not  as  divided  into  nations ; 
not  with  reference  to  their  lineage  or 
clanship ;  and  not  as  a  mere  mass  with¬ 
out  reference  to  any  distinction,  but  as 
divided  by  speech.  The  meaning  of  the 
whole  is,  that  persons  from  all  parts  of 
the  earth,  as  contemplated  in  these 
points  of  view,  would  be  among  the  re¬ 
deemed.  Comp.  Notes  on  Dan.  iii.  4, 
iv.  1.  Stood  before  the  throne.  The 
throne  of  God.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  2. 
The  throne  is  there  represented  as  set 
up  in  heaven,  and  the  vision  here  is  a 
vision  of  what  will  occur  in  heaven.  It 
is  designed  to  carry  the  thoughts  beyond 
all  the  scenes  of  conflict,  strife,  and  per¬ 
secution,  on  earth,  to  the  time  when  the 
church  shall  be  triumphant  in  glory  — 
when  all  storms  shall  have  passed 
by ;  when  all  persecutions  should  have 


212 


KEY  ELATION, 


[A.  D.  96, 


the  Lamb,  clothed  “  with  white 
robes,  and  palms  b  in  their  hands  ; 
10  And  cried c  with  a  loud  voice, 

a  c.  6. 11.  b  Le.  23.  40.  c  Zee.  4.  7. 


ceased ;  when  all  revolutions  shall 
have  occurred;  when  all  the  elect  —  not 
only  the  hundred  and  forty-four  thou¬ 
sand  of  the  sealed,  but  of  all  nations 
and  times — shall  have  been  gathered  in. 
There  was  a  beautiful  propriety  in  this 
vision.  John  saw  the  tempests  stayed, 
as  by  the  might  of  angels.  He  saw  a 
new  influence  and  power  that  would 
seal  the  true  servants  of  God.  But, 
those  tempests  were  stayed  only  for  a 
time,  and  there  were  more  awful  visions 
in  reserve  than  any  which  had  been  ex¬ 
hibited — visions  of  woe  and  sorrow,  of 
persecution  and  of  death.  It  was  ap¬ 
propriate,  therefore,  just  at  this  moment 
of  calm  suspense — of  delayed  judgments 
— to  suffer  the  mind  to  rest  on  the  tri¬ 
umphant  close  of  the  whole  in  heaven, 
when  a  countless  host  would  be  gathered 
there  with  palms  in  their  hands,  uniting 
with  angels  in  the  worship  of  God.  The 
mind,  by  the  contemplation  of  this  beau¬ 
tiful  vision,  would  be  refreshed  and 
strengthened  for  the  disclosure  of  the 
awful  scenes  which  were  to  occur  on  the 
sounding  of  the  trumpets  under  the 
seventh  seal.  The  simple  idea  is,  that, 
amidst  the  storms  and  tempests  of  life — 
scenes  of  existing  or  impending  trouble 
and  wrath — it  is  well  to  let  the  eye  rest 
on  the  scene  of  the  final  triumph,  when 
innumerable  hosts  of  the  redeemed  shall 
stand  before  God,  and  when  sorrow 
shall  be  known  no  more,  And  before 
the  Lamb.  In  the  midst  of  the  throne — 
in  heaven.  See  Notes  on  eh.  v.  6. 

Clothed  with  white  robes.  The  em¬ 
blems  of  innocence  or  righteousness, 
uniformly  represented  as  the  raiment 
of  the  inhabitants  of  heaven.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  iii.  4,  vi.  11.  And  palms  in  their 
hands.  Emblems  of  victory.  Branches 
of  the  palm-tree  were  carried  by  the 
victors  in  the  athletic  contests  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  and  in  triumphal  processions. 
See  Notes  on  Matt.  xxi.  8.  The  palm- 
tree — straight,  elevated,  majestic — was 
an  appropriate  emblem  of  triumph.  The 
portion  of  it  which  was  borne  in  victory 
was  the  long  leaf  which  shoots  out  from 
tho  top  of  tho  tree.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Isa.  iii.  26.  See  Eschonberg,  Manual  of 


saying,  Salvation  d  to  our  God  which 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb. 

d  Isa.  43. 11.  c.  19. 1. 


Class.  Lit.  p.  243,  and  Lev.  xxiii.  40 : 
“  And  ye  shall  take  on  the  first  day,  the 
boughs  of  goodly  trees,  branches  of  palm- 
trees,”  &e.  So  in  the  Saviour’s  tri¬ 
umphal  entry  into  Jerusalem  (John  xii. 
13),  “  On  the  next  day  much  people — 
took  branches  of  palm-trees,  and  went 
forth  to  meet  him,  and  cried,  Hosanna.” 

10.  And  cried  with  a  loud  voice.  Comp. 
Zech.  iv.  7.  This  is  expressive  of  the 
greatness  of  their  joy;  the  ardor  and 
earnestness  of  their  praise,  Salvation 
to  our  God.  The  word  rendered  salva¬ 
tion  —  auiTrjpia  —  means  properly  safety, 
deliverance,  preservation ;  then  welfare 
or  prosperity;  then  victory;  then,  in  a 
Christian  sense,  deliverance  from  punish¬ 
ment  and  admission  to  eternal  life. 
Here  the  idea  seems  to  be  that  their 
deliverance  from  sin,  danger,  persecu¬ 
tion,  and  death,  was  to  be  ascribed  solely 
to  God.  It  cannot  be  meant,  as  the 
words  would  seem  to  imply,  that  they 
desired  that  God  might  have  salvation; 
but  the  sense  is,  that  their  salvation  was 
to  be  attributed  entirely  to  him.  —  This 
will  undoubtedly  be  the  song  of  the  re¬ 
leased  forever,  and  all  who  reach  the 
heavenly  world  will  feel  that  they  owe 
their  deliverance  from  eternal  death, 
and  their  admission  to  glory,  wholly  to 
him.  Prof.  Robinson  (Lex.)  renders  the 
word  here,  victory.  The  fair  meaning  is, 
that  whatever  is  included  in  the  word 
salvation  will  be  due  to  God  alone — the 
deliverance  from  sin,  danger  and  death ; 
the  triumph  over  every  foe;  the  resur¬ 
rection  from  the  grave ;  the  rescue  from 
eternal  burnings  f  the  admission  to  a 
holy  heaven,  —  victory  in  all  that  that 
word  implies  will  be  due  to  God. 
*[  Which  sitteth  upon  the  throne.  Notes 
ch.  iv.  2.  And  unto  the  Lamb.  Notes 
ch.  v.  6.  God  the  Father,  and  He  who 
is  the  Lamb  of  God,  alike  claim  the  ho¬ 
nor  of  salvation.  It  is  observable  here 
that  the  redeemed  ascribe  their  salva¬ 
tion  to  the  Lamb  as  well  as  to  him  who 
is  on  the  throne.  Could  they  do  this  if 
he  who  is  referred  to  as  the  ‘  Lamb’  were 
a  mere  man  ?  Could  they  if  he  were  an 
angel  ?  Could  they  if  he  were  not  equal 
with  the  Father  ?  Do  those  who  are  in 


CHAPTER  VII. 


213 


A.  D.  96.] 

11  Ancl  all  the  angels  stood 
round  about  the  throne,  and  about 
the  elders  and  the  four  beasts,  and 
fell  before  the  throne  on  their  faces, 
and  worshipped  God, 

12  Saying,  °  Amen:  Blessing, 

a  Jude  25.  c.  5. 13, 14. 


heaven  worship  a  creature  ?  Will  they 
unite  a  created  being  with  the  anointed 
One  in  acts  of  solemn  adoration  and 
praise  ? 

11.  And  all  the  angels  stood  round 
about  the  throne.  Notes  ch.  v.  11.  *[  And 
about  the  elders.  Notes  ch.  iv.  4.  And 
the  four  beasts.  Notes  ch.  iv.  6.  The 
meaning  is,  that  the  angels  stood  in  the 
outer  circle,,  or  outside  of  the  elders  and 
the  four  living  creatures.  The  redeemed, 
it  is  manifest,  occupied  the  inner  circle, 
and  were  near  the  throne,  though  their 
precise  location  is  not  mentioned.  The 
angels  sympathize  with  the  church  re¬ 
deemed  and  triumphant,  as  they  did 
with  the  church  in  its  conflicts  and 
trials,  and  they  now  appropriately  unite 
with  that  church  in  adoring  and  praising 
God.  They  see,  in  that  redemption,  new 
displays  of  the  character  of  God,  and 
they  rejoice  that  that  church  is  rescued 
from  its  troubles,  and  is  now  brought 
triumphant  to  heaven.  And  fell  before 
the  throne  on  their  faces.  The  usual  posi¬ 
tion  of  profound  adoration.  Ch.  iv.  10, 
v.  8.  And  worshipped  God.  Notes  ch. 
v.  11,  12. 

12.  Saying,  Amen.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i. 
7.  The  word  Amen  here  is  a  word 
strongly  affirming  the  truth  of  what  is 
said,  or  expressing  hearty  assent  to  it. 
It  may  be  uttered,  as  expressing  this, 
either  in  the  beginning  or  end  of  a  sen¬ 
tence.  Thus,  wills  are  commonly  com¬ 
menced,  'In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.’ 

Blessing,  and  glory,  Ac.  Substantially 
the  same  ascription  of  praise  occurs  in 
ch.  v.  12.  See  Notes  on  that  verso.  The 
general  idea  is,  that  the  highest  kind  of 
praise  is  to  be  ascribed  to  God ;  —  ev.ery 
thing  excellent  in  character  is  to  be  at¬ 
tributed  to  him  ;  every  blessing  which  is 
received  is  to  be  traced  to  him.  —  The 
order  of  the  words,  indeed,  is  changed, 
but  the  sense  is  substantially  the  same. 
In  the  former  case  (ch.  v.  12)  the  ascrip¬ 
tion  of  praiso  is  to  the  Lamb  —  the  Son 
of  God ;  horo  it  is  to  God.  In  both  in- 


and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanks¬ 
giving,  and  honor,  and  power,  and 
might,  be  unto  our  God  for  ever  and 
ever.  Amen. 

13  And  one  of  the  elders  an¬ 
swered,  saying  unto  me,  What  are 
these  which  are  arrayed  in  white 
robes  ?  and  whence  came  they  ? 

stances,  the  worship  is  described  as  ren¬ 
dered  in  heaven ;  and  the  use  of  the 
language  shows  that  God  and  the  Lamb 
are  regarded  in  heaven  as  entitled  to 
equal  praise.  The  only  words  found 
here  which  do  not  occur  in  ch.  v.  12,  are 
thanksgiving  and  might  —  words  which 
require  no  particular  explanation. 

13.  And  one  of  the  ciders.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  iv.  4.  That  is,  as  there  under¬ 
stood,  one  of  the  representatives  of  the 
church  before  the  throne.  Answered. 
The  word  answer  with  us  means  to  reply 
to  something  which  has  been  said.  In 
the  Bible,  however,  the  word  is  not  un- 
frequently  used  in  the  beginning  of  a 
speech,  where  nothing  has  been  said  — 
as  if  it  were  a  reply  to  something  that 
might  be  said  on  the  subject ;  or  to  some¬ 
thing  that  is  passing  through  the  mind 
of  another ;  or  to  something  in  the  case 
under  consideration  which  suggests  an 
inquiry.  Comp.  Isa.  lxv.  24,-  Dan.  ii.  26; 
Acts  v.  8.  Thus  it  is  used  here.  John 
was  looking  on  the  host,  and  reflecting  on 
the  state  of  things ;  and  to  the  train  of 
thought  passing  through  his  mind  the 
angel  answered  by  an  enquiry  as  to  a 
part  of  that  host.  Prof.  Stuart  renders 
it,  accosted  me.  What  are  these  which 
are  arrayed  in  white  robes?  Who  are 
these  ?  The  object  evidently  is,  to  bring 
tho  case  of  these  persons  more  particu¬ 
larly  into  view.  The  vast  host  with 
branches  of  palm  had  attracted  the  at¬ 
tention  of  John,  but  it  was  the  object  of 
the  speaker  to  turn  his  thoughts  to  a 
particular  part  of  the  host— the  martyrs 
who  stood  among  them.  He  would  seem, 
therefore,  to  have  turned  to  a  particular 
portion  of  the  immense  multitude  of  the 
redeemed,  and  by  an  emphasis  on  the 
word  these  —  ‘  Who  are  these’  —  to  have 
fixed  the  eye  upon  them.  All  those 
who  are  before  tho  throne  are  repre¬ 
sented  as  clothed  in  white  robes  (ver.  9), 
but  the  eye  might  be  directed  to  a  par¬ 
ticular  part  of  them  as  grouped  together, 
and  as  having  something  poculiar  in 


214 


REVELATION, 


14  And  I  said  unto  him,  Sir, 
thou  knowest.  And  he  said  to  me, 
These  are  they  which  came  out  of 

a  Jno.  16.  33.  c.  6.  9. 


their  position  or  appearance. — There  was 
a  ‘propriety  in  thus  directing  the  mind  of 
John  to  the  martyrs  as  triumphing  in 
heaven,  in  a  time  when  the  churches 
were  suffering  persecution,  and  in  view 
of  the  vision  which  he  had  had  of  times 
of  darkness  and  calamity  coming  upon 
the  world  at  the  opening  of  the  sixth 
seal.  Beyond  all  the  scenes  of  sorrow 
and  grief,  he  was  permitted  to  see  the 
martyrs  triumphing  in  heaven.  Ar¬ 
rayed  in  white  robes.  Notes  ver.  9.  And 
whence  came  they  ?  The  object  is  to  fix 
the  attention  more  distinctly  on  what  is 
said  of  them,  that  they  came  up  out  of 
great  tribulation. 

14.  And  I  said  unto  him,  Sir,  thou 
knowest.  The  word  sir  in  this  place  — 
jctopic — Lord — is  a  form  of  respectful  ad¬ 
dress,  such  as  would  be  used  when  speak¬ 
ing  to  a  superior.  Gen.  xliii.  20;  Matt, 
xiii.  27,  xxi.  30,  xxvii.  63;  John  iv.  11, 15, 
19,  49,  v.  7,  xii.  21,  xx.  15.  The  simple 
meaning  of  the  phrase  ‘thou  knowest/ 
is,  that  he  who  had  asked  the  question 
must  be  better  informed  than  he  to 
whom  he  had  proposed  it.  It  is  on  the 
part  of  John  a  modest  confession  that  he 
did  not  know,  or  could  not  be  presumed 
to  know,  and  at  the  same  time  the  re¬ 
spectful  utterance  of  an  opinion  that  he 
who  addressed  this  question  to  him  must 
be  in  possession  of  this  knowledge. 

And  he  said  unto  me.  Not  offended 
with  the  reply,  and  ready,  as  he  had 
evidently  intended  to  do,  to  give  him  the 
information  which  he  needed,  These 
are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribula¬ 
tion.  The  word  rendered  tribulation  — 
SXiif/c;  —  is  a  word  of  general  character, 
meaning  affliction,  though  perhaps  there 
is  here  an  allusion  to  persecution.  The 
sense,  however,  would  be  better  ex¬ 
pressed  by  the  phrase  great  trials.  The 
object  seems  to  have  been  to  set  before 
the  mind  of  the  apostle  a  view  of  those 
who  had  suffered  much,  and  who  by 
their  sufferings  had  been  sanctified  and 
prepared  for  heaven,  in  order  to  encou¬ 
rage  those  who  might  be  yet  called  to 
suffer.  And  have  icashed  their  robes. 
To  wit,  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  And 
made  them,  tohite  in  the  blood  of  the 


[A.  D.  96 

great  tribulation,  °  and  have  wash¬ 
ed  b  their  robes,  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  c  of  the  Lamb. 

b  1  Co.  6. 11.  He.  9. 14.  c  1  Jno.  1.  7.  c.  1.  5. 


Lamb.  There  is  some  incongruity  in 
saying  that  they  had  made  them  white  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb ;  and  the  meaning, 
therefore,  must  be,  that  they  had  cleansed 
or  purified  them  in  that  blood.  Under 
the  ancient  ritual,  various  things  about 
the  sanctuary  were  cleansed  from  cere¬ 
monial  defilement,  by  the  sprinkling  of 
blood  on  them — the  blood  of  sacrifice. 
In  accordance  with  that  usage  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb — of  the  Lord  Jesus — 
is  said  to  cleanse  and  purify.  John 
sees  a  great  company  with  white  robes. 
The  means  by  which  it  is  said  they 
became  white  or  pure  is  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb.  It  is  not  said  that  they 
were  made  white  as  the  result  of  their 
sufferings  or  their  afflictions,  but  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.  The  course  of 
thought  here  is  such  that  it  would  be 
natural  to  suppose  that,  if  at  any  time 
the  great  deeds  or  the  sufferings  of  the 
saints  could  contribute  to  the  fact  that 
they  will  wear  white  robes  in  heaven, 
this  is  an  occasion  on  which  there  might 
be  such  a  reference.  But  there  is  no 
allusion  to  that.  It  is  not  by  their  own 
sufferings  and  trials;  their  persecutions 
and  sorrows,  that  they  are  made  holy, 
but  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  that  had 
been  shed  for  sinners.  This  reference  to 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  is  one  of  the  in¬ 
cidental  proofs  that  occur  so  frequently 
in  the  Scriptures,  of  the  reality  of  the 
atonement.  It  could  be  only  in  allusion 
to  that,  and  with  an  implied  belief  in 
that,  that  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  could 
be  referred  to  as  cleansing  the  robes  of 
the  saints  in  heaven.  If  he  shed  his 
blood  merely  as  other  men  have  done  ; 
if  he  died  only  as  a  martyr,  what  pro¬ 
priety  would  there  have  been  in  referring 
to  his  blood  more  than  to  the  blood  of 
any  other  martyr  ?  And  what  influence 
could  the  blood  of  any  martyr  have  in 
cleansing  the  robes  of  the  saints  in  hea¬ 
ven  ?  The  fact  is,  that  if  that  were  all, 
such  language  would  be  unmeaning.  It 
is  never  used  except  in  connexion  with 
the  blood  of  Christ;  and  the  language 
of  the  Bible  everywhere  is  such  as  would 
be  employed  on  the  supposition  that  he 
shed  his  blood  to  make  expiation  for  sin, 


CHAPTER  VII 


215 


A.  D.  96.] 

15  Therefore  are  they  before  the 
throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day 
and  night  in  his  temple :  and  he 
that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall 
dwell  °  among  them. 

a  c.  21.  3,  4. 


and  on  no  other  supposition.  On  the 
general  meaning  of  the  language  used 
here,  and  the  sentiment  expressed,  see 
Notes  on  Heb.  ix.  14,  and  I.  John  i.  7. 

15.  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne 
of  God.  The  reason  why  they  are  there 
is  to  be  traced  to  the  fact  that  the  Lamb 
shed  his  blood  to  make  expiation  for 
sin.  No  other  reason  can  be  given  why 
any  one  of  the  human  race  is  in  heaven; 
and  that  is  reason  enough  why  any  of 
that  race  are  there.  And  serve  him 
day  and  night  in  his  temple.  That  is, 
continually  or  constantly.  Day  and 
night  constitute  the  whole  of  time,  and 
this  expression,  therefore,  denotes  con¬ 
stant  and  uninterrupted  service.  On 
earth,  toil  is  suspended  by  the  return  of 
night,  and  the  service  of  God  is  inter¬ 
mitted  by  the  necessity  of  rest ;  in  hea¬ 
ven,  as  there  will  be  no  weariness,  there 
will  be  no  need  of  intermission,  and  the 
service  of  God,  varied  doubtless  to  meet 
the  state  of  the  mind,  will  be  continued 
forever.  —  The  phrase  “  to  serve  him  in 
his  temple,”  refers  undoubtedly  to  hea¬ 
ven,  regarded  as  the  temple  or  holy 
dwelling-place  of  God.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
i.  6.  And  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne. 
God.  Notes  ch.  iv.  2.  Shall  dwell  among 
them — o-Kijiwfj.  This  word  properly 
means,  to  tent,  to  pitch  a  tent ;  and,  in 
the  New  Testament,  to  dwell  as  in  tents. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  God  would 
dwell  among  them  as  in  a  tent,  or  would 
have  his  abode  with  them.  Perhaps  the 
allusion  is  to  tho  tabernacle  in  the  wil¬ 
derness.  That  was  regarded  as  the  pe¬ 
culiar  dwelling-place  of  God,  and  that 
always  occupied  a  central  place  among 
the  tribes  of  Israel.  So  in  heaven  — 
there  will  be  the  consciousness  always 
that  God  dwells  there  among  his  people, 
and  that  tho  redeemed  are  gathered 
around  him  in  his  own  house.  Prof. 
Stuart  renders  this,  it  seems  to  me  with 
less  beauty  and  propriety,  “  will  spread 
his  tent  over  them,”  as  meaning  that  he 
would  receive  them  into  intimate  con¬ 
nection  and  union  with  him,  and  offer 
them  his  protection.  Comp.  ch.  xxi.  3. 


16  They  shall  hunger  b  no  more, 
neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither 
shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor 
any  heat.c 

6  Is.  49. 10.  e  Ps.  121.  6;  Is.  4.  6. 


16.  They  shall  hunger  no  more.  A  con¬ 
siderable  portion  of  the  redeemed  who 
will  be  there,  were,  when  on  the  earth, 
subjected  to  the  evils  of  famine;  many 
who  perished  with  hunger.  In  heaven, 
they  will  be  subjected  to  that  evil  no 
more,  for  there  will  be  no  want  that  will 
not  be  supplied.  The  bodies  which  the 
redeemed  will  have  —  spiritual  bodies 
(1  Cor.  xv.  44) — will  doubtless  be  such  as 
will  be  nourished  in  some  other  way  than 
by  food,  if  they  require  any  nourish¬ 
ment;  and  whatever  that  nourishment 
may  be,  it  will  be  fully  supplied.  The 
passage  hero  is  taken  from  Isa.  xlix.  10  : 
“They  shall  not  hunger  nor  thirst; 
neither  shall  the  heat  nor  sun  smite 
them.”  See  Notes  on  that  passage. 

Neither  thirst  any  more.  As  multi¬ 
tudes  of  the  redeemed  have  been  sub¬ 
jected  to  tho  evils  of  hunger,  so  have 
multitudes  also  been  subjected  to  the 
pains  of  thirst.  In  prison  ;  in  pathless 
deserts ;  iff  times  of  drought,  when  wells 
and  fountains  were  dried  up,  they  have 
suffered  from  this  cause  —  a  cause  pro¬ 
ducing  as  intense  suffering  perhaps  as 
any  that  man  endures.  Comp.  Ex.  xvii. 
3  ;  Lam.  iv.  4;  2  Cor.  xi.  27;  Ps.  lxiii.  1. 
It  is  easy  to  conceivo  of  persons  suffer¬ 
ing  so  intensely  from  thirst  that  the 
highest  vision  of  felicity  would  be  such 
a  promise  as  that  in  the  words  before 
us — “  neither  thirst  any  more."  y  Nei¬ 
ther  shall  the  sun  light  on  them.  It 
is  hardly  necessary,  perhaps,  to  say,  that 
tho  word  light  here  does  not  mean  to 
enlighten,  to  give  light  to,  to  shine  on. 
Tho  Greek  is  —  Treat] — fall  on,  and  the 
reference  probably  is,  to  the  intense  and 
burning  heat  of  the  sun,  commonly  called 
a  sunstroke.  Excessive  heat  of  the  sun, 
causing  great  pain  or  sudden  death,  is 
not  a  very  uncommon  thing  among  us, 
and  must  have  been  more  common  in 
the  warm  climates  and  burning  sands  of 
the  countries  in  the  vicinity  of  Pales¬ 
tine.  The  meaning  here  is,  that  in 
heaven  they  would  be  free  from  this 
calamity.  Nor  any  heat.  In  Isa. 

xlix.  10,  from  which  place  this  is  quoted, 


216 


REVELATION, 


17  For  the  Lamb,  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne,  shall  °  feed 
them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto 
a  Ps.  23. 1,  2,  5;  36.  8;  Is.  40. 11. 


the  expression  is  —  sharab,  proper- 

V  T 

ly  denoting  heat  or  burning,  and  par¬ 
ticularly  the  mirage,  the  excessive  heat 
of  a  sandy  desert  producing  a  vapor 
which  has  a  striking  resemblance  to 
water,  and  which  often  misleads  the  un¬ 
wary  traveller  by  its  deceptive  appear¬ 
ance.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxv.  7.  The 
expression  here  is  equivalent  to  intense 
heat,  and  the  meaning  is,  that  in  heaven 
the  redeemed  will  not  be  subjected  to 
any  such  suffering  as  the  traveller  often 
experiences  in  the  burning  sands  of  the 
desert.  The  language  would  convey  a 
most  grateful  idea  to  those  who  had 
been  subjected  to  these  sufferings,  and 
is  one  form  of  saying  that,  in  heaven, 
the  redeemed  will  bo  delivered  from  the 
ills  which  they  suffer  in  this  life.  Per¬ 
haps  the  whole  image  here  is  that  of 
travellers  who  have  been  on  a  long 
journey,  exposed  to  hunger  and  thirst, 
wandering  in  the  burning  sands  of  the 
desert,  and  exposed  to  the  fiery  rays  of 
the  sun,  at  length  reaching  their  quiet 
and  peaceful  home,  where  they  would 
find  safety  and  abundance.  The  be¬ 
liever’s  journey  from  earth  to  heaven  is 
such  a,  pilgrimage. 

17.  For  the  Lamb,  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne.  Notes,  ch.  v.  6. 
He  is  still  the  great  agent  in  promoting 
the  happiness  of  the  redeemed  in  hea¬ 
ven.  Shall  feed  them.  Rather,  shall 
exercise  over  them  the  office  of  a  shep¬ 
herd—  TToigavei.  This  includes  much 
more  than  mere  feeding.  It  embraces 
all  the  care  which  a  shepherd  takes  of 
his  flock  —  watching  them,  providing 
for  them,  guarding  them  from  danger. 
Comp.  Ps.  xxiii.  1,  2,  5,  xxxvi.  8.  See 
this  fully  illustrated  in  the  Notes  on 
Isa.  xl.  11.  And  shall  lead  them  unto 
living  fountains  of  toaters.  Living  foun¬ 
tains  refer  to  running  streams,  as  con¬ 
trasted  with  standing  water  and  stag¬ 
nant  pools.  ■  See  Notes  on  John  iv.  10. 
The  allusion  is  undoubtedly  to  the  hap¬ 
piness  of  heaven,  represented  as  fresh 
and  ever-flowing,  like  streams  in  the 
desert.  No  image  of  happiness,  perhaps, 
is  more  vivid,  or  would  be  more  striking 


[A.  D.  96. 

living  fountains  of  waters :  and 
God  shall  wipe  b  away  all  tears 
from  their  eyes. 

b  Is.  25.  8. 


to  an  Oriental,  than  that  of  such  foun¬ 
tains  flowing  in  sandy  and  burning 
wastes.  The  word  living  here  must 
refer  to  the  fact  that  that  happiness 
will  be  perennial.  These  fountains 
will  always  bubble ;  these  streams  will 
never  dry  up.  The  thirst  for  salvation 
will  always  be  gratified;  the  soul  will 
always  be  made  happy.  And  God 
shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes. 
This  is  a  new  image  of  happiness  taken 
from  another  place  in  Isaiah  (ch.  xxv.  8), 
‘‘•The  Lord  God  will  wipe  away  tears 
from  off  all  faces.”  The  expression  is  one 
of  exquisite  tenderness  and  beauty.  The 
poet  Burns  said  that  he  could  never  read 
this  without  being  affected  to  weeping. 
Of  all  the  negative  descriptions  of  hea¬ 
ven,  there  is  no  one  perhaps  that  would 
be  better  adapted  to  produce  consola¬ 
tion  than  this.  This  is  a  world  of  weep¬ 
ing — a  vale  of  tears.  Philosophers  have 
sought  a  brief  definition  of  man,  and 
have  sought  in  vain.  Would  there  be 
any  better  description  of  him,  as  repre¬ 
senting  the  reality  of  his  condition  here, 
than  to  say  that  he  is  one  who  iceeps  f 
Who  is  there  of  the  human  family  that 
has  not  shed  a  tear?  Who  that  has  not 
wept  over  the  grave  of  a  friend;  over 
his  own  losses  and  cares ;  over  his  disap¬ 
pointments  ;  over  the  treatment  he  has 
received  from  others ;  over  his  sins ; 
over  the  follies,  vices,  and  woes  of  his 
fellow-men  ?  And  what  a  change  would 
it  make  in  our  world  if  it  could  be  said 
that  henceforward  not  another  tear 
would  be  shed;  not  a  head  would  ever 
be  bowed  again  in  grief!  Yet,  this  is 
to  be  the  condition  of  heaven.  In  that 
world  there  is  to  be  no  pain,  no  disap¬ 
pointment,  no  bereavement.  No  friend 
is  to  lie  in  dreadful  agony  on  a  sick  bed ; 
no  grave  is  to  be  opened  to  receive  a 
parent,  a  wife,  a  child ;  no  gloomy  pros¬ 
pect  of  death  is  to  draw  tears  of  sorrow 
from  the  eyes.  To  that  blessed  world, 
when  our  eyes  run  down  with  tears,  are 
we  permitted  to  look  forward ;  and  the 
prospect  of  such  a  world  should  con¬ 
tribute  to  wipe  away  our  tears  here — for 
all  our  sorrows  will  soon  be  over.  As 
already  remarked,  there  was  a  beautiful 


217 


A.  D.  96.J  CHAPT] 

propriety,  at  a  time  'when  such  cala¬ 
mities  impended  over  the  church  and 
the  world;  when  there  was  such  a 
certainty  of  persecution  and  sorrow;  in 
permitting  the  mind  to  rest  on  the  con¬ 
templation  of  these  happy  scenes  in 
heaven,  where  all  the  redeemed,  in 
white  robes,  and  with  palms  of  victory  in 
their  hands,  would  be  gathered  before 
the  throne.  To  us,  also,  now,  amidst 
the  trials  of  the  present  life  —  when 
friends  leave  us ;  when  sickness  comes  ; 
when  our  hopes  are  blasted;  when 
calumnies  and  reproaches  come  upon 
us ;  when,  standing  on  the  verge  of  the 
grave,  and  looking  down  into  the  cold 
tomb,,  the  eyes  pour  forth  floods  of  tears 
—  it  is  a  blessed  privilege  to  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  look  forward  to  that  brighter 
scene  in  heaven,  where  not  a  pang  shall 
ever  be  felt,  and  not  a  tear  shall  ever 
be  shed. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

ANALYSIS  OP  THE  CHAPTER. 

One  seal  of  the  mysterious  roll  (eh.  v. 
1),  remains  to  be  broken' — -six  having 
already  disclosed  the  contents  of  the  vo¬ 
lume  relating  to  the  future.  It  was  na¬ 
tural  that  the  opening  of  the  seventh, 
and  the  last,  should  be  attended  with 
circumstances  of  peculiar  solemnity,  as 
being  all  that  remained  in  this  volume 
to  be  unfolded,  and  as  the  events  thus 
far  had  been  evidently  preparatory  to 
some  great  catastrophe.  It  would  have 
been  natural  to  expect  that,  like  the  six 
former,  this  seal  would  have  been  opened 
at  once,  and  would  have  disclosed  all  that 
was  to  happen  at  one  view.  But,  instead 
of  that,  the  opening  of  this  seal  is  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  series  of  events,  seven  also 
in  number,  which  succeed  each  other, 
represented  by  new  symbols — the  blow¬ 
ing  of  as  many  successive  trumpets. 
These  circumstances  retard  the  course 
of  the  action,  and  fix  the  mind  on  a  new 
order  of  events — events  which  could  be 
appropriately  grouped  together,  and 
which,  for  some  reason,  might  be  thus 
more  properly  represented  than  they 
could  be  in  so  many  successive  seals. 
What  was  the  reason  of  this  arrange¬ 
ment  will  be  more  readily  seen  on  an 
examination  of  the  particular  events 
referred  to  in  the  successive  trumpet- 
blasts. 

The  points  in  the  chapter  are  the  fol¬ 
lowing  : — 

19 


R  VIII. 

1.  The  opening  of  the  seventh  seal, 
ver.  1.  This  is  attended,  not  with  an 
immediate  exhibition  of  the  events  which 
are  to  occur,  as  in  the  case  of  the  former 
seals,  but  with  a  solemn  silence  in  hea- 
ven  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour.  The 
reason '  of  this  silence,  apparently,  is 
found  in  the  solemn  nature  of  the  events 
which  are  anticipated.  At  the  opening 
of  the  sixth  seal  (ch.  vi.  12,  seq.)  the 
grand  catastrophe  of  the  world’s  history 
seemed  about  to  occur.  This  had  been 
suspended  for  a  time  as  if  by  the  power 
of  angels  holding  the  winds  and  the 
storm  (eh.  vii),  and  now  it  was  natural 
to  expect  that  there  would  be  a  series  of 
overwhelming  calamities.  In  view  of 
these  apprehended  terrors,  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  heaven  are  represented  as  stand¬ 
ing  in  awful  silence,  as  if  anticipating 
and  apprehending  what  was  to  occur. 
This  circumstance  adds  much  to  the  in¬ 
terest  of  the  scene,  and  is  a  forcible 
illustration  of  the  position  which  the 
mind  naturally  assumes  in  the  anticipa¬ 
tion  of  dreaded  events.  Silence — solemn 
and  awful  silence  — is  the  natural  state 
of  the  mind  under  such  circumstances. — 
In  accordance  with  this  expectation  of 
what  was  to  come,  a  series  of  new  repre¬ 
sentations  is  introduced,  adapted  to  pre¬ 
pare  the  mind  for  the  fearful  disclosures 
which  are  yet  to  be  made. 

2.  Seven  angels  appear,  on  the  open- 
ing  of  the  seal,  to  whom  are  given 
seven  trumpets,  as  if  they  were  ap¬ 
pointed  to  perform  an  important  part  in 
introducing  the  series  of  events  which 
was  to  follow,  ver.  2. 

3.  As  a  still  farther  preparation,  an¬ 
other  angel  is  introduced,  standing  at 
the  altar  with  a  golden  cens.er,  vs.  3-5. 
He  is  represented  as  Engaged  in  a  solemn 
act  of  worship,  offering  incense  and  the 
prayers  of  the  saints  before  the  throne. 
This  unusual  representation  seems  to  be 
designed  to  denote  that  some  extraordi¬ 
nary  events  were  to  occur,  making  it  pro¬ 
per  that  incense  should  ascend,  and 
prayer  be  offered,  to  deprecate  the  wrath 
of  God.  After  the  offering  of  the  in¬ 
cense,  and  the  prayers,  the  angel  takes 
the  censer  and  casts  it  to  the  earth,  and 
the  effect  is  that  there  are  voices,  and 
thunderings,  and  lightnings,  and  an 
earthquake.  All  these  would  seem  to 
be  symbolical  of  the  fearful  events  which 
are  to  follow.  —  The  silence  ;  the  in¬ 
cense-offering  ;  the  prayers ;  the  fearful 


218 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


agitations  produced  by  the  casting  of  the 
censer  upon  the  earth,  as  if  the  prayer 
was  not  heard,  and  as  if  the  offering  of 
the  incense  did  not  avail  to  turn  away 
the  impending  wrath,  all  are  appropriate 
symbols  to  introduce  the  series  of  fearful 
calamities  which  were  coming  upon  the 
world  on  the  sounding  of  the  trumpets. 

4.  The  first  angel  sounds,  ver.  7.  Hail 
and  fire  follow,  mingled  with  blood. 
The  third  part  of  the  trees  and  of  the 
green  grass  —  that  is,  of  the  vegetable 
world — is  consumed. 

5.  The  second  angel  sounds,  vs.  8,  9. 
A  great  burning  mountain  is  cast  into 
the  sea,  and  the  third  part  of  the  sea 
becomes  blood,  and  a  third  part  of  all 
that  is  in  the  sea — fishes  and  ships  —  is 
destroyed. 

6.  The  third  angel  sounds,  vs.  10,  11. 
A  great  star,  burning  like  a  lamp,  falls 
from  heaven  upon  a  third  part  of  the 
rivers,  and  upon  the  fountains  of  waters, 
and  the  waters  become  bitter,  and  mul¬ 
titudes  of  people  die  from  drinking  the 
waters. 

7.  The  fourth  angel  sounds,  ver.  12. 
The  calamity  falls  on  the  sources  of 
light — the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars, 
and  the  third  part  of  the  light  is  ex¬ 
tinguished,  and  for  the  third  part  of  the 
day  there  is  no  light,  and  for  the  third 
part  of  the  night  also  there  is  no  light. 

8.  At  this  stage  of  things,  after  the 
sounding  of  the  four  trumpets,  there  is 
a  pause,  and  an  angel  flies  through  the 
midst  of  heaven,  thrice  ciying  wo,  by 
reason  of  the  remaining  trumpets  which 
are  to  sound,  ver.  13.  Here  would  seem 
to  be  some  natural  interval,  or  something 
which  would  separate  the  events  which 
had  occurred  from  those  which  were  to 
follow.  These  four,  from  some  cause, 
are  grouped  together,  and  are  distin¬ 
guished  from  those  which  are  to  follow — 
as  if  the  latter  appertained  to  a  new  class 
of  events,  though  under  the  same  general 
group  introduced  by  the  opening  of  the 
seventh  seal. 

A  few  general  remarks  are  naturally 
suggested  by  the  analysis  of  the  chap¬ 
ter,  which  may  aid  us  in  its  exposition 
and  application. 

(a)  These  events,  in  their  order,  un¬ 
doubtedly  succeed  those  which  are  refer¬ 
red  to  under  the  opening  of  the  first  six 
seals.  They  are  a  continuation  of  the 
series  which  is  to  occur  in  the  history  of 
the  world.  It  has  been  supposed  by 


some  that  the  events  here  symbolized  are 
substantially  the  samo  as  those  already 
referred  to  under  the  first  six  seals,  or 
that,  at  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal, 
there  is  a  catastrophe,  and,  one  series 
being  there  concluded,  the  writer,  by  a 
new  set  of  symbols,  goes  back  to  the 
same  point  of  time,  and  passes  over  the 
same  period  by  a  new  and  parallel  set 
of  symbols.  But  this  is  manifestly  con¬ 
trary  to  the  whole  design.  At  the  first  (ch. 
v.  1),  a  volume  was  exhibited  sealed  with 
seven  seals,  the  unrolling  of  which  would 
manifestly  develop  successive  events,  and 
the  whole  of  which  would  embrace  all 
the  events  which  were  to  be  disclosed. 
When  all  these  seven  seals  were  broken, 
and  the  contents  of  that  volume  were 
disclosed,  there  might  indeed  be  another 
set  of  symbols  going  over  the  same 
ground  with  another  design,  or  giving  a 
representation  of  future  events  in  some 
other  point  of  view ;  but  clearly  the  se¬ 
ries  should  not  be  broken  until  the  whole 
seven  seals  are  opened,  nor  should  it  be 
supposed  that  there  is,  in  the  opening  of 
the  same  volume,  an  arresting  of  the 
course  of  events,  in  order  to  go  back  again 
to  the  same  beginning.  The  represent¬ 
ation  in  this  series  of  symbols  is  liko 
drawing  out  a  telescope.  A  telescope 
might  be  divided  into  seven  parts,  as 
well  as  into  the  usual  number,  and  the 
drawing  out  of  the  seventh  part,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  might  be  regarded  as  a  represent¬ 
ation  of  the  opening  of  the  seventh  seal. 
But,  the  seventh  part,  instead  of  being  one 
unbroken  piece  like  the  other  six,  might 
be  so  constructed  as  to  be  subdivided 
into  seven  minor  parts,  each  represent¬ 
ing  a  smaller  portion  of  the  seventh  part. 
In  such  a  case,  the  drawing  out  of  the 
seventh  division  would  succeed  that  of 
the  others,  and  would  be  designed  to  re¬ 
present  a  subsequent  order  of  events. 

( b )  There  was  some  reason,  manifestly, 
why  these  seven  last  events,  or  the  se¬ 
ries  represented  by  the  seven  trumpets, 
should  be  grouped  together,  as  coming 
under  the  same  general  classification. 
They  were  sufficiently  distinct  to  make 
it  proper  to  represent  them  by  different 
symbols,  and  yet  they  had  so  much  of 
the  same  general  character  as  to  make 
it  proper  to  group  them  together.  If  * 
this  had  not  been  so,  it  would  have  been 
proper  to  represent  them  by  a  succession 
of  seals  extending  to  thirteen  in  number, 
instead  of  representing  six  seals  in  sue- 


219 


A..  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  VIII. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 


AND  when  he  had  opened  the 
seventh  seal, 0  there  was  silence 

cession,  and  then,  under  the  seventh,  a 
new  series  extending  also  to  the  number 
seven.  In  the  fulfilment,  it  will  be  pro¬ 
per  to  look  for  some  events  which  have 
some  such  natural  connexion  and  bear¬ 
ing  that,  for  some  reason,  they  can  be 
classed  together,  and  yet  so  distinct  that, 
under  the  same  general  symbol  of  the 
seal,  they  can  be  represented  under  the 
particular  symbol  of  the  trumpets. 

(c)  For  some  reason,  there  was  a  fur¬ 
ther  distinction  between  the  events  re¬ 
presented  by  the  first  four  trumpets,  and 
those  which  were  to  follow.  There  was 
some  reason  why  they  should  be  more 
particularly  grouped  together,  and  placed 
in  close  connexion,  and  why  there  should 
be  an  interval  (eh.  viii.  13)  before  the 
other  trumpet  should  sound.  In  the  ful¬ 
filment  of  this,  we  should  naturally  look 
for  such  an  order  of  events  as  would  be 
designated  by  four  successive  symbols, 
and  then  for  such  a  change,  in  some  re¬ 
spects,  as  to  make  an  interval  proper, 
and  a  proclamation  of  too,  before  the 
sounding  of  the  other  three,  ch.  viii.  13. 
Then,  it  would  be  natural  to  look  for 
such  Events  as  could  properly  be  grouped 
under  the  three  remaining  symbols — the 
three  succeeding  trumpets. 

(d)  It  is  natural,  as  already  intimated, 
to  suppose  that  the  entire  group  would 
extend,  in  some  general  manner  at  least, 
to  the  consummation  of  all  things ;  or, 
that  there  would  be,  under  the  last  one, 
a  reference  to  the  consummation  of  all 
things — the  end  of  the  world.  The  reason 
for  this  has  already  been  given,  that  the 
apostle  saw  a  volume  (ch.  v.  1.),  which 
contained  a  sealed  account  of  the  future, 
and  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  there 
would  be  a  reference  to  the  great  leading 
events  which  were  to  occur  in  the  history 
of  the  church  and  of  the  world.  This 
natural  anticipation  is  confirmed  by  the 
events  disclosed  under  the  sounding  of 
the  seventh  trumpet  (ch.  xi.  15,  seq.), 
“And  the  seventh  angel  sounded,-  and 
there  were  great  voices  in  heaven,  say¬ 
ing,  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  be¬ 
come  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of 
his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever 
and  ever.  And  the  four  and  twenty 
elders  which  sat  before  God  on  their 
seats,  fell  upon  their  faces,  and  worship- 


in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half 
an  hour. 

a  c.  5. 1. 


ped  God,  saying,  We  give  thee  thanks, 
0  Lord,  God  Almighty,  which  art,  and 
wast,  and  art  to  come ;  because  thou 
hast  taken  thy  great  power,  and  hast 
reigned,  <fcc.  At  all  events,  this  would 
lead  us  on  to  the  final  triumph  of 
Christianity — to  the  introduction  of 
the  millenium  of  glory  — to  the  period 
when  the  Son  of  God  should  reign  on 
the  earth.— After  that  (ch.  xi.  19,  seq.), 
a  new  series  of  visions  commences,  dis¬ 
closing,  through  the  same  periods  of 
history,  a  new  view  of  the  church  to  the 
time  also  of  its  final  triumph :  —  the 
church  internally ,-  the  rise  of  antichrist, 
and  the  effect  of  the  rise  of  this  formi¬ 
dable  power.  See  the  Analysis  of  the 
Book,  Part  Fifth. 

1.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh 
seal.  See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  1.  C  There 
teas  silence  in  heaven.  The  whole  scene 
of  the  vision  is  laid  in  heaven  (ch.  iv.),  and 
John  represents  things  as  they  seem  to 
be  passing  there.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  on  the  opening  of  this  seal,  instead 
of  voices,  thunderings,  tempests,  as  per- 
haps  was  expected  from  the  character  of 
the  sixth  seal  (ch.  vi.  12,  seq.),  and  which 
seemed  only  to  have  been  suspended  for 
a  time  (ch.  vii.),  there  was  an  awful  still¬ 
ness,  as  if  all  heaven  was  reverently 
waiting  for  the  development.  Of  course, 
this  is  a  symbolical  representation,  and 
is  designed  not  to  represent  a  pause  in 
the  events  themselves,  but  only  the  im¬ 
pressive  and  fearful  nature  of  the  events 
which  are  now  to  be  disclosed,  r  About 
the  space  of  half  an  hour.  He  did  not 
profess  to  designate  the  time  exactly.  It 
was  a  brief  period  —  yet  a  period  whici 
in  such  circumstances  would  appear  to 
be  long — about  half  an  hour.  The  word 
here  used  —  iipahfnov  —  does  not  occur 
elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament.  It  is 
correctly  rendered  half  an  hour,  and  as 
the  day  was  divided  into  twelve  parts 
front  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun, 
the  time  designated  would  not  vary 
much  from  half  an  hour  with  us.  Of 
course,  therefore,  this  denotes  a  brief 
period.  In  a  state,  however,  of  anxious 
suspense,  the  moments  would  seem  to 
move  slowly ;  and  to  see  the  exact  force 
of  this,  we  are  to  reflect  on  the  scenes 
represented  —  the  successive  opening  of 


220 


tvEV  ELATION 


[A.  D.  96. 


2  And  I  saw  the  seven  angels 

a  Lu.  i.  19.  b  2  Ch.  29.  25-28. 

seals  disclosing  most  important  events — 
increasing  in  interest  as  each  new  one 
was  opened  ;  tlie  course  of  events  which 
seemed  to  be  leading  to  the  consumma¬ 
tion  of  all  things,  arrested  after  the  open¬ 
ing  of  the  sixth  seal ;  and  now  the  last  in 
the  series  to  be  opened,  disclosing  what 
the  affairs  of  the  world  would  be  at  the 
consummation  of  all  things.  John  looks 
on  this;  and  in  this  state  of  suspense,  the 
half  hour  may  have  seemed  an  age. — We 
are  not,  of  course,  to  suppose  that  the 
silence'  in  heaven  is  produced  by  the 
character  of  the  events  which  are  now 
to  follow — for  they  are  as  yet  unknown. 
It  is  caused  by  what,  from  the  nature  of 
the  previous  disclosures,  was  naturally 
apprehended,  and  by  the  fact  that  this 
is  the  last  of  the  series^ — the  finishing 
of  the  mysterious  volume.  This  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  obvious  interpretation  of 
this  passage,  though  there  has  been  here, 
as  in  other  parts  of  the  book  of  Revela¬ 
tion,  a  great  variety  of  opinion  as  to  the 
meaning.  Those  who  suppose  that  the 
whole  hook  consists  of  a  triple  series  of 
visions  designed  to  prefigure  future 
events,  parallel  with  each  other,  and 
each  leading  to  the  consummation  of  all 
things  —  the  series  embracing  the  seals, 
the  trumpets,  and  the  vials,  each  seven 
in  number  —  regard  this  as  the  proper 
ending  of  the  first  of  this  series,  and 
suppose  that  we  have  on  the  opening  of 
the  seventh  seal,  the  beginning  of  a  new 
symbolical  representation,  going  over 
the  same  ground,  under  the  representa¬ 
tions  of  the  trumpets,  in  a  new  aspect  or 
point  of  view.  —  Eichhorn  and  Rosen- 
miiller  suppose  that  the  silence  intro¬ 
duced  by  the  apostle  is  merely  for  effect, 
and  that,  therefore,  it  is  without  any 
special  signification.  —  Grotius  applies 
the  whole  representation  to  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Jerusalem,  and  supposes  that  the 
silence  in  heaven  refers  to  the  restrain¬ 
ing  of  the  winds  referred  to  in  ch.  vii.  1 
— the  wrath  in  respect  to  the  city, 
which  was  now  suspended  for  a  short 
time.  Professor  Stuart  also  refers  it  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  supposes 
that  the  seven  trumpets  refer  to  seven 
gradations  in  the  series  of  judgments 
that  were  coming  upon  the  persecu¬ 
tors  of  the  church.  Mr.  Daubuz  re¬ 
gards  the  silence  here  referred  to  as 


which  stood  °  before  God ;  and  to 
them  were  given  seven  trumpets.* 

a  symbol  of  the  liberty  granted  to  the 
church  in  the  time  of  Constantine ;  Vi- 
tringa  interprets  it  of  the  peace  of  the 
millenium  which  is  to  succeed  the  over¬ 
throw  of  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet; 
Dean  Woodhouse  and  Mr.  Cunninghame 
regard  it  as  the  termination  of  the  series 
of  events  which  the  former  seals  denote, 
and  the  commencement  of  a  new  train  of 
revelations ;  Mr.  Elliott  as  the  suspension 
of  the  winds  during  the  sealing  of  the 
servants  of  God;  Mr.  Lord  as  the  period 
of  repose  which  intervened  between  the 
close  of  the  persecution  by  Diocletian  and 
Galerius,  in  311,  and  the  commencement, 
near  the  close  of  that  year,  of  the  civil 
wars  by  which  Constantine  the  Great 
was  elevated  to  the  imperial  throne.  It 
will  he  seen  at  once  how  arbitrary  and 
unsatisfactory  most  of  those  interpreta¬ 
tions  are,  and  how  far  from  harmony 
expositors  have  been  as  to  the  meaning 
of  this  symbol.  The  most  simple  and 
obvious  interpretation  is  likely  to  be  the 
true  one;  and  that  is,  as  above  sug¬ 
gested,  that  it  refers  to  silence  in  heaven 
as  expressive  of  the  fearful  anticipation 
felt  on  opening  the  last  seal  that  was  to 
close  the  series,  and  to  wind  up  the  affairs 
of  the  church  and  the  world.  Nothing 
would  be  more  natural  than  such  a  state  of 
solemn  awe  on  such  an  occasion  ;  nothing 
would  introduce  the  opening  of  the  seal 
in  a  more  impressive  manner;  nothing 
would  more  naturally  express  the  anxiety 
of  the  church,  the  probable  feelings  of  the 
pious  on  the  opening  of  these  successive 
seals,  than  the  representation  that  in¬ 
cense,  accompanied  with  their  prayers, 
was  continually  offered  in  heaven. 

2.  And  I  saw  the  seven  angels  u-hieh 
stood  before  God.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes 
that  by  these  angels  are  meant  the 
“  presence-angels”  which  he  under¬ 
stands  to  he  referred  to  in  ch.  i.  4,  by 
the  “  seven  spirits  which  are  before  the 
throne.”  If,  however,  the  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  that  passage  above  proposed, 
that  it  refers  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  with 
reference  to  his  multiplied  agency  and 
operations,  be  correct,  then  we  must 
seek  for  another  application  of  the 
phrase  here.  The  only  difficulty  in  ap¬ 
plying  it  arises  from  the  use  of  the 
article — “  the  seven  angels” — rovs — as  if 
they  were  angels  already  referred  to; 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


221 


A.  D.  96.] 


3  And  another  angel  came  and 
stood  at  the  altar,  having  a  golden 


and,  as  there  has  been  no  previous 
mention  of  “  seven  angels,”  unless  it  be 
in  the  phrase  “  the  seven  spirits  which 
are  before  the  throne,”  in  ch.  i.  4,  it  is 
argued  that  this  must 'have  such  a  re¬ 
ference.  But  this  interpretation  is  not 
absolutely  necessary.  John  might  use 
this  language  either  because  the  angels 
had  been  spoken  of  before ;  or  because  it 
would  be  sufficiently  understood,  from 
the  common  use  of  language,  who  would 
be  referred  to  —  as  we  now  might  speak 
of  “  the  seven  members  of  the  cabinet  of 
the  United  States,”  or  “  the  thirty-one 
governors  of  the  states  of  the  Union,” 
though  they  had  not  been  particularly 
mentioned;  or  he  might  speak  of  them 
as  just  then  disclosed  to  his  view,  and 
because  his  meaning  would  he  sufficient¬ 
ly  definite  by  the  circumstances  which 
were  to  follow  —  their  agency  in  blow¬ 
ing  the  trumpets.  It  would  be  entirely 
in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  the 
article,  for  one  to  say  that  he  saw  an 
army,  and  the  commander-in-chief,  and 
the  four  statf-officers,  and  the  five  bands 
of  music,  and  the  six  companies  of 
sappers  and  miners,  <fcc.  It  is  not  abso¬ 
lutely  necessary,  therefore,  to  suppose 
that  these  angels  had  been  before  re¬ 
ferred  to.  There  is,  indeed,  in  the  use 
of  the  phrase  “which  stood  before  God,” 
the  idea  that  they  are  to  be  regarded  as 
permanently  standing  there,  or  that  that 
is  their  proper  place  —  as  if  they  were 
angels  who  were  particularly  designated 
to  this  high  service.  Comp.  Luke  i.  19  : 
— “  I  am  Gabriel,  that  stand  in  the  pre¬ 
sence  of  God.”  If  this  idea  is  involved  in 
the  phrase,  then  there  is  a  sufficient  rea¬ 
son  why  the  article  is  used,  though  they 
had  not  before  been  mentioned.  And 
to  them  were  given  seven  trumpets.  One 
to  each.  By  whom  the  trumpets  were 
given  is  not  said.  It  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been  done  by  Him  who  sat  on 
the  throne.  Trumpets  were  used  then, 
as  now,  for  various  purposes;  to  sum¬ 
mon  an  assembly ;  to  muster  the  hosts 
of  battle ;  to  inspirit  and  animate  troops 
in  conflict.  Here  they  are  given  to 
announce  a  series  of  important  events 
producing  great  changes  in  the  world — 
as  if  God  summoned  and  led  on  his 
hosts  to  accomplish  his  designs. 

19  * 


censer ;  and  there  tvas  given  unto 
him  much  incense,  that  he  should 


3.  And  another  angel  came.  Who  this 
angel  was,  is  not  mentioned,  nor  have 
we  any  means  of  determining.  Of 
course  a  great  variety  of  opinion  has 
been  entertained  on  the  subject  (see 
Poole’s  Synopsis),  some  referring  it  to 
angels  in  general ;  others  to  the  minis¬ 
try  of  the  church  ;  others  to  Constantine ; 
others  to  Michael ;  and  many  others  to 
the  Lord  Jesus.  All  that  we  know  is, 
that  it  was  an  angel  who  thus  appeared, 
and  there  is  nothing  inconsistent  in 
the  supposition  that  any  one  of  the 
angels  in  heaven  may  have  been  ap¬ 
pointed  to  perform  what  is  here  repre¬ 
sented.  The  design  seems  to  be  to 
represent  the  prayers  of  the  saints  as 
ascending  in  the  anticipation  of  the  ap¬ 
proaching  series  of  wonders  in  the  world, 
and  there  would  fc»J  a  beautiful  pro¬ 
priety  in  representing  them  as  offered  by 
an  angel — feeling  a  deep  interest  in  the 
church,  and  ministering  in  behalf  of  the 
saints.  And  stood  at  the  altar.  In 
heaven  —  represented  as  a  temple,  with 
an  altar,  and  with  the  usual  array  of 
things  employed  in  the  worship  of  God. 
The  altar  was  the  appropriate  place  for 
him  to  stand  when  about  to  offer  the 
prayers  of  the  saints  —  for  that  is  the 
place  where  the  worshipper  stood  under 
the  ancient  dispensation.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Matt.  v.  23,  24;  Luke  i.  11.  In  the 
latter  place,  an  angel  is  represented  as 
appearing  to  Zacharias  “  on  the  right 
side  of  the  altar  of  incense.”  Having 
a  golden  censer.  The  fire-pan,  made 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  fire,  on  which 
to  burn  incense  in  time  of  worship.  See 
it  described  and  illustrated,  in  the  Notes 
on  Heb.  ix.  4.  There  seems  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  incense  that  was 
offered  in  the  ancient  worship  was  de¬ 
signed  to  he  emblematic  of  the  prayers 
of  saints,  for  it  was  the  custom  for  wor¬ 
shippers  to  be  engaged  in  prayer  at  the 
time  the  incense  was  offered  by  the 
priest.  See  Luke  i.  10.  And  there 
was  given  unto  him  much  incense.  See 
Notes  on  Luke  i.  9.  A  large  quantity 
was  here  given  to  him,  because  the  occa¬ 
sion  was  one  on  which  many  prayers 
might  be  expected  to  bo  offered.  That 
he  shoidd  offer  it  with  the  prayers. 
Marg.,  “add  it  to.  Gr.,  “that  he  should 


222 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


•  offer  it  with  the  prayers  b  of  all 
saints  upon  the  golden  c  altar 
which  was  before  the  throne. 

4  And  the  smoke  of  the  in¬ 
cense,  d  ichich  came  with  the  pray¬ 
ers  of  the  saints,  ascended  up 
before  God  out  of  the  angel’s  hand. 
a  Or,  add  it  to.  b  c.  5.  8.  c  c.  6.  9. 


give  it  with” — Snhcrri.  The  idea  is  plain, 
that,  when  the  prayers  of  the  saints 
ascended,  he  would  also  burn  the  in¬ 
cense,  that  it  might  go  up  at  the  same 
moment,  and  be  emblematic  of  them. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  v.  8.  f  Of  all 
saints.  Of  all  who  are  holy ;  of  all  who 
are  the  children  of  God.  The  idea 
seems  to  be,  that,  at  this  time,  all  the 
saints  would  unite  in  calling  on  God, 
and  in  deprecating  his  wrath.  As  the 
events  which  were  about  to  occur  were  a 
matter  of  common  interest  to  the  people 
of  God,  it  was  to  be  supposed  that 
they  would  unite  in  common  supplica¬ 
tion.  If  Upon  the  golden  altar.  The 
altar  of  incense.  This  in  the  tabernacle 
and  in  the  temple  was  overlaid  With 
gold.  Which  was  before  the  throne. 
This  is  represented  as  a  temple-service, 
and  the  altar  of  incense  is,  with  pro¬ 
priety,  placed  before  his  seat  or  throne, 
as  it  was  in  the  tabernacle  and  temple. 
In  the  temple,  God  is  represented  as 
occupying  the  mercy-seat  in  the  holy  of 
holies,  and  the  altar  of  incense  is  in  the 
holy  place  before  that.  See  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  temple  in  the  Notes  on 
Matt.  xxi.  12. 

4.  And  the  smoke  of  the  incense,  &c. 
The  smoke  caused  by  the  burning  in¬ 
cense.  John,  as  he  saw  this,  naturally 
interpreted  it  of  the  prayers  of  the 
saints.  The  meaning  of  the  whole  sym¬ 
bol,  thus  explained,  is,  that  at  the  time 
referred  to,  the  anxiety  of  the  church  in 
regard  to  the  events  which  were  about  to 
occur,  would  naturally  lead  to  much 
prayer.  It  is  not  necessary  to  attempt 
to  verify  this  by  any  distinct  historical 
facts,  for  no  one  can  doubt  that,  in  a 
time  of  such  impending  calamities,  the 
church  would  bo  earnestly  engaged  in 
devotion.  Such  has  always  been  the 
case  in  times  of  danger,  and  it  may 
always  be  assumo  l  to  be  true,  that  when 
danger  threatens,  whether  it  be  to  the 
church  at  largo,  or  to  an  individual 


5  And  the  angel  took  the  cen¬ 
ser,  and  filled  it  with  fire  of  the 
altar,  and  cast  it  into  *  the  earth : 
and  f  there  were  voices,  and  thun- 
derings,  and  lightnings,  and  an 
earthquake. g 

d  Ex.  30  1.  e  Qf,  ripon.  f  c.  16. 18. 
g  2  Sa.  22.  8. 


Christian,  there  will  be  a  resort  to  the 
throne  of  grace. 

5.  And  the  angel  took  the  censer. 
Ver.  3.  This  is  a  new  symbol,  designed 
to  furnish  a  new  representation  of  future 
events.  By  the  former  it  had  been  shown 
that  there  would  be  much  prayer  offered ; 
by  this  it  is  designed  to  show  that,  not¬ 
withstanding  the  prayer  that  would  be 
offered,  great  and  fearful  calamities 
would  come  upon  the  earth.  This  is 
symbolized  by  casting  the  censer  upon 
the  earth,  as  if  the  prayers  were  not 
heard  any  longer,  or  as  if  prayer  were 
now  in  vain.  And  filled  it  with  fire 
of  the  altar.  An  image  similar  to  this 
occurs  in  Ezek.  x.  2,  where  the  man 
clothed  in  linen  is  commanded  to  go 
between  the  wheels  under  the  cherub, 
and  fill  his  hand  with  coals  of  fire  from 
between  the  cherubims,  and  to  scatter 
them  over  the  city  as  a  symbol  of 
its  destruction.  Here  the  coals  are 
taken,  evidently,  from  the  altar  of 
sacrifice.  Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  vi.  1. 
On  these  coals  no  incense  was  placed, 
but  they  were  thrown  at  once  to  the 
earth.  The  new  emblem,  therefore,  is 
the  taking  of  coals,  and  scattering  them 
abroad  as  a  symbol  of  the  destruction 
that  was  about  to  ensue.  And  cast  it 
into  the  earth.  Marg.,  upon.  The  mar¬ 
gin  expresses  undoubtedly  the  meaning. 
The  symbol,  therefore,  properly  denoted 
that  fearful  calamities  were  about  to 
come  upon  the  earth.  Even  the  prayers 
of  saints  did  not  prevail  to  turn  them 
away,  and  now  the  symbol  of  the  scat¬ 
tered  coals  indicated  that  terrible  judg¬ 
ments  were  about  to  come  upon  the 
world.  And  there  were  voices.  Sounds, 
noises.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  5.  The 
order  is  not  the  same  here  as  there,  but 
lightnings,  thunderings,  and  voices  are 
mentioned  in  both.  And  an  earth¬ 
quake.  Ch.  vi.  12.  This  is  a  symbol  of 
commotion.  It  is  not  necessary  to  look 
for  a  literal  fulfilment  of  it,  any  more 


223 


A  T'.  CHAPTER  VIII. 


6  And  the  seven  angels  which 
had  the  seven  trumpets  prepared 
themselves  to  sound. 

than  it  is  for  literal  “  voices,”  “  light¬ 
nings,”  or  “  thunderings.” 

6.  And  the  seven  angels  which  had  the 
seven  trumpets  prepared  themselves  to 
sound.  Ver.  7.  Evidently  in  succession, 
perhaps  by  arranging  themselves  in  the 
order  in  which  they  were  to  sound. 
The  way  is  now  prepared  for  the  sound¬ 
ing  of  the  trumpets,  and  for  the  fearful 
commotions  and  changes  which  would 
be  indicated  by  that.  The  last  seal  is 
opened ;  heaven  stands  in  suspense  to 
know  what  is  to  be  disclosed ;  the  saints, 
filled  with  solicitude,  have  offered  their 
prayers ;  the  censer  of  coals  has  been 
cast  to  the  earth,  as  if  these  judgments 
could  be  no  longer  stayed  by  prayer; 
and  the  angels  prepare  to  sound  the 
trumpets  indicative  of  what  is  to  occur. 

7.  The  first  angel  sounded.  The  first 
in  order,  and  indicating  the  first  in  the 
series  of  events  that  were  to  follow. 
5f  And  there  followed  hail.  Hail  is  usu¬ 
ally  a  symbol  of  the  divine  vengeance, 
as  it  has  often  been  employed  to  ac¬ 
complish  the  divine  purposes  of  punish¬ 
ment.  Thus  in  Exodus  ix.  23,  “And 
the  Lord  sent  thunder  and  hail,  and  the 
fire  ran  along  the  ground,  and  the  Lord 
rained  hail  upon  the  land  of  Egypt.”  So 
in  Ps.  cv.  32,  referring  to  the  plagues 
upon  Egypt,  it  is  Said,  “  He  gave  them 
hail  for  rain,  and  flaming  fire  in  their 
land.”  So  again,  Ps.  lxxviii.  48,  “He 
gave  up  their  cattle  also  to  the  hail,  and 
their  flocks  to  hot  thunderbolts.”  As 
early  as  the  time  of  Job,  hail  was  under¬ 
stood  to  be  an  emblem  of  the  divine  dis¬ 
pleasure,  and  an  instrument  in  inflicting 
punishment : 

“  Hast  thou  entered  into  the  treasures  of  the  snow, 

Or  hast  thou  seen  the  treasure  of  the  hail? 

Which  I  have  reserved  against  the  day  of  trouble , 
Against  the  day  of  battle  and  war  ?” — 

ch.  xxxviii*  22,  23. 

So  also  the  same  image  is  used  in  Ps. 
xviii.  13. 

“The  Lord  also  thundered  in  the  heavens, 

And  the  Most  High  gave  forth  his  voice, 

Hailstones  and  coals  of  fire.” 

Comp.  Haggai,  ch.  ii.  17.  The  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  Assyrian  army,  it  is  said, 
would  be  accomplished  in  the  same  way, 
tsa.  xxx.  30.  Comp.  Ezek.  xiii.  11  ; 
xxxviii.  22.  And  fire.  Lightning. 
This  also  is  an  instrument  and  an  em- 


7  The  first  angel  sounded,  and  • 
there  followed  hail  and  fire  mingled 

a  Eze.  38.  22. 

blem  of  destruction.  ^  Mingled  with 
blood.  By  blood,  “we  must  naturally 
understand,”  says  Prof.  Stuart,  “  in  this 
case,  a  shower  of  colored  rain ;  that  is, 
rain  of  a  rubidinous  aspect,  an  occur¬ 
rence  which  is  known  sometimes  to  take 
place,  and  which,  like  falling  stars, 
eclipses,  etc.,  was  viewed  with  terror  by 
the  ancients,  because  it  was  supposed  to 
be  indicative  of  blood  that  was  to  be 
shed.”  —  The  appearance  doubtless  was 
that  of  a  red  shower,  apparently  of  hail, 
or  snow — for  rain  is  not  mentioned.  It 
is  not  a  rain  storm,  it  is  a  hail  storm  that 
is  the  imago  here — and  the  image  is  that 
of  a  driving  hail  storm,  where  the  light¬ 
nings  flashed,  and  where  there  was  the 
intermingling  of  a  reddish  substance 
that  resembled  blood,  and  that  was  an 
undoubted  symbol  of  blood  that  was  to 
be  shed.  I  do  not  know  that  there  is 
red  rain,  or  red  hail,  but  red  snow  is  not 
very  uncommon,  and  the  image  here 
would  be  complete  if  we  suppose  that 
there  was  an  intermingling  of  red  snow 
in  the  driving  tempest.  This  species  of 
snow  was  found  by  Captain  Ross  at  Baf¬ 
fin’s  Bay  on  the  17th  of  August,  1819. 
The  mountains  that  were  dyed  with  the 
snow  were  about  eight  miles  long,  and  six 
hundred  feet  high.  The  red  color  reached 
to  the  ground  in  many  places  ten  or 
twelve  feet  deep,  and  continued  for  a 
great  length  of  time.  Although  red  snow 
had  not  until  this  attracted  much  no¬ 
tice,  yet  it  had  been  long  before  observed 
in  Alpine  countries.  Saussare  discovered 
iton  MountSt.  Bernard  in  1778.  Ramond 
found  it  on  the  Pyrenees ;  and  Sommer- 
field  discovered  it  in  Norway.  “  In  1818 
red  snow  fell  on  the  Italian  Alps  and 
Apennines.  In  March,  1808,  the  whole 
country  about  Cadore,  Belluno,  and  Fel- 
tri,  was  covered  with  a  red-colored  snow, 
to  the  depth  of  six  and  a  half  feet;  but 
a  white  snow  had  fallen  both  before  and 
after  it,  the  red  formed  a  stratum  in  the 
middle  of  the  white.  At  the  same  time 
a  similar  fall  took  place  in  the  moun¬ 
tains  of  the  Valteline,  Brescia,  Carinthia, 
and  Tyrol.”  Edin.  Ency.  Art.  Snow. 
These  facts  show  that  what  is  referred 
to  here  in  the  symbol  might  possibly 
occur.  Such  a  symbol  would  bo  pro¬ 
perly  expressive  of  blood  and  carnage. 


224 


REVELATION,  fA.  D.  90. 


with  blood,  and  they  were  cast  upon 
the  earth:  and  the  third  part  of 


f  And  they  were  cast  upon  the  earth. 
The  hail,  the  fire,  and  the  blood  —  de¬ 
noting  that  the  fulfilment  of  this  was  to 
be  on  the  earth.  And  the  third  part 
of  trees  was  bxirnt  up.  By  the  fire  that 
came  down  with  the  hail  and  the  blood. 

And  all  green  grass  was  burnt  up. 
Wherever  this  lighted  on  the  earth. 
The  meaning  would  seem  to  be,  that, 
wherever  this  tempest  beat,  the  effect 
was  to  destroy  a  third  part  —  that  is,  a 
large  portion  of  the  trees,  and  to  con¬ 
sume  all  the  grass.  A  portion  of  the 
trees — strong  and  mighty — would  stand 
against  it;  but  that  which  was  so  ten¬ 
der,  as  grass  is,  would  be  consumed. 
The  sense  does  not  seem  to  be  that  the 
tempest  would  be  confined  to  a  third 
part  of  the  world  and  destroy  all  the 
trees  and  the  grass  there,  but  that  it 
would  be  a  sweeping  and  general  tem¬ 
pest,  and  that  wherever  it  spread  it  would 
prostrate  a  third  part  of  the  trees  and 
consume  all  the  grass.  Thus  under¬ 
stood,  it  would  seem  to  mean  that,  in 
reference  to  those  things  in  the  world 
which  were  firm  and  established  like 
trees,  it  would  not  sweep  them  wholly 
away,  though  it  would  make  great  deso¬ 
lation  ;  but  in  reference  to  those  which 
were  delicate  and  feeble — like  grass — it 
would  sweep  them  wholly  away.  —  This 
would  not  be  an  inapt  description  of  the 
ordinary  effects  of  invasion  in  time  of 
war.  A  few  of  those  things  which 
seem  most  firm  and  established  in  soci¬ 
ety  —  like  trees  in  a  forest  —  weather 
out  the  storm ;  while  the  gentle  virtues, 
the  domestic  enjoyments,  the  arts  of 
peace,  like  tender  grass,  are  wholly 
destroyed.  The  fulfilment  of  this,  we 
are  undoubtedly  to  expect  to  find  in  the 
terrors  of  invasion;  the  evils  of  war; 
the  effusion  of  blood;  the  march  of 
armies.  So  far  as  the  language  is  con¬ 
cerned,  the  symbol  would  apply  to  any 
hostile  invasion ;  but,  in  pursuing  the 
exposition  on  the  principles  on  which 
we  have  thus  far  conducted  it,  we  are  to 
look  for  the  fulfilment  in  one  or  more  of 
those  invasions  of  the  northern  hordes 
that  preceded  the  downfall  of  the  Bo- 
man  empire  and  that  contributed  to  it. — 
In  the  ‘Analysis’  of  the  chapter,  some 
reasons  were  given  why  these  four  trurn- 


trees  °  was  burnt  up,  and  all  greeD 
grass  was  burnt  up. 

a  Is.  2. 13. 

pet  signals  were  placed  together,  as  per¬ 
taining  to  a  series  of  events  of  the  same 
general  character,  and  as  distinguished 
from  those  which  were  to  follow.  The 
natural  place  which  they  occupy,  or  the 
events  which  we  should  suppose,  from 
the  views  taken  above  of  the  first  six 
seals,  would  be  represented,  would  be 
the  successive  invasions  of  the  northern 
hordes  which  ultimately  accomplished 
the  overthrow  of  the  Roman  empire. 
There  are /our  of  these  “trumpets,”  and 
it  would  be  a  matter  of  enquiry  whether 
there  were  four  events  of  sufficient  dis¬ 
tinctness  that  would  mark  these  inva¬ 
sions,  or  that  would  constitute  periods 
or  epochs  in  the  destruction  of  the  Bo- 
man  power.  At  this  point  in  writing,  I 
looked  on  a  chart  of  history,  composed 
with  no  reference  to  this  prophecy,  and 
found  a  singular  and  unexpected  prom¬ 
inence  given  to  four  such  events  ex¬ 
tending  from  the  first  invasion  of  the 
Goths  and  Vandals  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century,  to  the  Fall  of  the 
Western  empire,  A.  D.  476.  The  first 
was  the  invasion  of  Alaric,  king  of  the 
Goths,  A.  D.  410;  a  second  was  the  in¬ 
vasion  of  Attila,  king  of  the  Huns, 
“  scourge  of  God,”  A.  D.  447 ;  a  third 
was  the  sack  of  Borne  by  Genseric,  king 
of  the  Vandals,  A.D.  455 ;  and  the  fourth, 
resulting  in  the  final  conquest  of  Borne, 
was  that  of  Odoacer,  king  of  the  He- 
ruli,  who  assumed  the  title  of  King  of 
Italy,  A.  D.  476.  We  shall  see,  however, 
on  a  closer  examination,  that  although 
two  of  these — Attila  and  Genseric — were, 
during  a  part  of  their  career,  cotempo¬ 
rary,  yet  the  most  prominent  place  is 
due  to  Genseric  in  the  events  that  at¬ 
tended  tire  downfall  of  the  empire, 
and  that  the  second  trumpet  probably 
related  to  him ;  the  third  to  Attila. 
These  were,  beyond  doubt,  four  great 
periods  or  events  attending  the  Fall  of 
the  Boman  empire,  which  synchronize 
with  the  period  before  us.  If,  therefore, 
we  regard  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal 
as  denoting  the  threatening  aspect  of 
these  invading  powers  —  the  gathering 
of  the  dark  cloud  that  hovered  over  the 
borders  of  the  empire,  and  the  consterna¬ 
tion  produced  by  that  approaching  storm ; 
and  if  we  regard  the  transactions  in  the 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


225 


A.  D.  96.] 


viith  chapter — the  holding  of  the  winds 
in  check,  and  the  sealing  of  the  chosen 
of  God,  as  denoting  the  suspension  of  the 
impending  judgments  in  order  that  a 
work  might  be  done  to  save  the  church, 
and  as  referring  to  the  divine  interposi¬ 
tion  in  behalf  of  the  church,  then  the 
appropriate  place  of  these  four  trumpets, 
under  the  seventh  seal,  will  be  when 
that  delayed  and  restrained  storm  burst 
in  successive  blasts  upon  different  parts 
of  the  empire ;  the  successive  invasions 
which  were  so  prominent  in  the  over¬ 
throw  of  that  vast  power.  History  marks 
four  of  these  events — four  heavy  blows — 
four  sweepings  of  the  tempest  and  the 
storm,  under  Alaric,  Genseric,  Attila, 
and  Odoacer,  whose  movements  could 
not  be  better  symbolized  than  by  these 
successive  blasts  of  the  trumpet  —  The 
first  of  these  is  the  invasion  of  Alaric, 
and  the  enquiry  now  is,  whether  his  in¬ 
vasion  is  such  as  would  be  properly 
symbolized  by  the  first  trumpet.  In 
illustrating  this,  it  will  be  proper  to  no¬ 
tice  some  of  the  movements  of  Alaric, 
and  the  alarm  consequent  on  his  inva¬ 
sion  of  the  empire ;  and  then  to  enquire 
how  far  this  corresponds  with  the  images 
employed  in  the  description  of  the  first 
trumpet.  For  these  illustrations,  I  shall 
be  indebted  mainly  to  Mi^  Gibbon.  Ala¬ 
ric,  the  Goth,  was  at  first  employed  in 
the  service  of  the  emperor  Theodosius, 
in  his  attempt  to  oppose  the  usurper  Ar- 
bogastes,  after  the  murder  of  Valenti- 
nian,  emperor  of  the  West.  Theodosius, 
in  order  to  oppose  the  usurper,  em¬ 
ployed,  among  others,  numerous  barba¬ 
rians — Iberians,  Arabs,  and  Goths.  One 
of  them  was  Alaric,  who,  to  use  the 
language  of  Mr.  Gibbon  (ii.  179),  “ac¬ 
quired  in  the  school  of  Theodosius,  the 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  war,  which  he 
afterward  so  fatally  exerted  in  the  des¬ 
truction  of  Home.”  A.D.  392-394.  After 
the  death  of  Theodosius  (A.  D.  395),  the 
Goths  revolted  from  the  Roman  power, 
and  Alaric,  who  had  been  disappointed 
in  his  expectations  of  being  raiged  to  the 
command  of  the  Roman  armies,  became 
theirleader.  Dee.and Fall, ii.213.  “That 
renowned  leader  was  descended  from 
the  noble  race  of  the  Balti;  which 
yielded  only  to  the  royal  dignity  of  the 
Omali;  he  had  solicited  the  command 
of  the  Roman  armies ;  and  the  imperial 
court  provoked  him  to  demonstrate  the 
folly  of  their  refusal,  and  the  importance 


of  their  loss.  In  the  midst  of  a  divided 
court,  and  a  discontented  people,  the 
emperor  Arcadius  was  terrified  by  the 
aspect  of  the  Gothic  arms,”  &c.  Alaric 
then  invaded  and  conquered  Greece, 
laying  it  waste  in  his  progress,  until  he 
reached  Athens,  ii.  214,  215.  “  The 

fertile  fields  of  Phocis  and  Coeotia  were 
instantly  covered  by  a  deluge  of  barba¬ 
rians  ;  who  massacred  the  males  of  age 
to  bear  arms,  and  drove  away  the  beau¬ 
tiful  females,  with  the  spoil  and  cattle 
of  the  flaming  villages.”  Alaric  then 
concluded  a  treaty  with  Theodosius,  the 
emperor  of  the  East  (ii.  216);  was  made 
master-general  of  Eastern  Illyricum,  and 
created  a  magistrate  (ii.  217);  soon 
united  under  his  command  the  bar¬ 
barous  nations  that  had  made  the  in¬ 
vasion,  and  was  solemnly  declared  to  be 
the  king  of  the  Visigoths,  ii.  217. 
“  Armed  with  this  double  power,  seated 
on  the  verge  of  two  empires,  he  alter¬ 
nately  sold  his  deceitful  promises  to  the 
courts  of  Arcadius  and  Honorius,  till  he 
declared  and  executed  his  purpose  of 
invading  the  dominion  of  the  West.  The 
provinces  of  Europe  which  belonged  to 
the  Eastern  empire  were  already  ex¬ 
hausted  ;  those  of  Asia  were  inaccessible; 
and  the  strength  of  Constantinople  had 
resisted  his  attack.  But  he  was  tempted 
by  the  beauty,  the  wealth,  and  the  fame 
of  Italy,  which  he  had  twice  visited  ;  and 
he  secretly  aspired  to  plant  the  Gothic 
standard  on  the  walls  of  Rome,  and  to 
enrich  his  army  with  the  accumulated 
spoils  of  three  hundred  triumphs.”  ii. 
217-218.  In  describing  his  march  to 
the  Danube,  and  his  progress  towards 
Italy,  having  increased  his  army  with  a 
large  number  of  barbarians,  Mr.  Gibbon 
uses  the  remarkable  language  expressive 
of  the  general  consternation,  already 
quoted,  in  the  description  of  the  sixth  seal. 
Alaric  approached  rapidly  towards  the 
imperial  city,  resolved  to  “conquer  or  die 
before  the  gates  of  Rome.”  But  he  was 
checked  by  Stilicho,  and  compelled  to 
make  peace,  and  retired  (Bee.  and  Fall, 
ii.  222),  and  the  threatening  storm  was 
for  a  time  suspended.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  vii.  1,  seq.  So  great  was  the  con¬ 
sternation,  however,  that  the  Roman 
court,  which  then  had  its  seat  at  Milan, 
thought  it  necessary  to  remove  to  a  safer 
place,  and  became  fixed  at  Ravenna, 
ii.  224.  This  calm,  secured  by  the  re¬ 
treat  of  Alaric,  was,  howover,  of  short 


226 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


eenrinnanoe.  In  A,  D.  40?,  he  again 
inTided  Italy,  in  a  more  successful 
manner,  attacked  the  capital,  and  more 
than  once  pillaged  home.  The  follow¬ 
ing  facts,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  Gibbon,  will  illustrate  the  progress 
of  these  events,  and  the  effects  of  this 
blast  of  the  “  first  trumpet”  in  the  series 
that  announced  the  destruction  of  the 
Western  empire. 

(aj  The  effect,  on  the  destiny  of  the 
empire,  of  removing  the  Roman  court  to 
Ravenna  from  the  dread  of  the  Goths. 
As  early  as  A-  D.  303,  the  court  of  the 
emperor  of  the  West  was,  for  the  most 
part,  established  at  Milan.  For  some 
time  before,  the  “  sovereignty  of  the 
capital  was  gradually  annihilated  by  the 
extent  of  conquest,”  and  the  emperors 
were  required  to  be  long  absent  from 
Rome  on  the  frontiers,  until  in  the  time 
of  Diocletian  and  Maximin,  the  seat  of 
government  was  fixed  at  Milan,  “  whose 
situation  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps  ap¬ 
peared  far  more  convenient  than  that  of 
Rome,  for  the  important  purpose  of 
watching  the  motions  of  the  barbarians 
of  Germany.”  Gibbon,  i.  213.  “  The 
life  of  Diocletian  and  Maximin  was  a 
life  of  action,  and  a  considerable  portion 
of  it  was  spent  in  camps,  or  in  those 
long  and  frequent  marches ;  but  when¬ 
ever  the  public  business  allowed  them 
any  relaxation,  they  seem  to  have  re¬ 
tired  with  pleasure  to  their  favorite  resi¬ 
dences  of  Nicomedia  and  Milan.  Till 
Diocletian,  in  the  twentieth  year  of  his 
reign,  celebrated  his  Roman  triumph,  it 
is  extremely  doubtful  whether  he  ever 
visited  the  aneient  capital  of  the  em¬ 
pire.”  Gibbon  L  214.  From  this  place, 
the  court  was  driven  away,  by  the  dread 
of  the  Northern  barbarians,  to  Ravenna, 
a  safer  place,  which  thenceforward  be¬ 
came  the  seat  of  government,  while 
Italy  was  ravaged  by  the  Northern 
hordes,  and  while  Rome  was  besieged 
and  pillaged.  Mr.  Gibbon,  under  date 
of  A-  D.  404,  says,  “  The  recent  danger 
*  to  which  the  person  of  the  emperor  had 
been  exposed  in  the  defenceless  palace 
of  Milan  [from  Alarie  and  the  Goths] 
urged  him  to  seek  a  retreat  in  some  inac¬ 
cessible  fortress  in  Italy,  where  he  might 
securely  remain,  while  the  open  country 
was  covered  by  a  deluge  of  barbarians.” 
VoL  iL  p.  224.  He  then  proceeds  to 
describe  the  situation  of  Ravenna,  and 
the  removal  of  the  court  thither,  and  then  i 


adds  (p.  225),  “  The  fears  of  Honorius 
were  not  without  foundation,  nor  were 
his  precautions  without  effect.  While 
Italy  rejoiced  in  her  deliverance  from 
the  Goths,  a  furious  tempest  was  exeited 
among  the  nations  of  Germany,  who 
yielded  to  the  irresistible  impulse  that 
appears  to  have  been  generally  commu¬ 
nicated  from  the  eastern  extremity  of 
the  continent  of  Asia.”  That  mighty 
movement  of  the  Huns  is  then  described, 
as  the  storm  was  preparing  to  burst 
upon  the  Roman  empire.  iL  225.  The 
agitation,  and  the  removal  of  the  Roman 
government,  were  events  not  inappro¬ 
priate  to  be  described  by  symbols  re¬ 
lating  to  the  fall  of  that  mighty  power. 

( b )  The  particulars  of  that  invasion, 
the  consternation,  the  siege  of  Rome, 
and  the  capture  and  pillage  of  the  im- 
perlal  city,  would  confirm  the  propriety 
of  this  application  of  the  symbol  of  the 
first  trumpet-  It  would  be  too  long  to 
copy  the  account — for  it  extends  through 
many  pages  of  the  history  of  the  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  empire;  but  a  few  se¬ 
lected  sentences  may  show  the  general 
character  of  the  events,  and  the  pro¬ 
priety  of  the  symbols,  on  the  supposition 
that  they  referred  to  these  things.  Thus 
Mr.  Gibbon  (iL  226,  227)  says,  “  The 
correspondence  of  the  nations  was,  in 
that  age,  so  imperfect  and  jirecarious, 
that  the  revolutions  of  the  North  might 
escape  the  knowledge  of  the  court  of 
Ravenna :  till  the  dark  cloud  which  was 
collected  along  the  coast  of  the  Baltic, 
burst  in  thunder  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Upper  Danube.  The  king  of  the  con¬ 
federate  Germans  passed,  without  resist¬ 
ance,  the  Alps,  the  Po,  and  the  Apen- 
nine;  leaving  on  the  one  hand  the 
inaccessible  palace  of  Honorius  securely 
-buried  among  the  marshes  of  Ravenna; 
and  on  the  other  the  camp  of  Stilicho, 
who  had  fixed  his  head  quarters  at 
Ticinium,  or  Pavia,  but  who  seems  to 
have  avoided  a  decisive  battle  till  he 
had  assembled  his  distant  forces.  Many 
cities  of  Italy  were  pillaged,  or  destroyed. 
The  senate  and  people  trembled  at  their 
approach  within  a  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  of  Rome;  and  anxiously  compared 
the  danger  which  they  had  escaped,  with 
the  new  perils  to  which  they  were  ex- 
;  posed,”  &c.  Rome  was  besieged  for  the 
first  time  by  the  Goths,  A.  D.  408.  Of 
j  this  siege,  Mr.  Gibbon  (ii.  252-254)  has 
i  given  a  graphic  description.  Among 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


227 


A.  D.  96.] 


other  things  he  says,  “  That  unfortunate 
city  gradually  experienced  the  distress 
of  scarcity,  and  at  length  the  horrid 
calamity  of  famine.”  “  A  dark  suspicion 
was  entertained,  that  some  desperate 
wretches  fed  on  the  bodies  of  their  fellow- 
creatures  whom  they  had  secretly  mur¬ 
dered  ;  and  even  mothers  (such  were  the 
horrid  conflicts  of  the  two  most  powerful 
instincts  implanted  by  nature  in  the 
human  breast)  even  mothers  are  said  to 
have  tasted  the  flesh  of  their  slaughtered 
infants.  Many  thousands  of  the  inha¬ 
bitants  of  Rome  expired  in  their  houses, 
or  in  the  streets,  for  want  of  sustenance ; 
and,  as  the  public  sepulchres  without 
the  walls  were  in  the  power  of  the  enemy, 
the  stench,  which  arose  from  so  many 
putrid  and  unburied  carcases,  infected 
the  air ;  and  the  miseries  of  famine  were 
succeeded  and  aggravated  by  a  pesti¬ 
lential  disease.”  The  first  siege  was 
raised  by  the  payment  of  an  enormous 
ransom.  Gibbon,  ii.  254.  The  second 
siege  of  Rome  by  the  Goths  occurred 
A.  D.  409.  This  siege  was  carried  on  by 
preventing  the  supply  of  provisions, 
Alaric  having  seized  upon  Ostia,  the 
Roman  port,  where  the  provisions  for 
the  capital  were  deposited.  The  Romans 
finally  consented  to  receive  a  new  em¬ 
peror  at  the  hand  of  Alaric,  and  Attalus 
was  appointed  in  the  place  of  the  feeble 
Honorius,  who  was  then  at  Ravenna, 
and  who  had  abandoned  the  capital. 
Attalus,  an  inefficient  prince,  was  soon 
publicly  stripped  of  the  robes  of  office, 
and  Alaric,  enraged  at  the  conduct  of  the 
court  at  Ravenna  towards  him,  turned 
his  wrath  a  third  time  on  Rome,  and 
laid  siege  to  the  city.  This  occurred 
A.  D.  410.  “  The  king  of  tho  Goths, 
who  no  longer  dissembled  his  appetite 
for  plunder  and  revenge,  appeared  in 
arms  under  the  walls  of  the  capital ;  and 
the  trembling  senate,  without  any  hope 
of  relief,  prepared,  by  a  desperate  effort, 
to  delay  the  ruin  of  their  country.  But 
they  were  unable  to  guard  against  the 
conspiracy  of  their  slaves  and  domestics ; 
who  either  from  birth  or  interest  were 
attached  to  the  cause  of  the  enemy.  At 
the  hour  of  midnight,  the  Salarian  gate 
was  silently  opened,  and  the  inhabitants 
were  awakened  by  the  tremendous  sound 
of  the  Gothic  trumpet.  Eleven  hundred 
and  sixty-three  years  after  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  Rome,  the  imperial  city,  which 
had  subdued  and  civilized  so  consider¬ 


able  a  part  of  mankind,  was  delivered  to 
the  licentious  fury  of  the  tribes  of  Ger¬ 
many  and  Scythia.”  Gibbon,  ii.  260. 

(c)  It  is,  perhaps,  only  necessary  to 
add  that  the  invasion  of  Alaric  was  in 
fact  but  one  of  tho  great  events  that  led 
to  the  fall  of  the  empire,  and  that,  in 
announcing  that  fall,  where  a  succession 
of  events  was  to  occur,  it  would  pro¬ 
perly  be  represented  by  the  blast  of  one 
of  the  trumpets.  The  expressions  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  symbol,  are,  indeed,  such 
as  might  be  applied  to  any  invasion  of 
hostile  armies,  but  they  are  such  as 
would  be  used  if  the  design  were  ad¬ 
mitted  to  be  to  describe  the  invasion  of 
the  Gothic  conqueror.  For  (1)  that  in¬ 
vasion,  as  we  have  setn,  would  be  well 
represented  by  the  storm  of  hail  and 
lightning  that  was  seen  in  vision,’  (2) 
by  the  red  color  mingled  in  that  storm — 
indicative  of  blood;  (3)  by  the  fact  that 
it  consumed  the  trees  and  the  grass. 
This,  as  we  saw  in  the  exposition,  would 
properly  denote  the  desolations  produced 
by  war — applicable,  indeed,  to  all  war, 
but  as  applicable  to  the  invasion  of  Ala¬ 
ric  as  any  war  that  has  occurred,  and  it 
is  such  an  emblem  as  would  be  used  if  it 
were  admitted  that  it  was  the  design  to 
represent  his  invasion.  The  sweeping 
storm  prostrating  the  trees  of  the  forest, 
is  an  apt  emblem  of  the  evils  of  war, 
and,  as  was  remarked  in  the  exposition, 
no  more  striking  illustration  of  the  con¬ 
sequences  of  a  hostile  invasion  could  be 
employed  than  the  destruction  of  the 
“  green  grass.”  What  is  hero-represented 
in  the  symbol,  cannot  perhaps  be  better 
expressed  than  in  the  language  of  Mr. 
Gibbon  when  describing  the  invasion 
of  the  Roman  empire  under  Alaric. 
Speaking  of  that  invasion,  he  says:  — 
“While  the  peace  of  Germany  was  se¬ 
cured  by  the  attachment  of  the  Franks 
and  the  neutrality  of  the  Alemanni,  the 
subjects  of  Rome,  unconscious  of  their 
approaching  calamities,  enjoyed  the 
state  of  quiet  and  prosperity  whiah  had 
seldom  blessed  the  frontiers  of  Gaul. 
Their  flocks  and  herds  were  permitted 
to  graze  in  the  pastures  of  the  Barba¬ 
rians  ;  their  huntsmen  penetrated,  with¬ 
out  fear  or  danger,  into  the  darkest 
recesses  of  the  Hyrcenian  wood.  The 
banks  of  the  Rhine  were  crowned,  like 
those  of  the  Tiber,  with  houses  and  well- 
cultivated  farms ;  and  if  a  poet  descend¬ 
ed  the  river,  ho  might  express  his  doubt 


228 


REVELATION, 


8  And  the  second  angel  sounded, 
and  as  it  were  a  great  mountain  ° 


on  which  side  was  situated  the  territory 
of  the  Romans.  This  scene  of  peace 
and  plenty  was  suddenly  changed  into 
a  desert;  and  the  prospect  of  the  smok¬ 
ing  ruins  could  alone  distinguish  the 
solitude  of  nature  from  the  desolation 
of  man.  The  flourishing  city  of  Mentz 
was  surprised  and  destroyed ;  and  many 
thousand  Christians  were  inhumanly 
massacred  in  the  church.  Worms  per-' 
ished  after  a  long  and  obstinate  siege ; 
Strasburg,  Spires,  Rheims,  Tournay, 
Arras,  Amiens,  experienced  the  cruel 
oppression  of  tlm  German  yoke;  and 
the  consuming  flames  of  war  spread 
from  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  over  the 
greatest  part  of  the  seventeen  provinces 
of  Gaul.  That  rich  and  extensive  coun¬ 
try,  as  far  as  the  ocean,  the  Alps,  and 
the  Pyrenees,  was  delivered  to  the  Bar¬ 
barians,  who  drove  before  them,  in  a 
promiscuous  crowd,  the  bishop,  the  sen¬ 
ator,  and  the  virgin,  laden  with  the 
spoils  of  their  houses  and  altars.”  ii.  230. 
In  reference,  also,  to  the  invasion  of 
Alaric,  and  the  particular  nature  of  the 
desolation  depicted  under  the  first  trum¬ 
pet,  a  remarkable  passage  which  Mr. 
Gibbon  has  quoted  from  Claudian,  as 
describing  the  effects  of  the  invasion  of 
Alaric,  may  be  here  introduced.  “  The 
old  man,”  says  he,  speaking  of  Claudian, 
“  who  had  passed  his  simple  and  inno¬ 
cent  life  in  the  neighborhood  of  Verona, 
was  a  stranger  to  the  quarrels  both  of 
kings  and  of  bishops ;  Ms  pleasures,  his 
desires,  his  knowledge,  were  confined 
within  the  circle  of  his  paternal  farm ; 
and  a  staff  supported  his  aged  steps  on 
the  same  ground  where  he  had  sported 
in  infancy.  Yet  even  this  humble  and 
rustic  felicity  (which  Claudian  describes 
with  so  much  truth  and  feeling)  was  still 
exposed  to  the  undistinguishing  rage  of 
war.  His  trees,  his  old  contemporary* 
trees,  must  blaze  in  the  conflagration  of 
the  whole  country;  a  detachment  of 
Gothic  cavalry  must  sweep  away  his 
cottage  and  his  family ;  and  the  power 
of  Alaric  could  destroy  this  happiness 
which  he  was  not  able  either  to  taste  or 


#  Ingentem  meminit  parvo  qui  germine  quercum 
Aequaevumque  videt  consenuisse  nemus. 

A  neighboring  wood  born  with  himself  he  sees, 
And  loves  his  old  contemporary  trees. — Cowley. 


[A.  D.  96. 

burning  with  fire  was  cast  into 

a  Je.  51.  25. 


to  bestow.  ‘Fame,’  says  the  poet,  ‘en¬ 
circling  with  terror  or  gloomy  wings, 
proclaimed  the  march  of  the  Barbarian 
army,  and  filled  Italy  with  consterna¬ 
tion.’”  ii.  218.  And  (4)  as  to  the  extent 
of  the  calamity,  there  is  also  a  striking 
propriety  in  the  language  of  the  symbol 
as  applicable  to  the  invasion  of  Alaric. 

I  do  not  suppose,  indeed,  that  it  is  ne¬ 
cessary,  in  order  to  find  a  proper  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  the  symbol,  to  be  able  to  show 
that  exactly  one-third  part  of  the  empire 
was  made  desolate  in  this  way,  but  it  is 
a  sufficient  fulfilment  if  desolation  spread 
over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Roman 
world  —  as  if  a  third  part  had  been  de¬ 
stroyed.  No  one  who  reads  the  account 
of  the  invasion  of  Alaric,  can  doubt  that 
it  would  be  an  apt  description  of  the 
ravages  of  his  arms  to  say  that  a  third 
part  was  laid  waste.  That  the  desola¬ 
tions  produced  by  Alaric  were  such  as 
would  be  properly  represented  by  thi3 
symbol,  may  be  fully  seen  by  consulting 
the  whole  account  of  that  invasion  in 
Gibbon,  ii.  213 — 266. 

8.  And  the  second  angel  sounded. 
Comp.  Notes  on  vs.  2.  7.  This,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  interpretation  proposed  above, 
refers  to  the  second  of  the  four  great 
events  which  contributed  to  the  downfall 
of  the  Roman  empire.  It  will  be  proper 
in  this  case,  as  in  the  former,  to  enquire 
into  the  literal  meaning  of  the  symbol, 
and  then  whether  there  was  any  event 
that  corresponded  with  it.  And  as  it 
xoere  a  great  mountain.  A  mountain  is  a 
natural  symbol  of  strength,  and  hence 
becomes  a  symbol  of  a  strong  and  power¬ 
ful  kingdom  ;  for  mountains  are  not  only 
places  of  strength  in  themselves,  but 
they  anciently  answered  the  purposes 
of  fortified  places,  and  were  the  seats  of 
power.  Hence  they  are  properly  sym¬ 
bols  of  strong  nations.  “  The  stone  that 
smote  the  image  became  a  great  tnoun- 
tain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth.”  Dan. 
ii.  35.  Comp.  Zech.  iv.  7  ;  Jer.  Ii.  25.  We 
naturally,  then,  apply  this  part  of  the 
symbol  to  some  strong  and  mighty  na¬ 
tion —  not  a  nation,  necessarily,  that 
issued  from  a  mountainous  region,  but  a 
nation  that  in  strength  resembled  a 
mountain.  Burning  with  fire.  A  moun¬ 
tain  in  a  blaze ;  that  is,  with  all  its  woods 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


229 


A.  D.  96.] 

the  sea :  °  and  the  third  part  of  the 
sea  became  blood; b 
9  And  the  third  part  of  the  crea¬ 
te  Am.  7.  4. 


on  fire,  or,  more  probably  a  volcanic 
mountain.  There  would  perhaps  be  no 
more  sublime  image  than  such  a  moun¬ 
tain,  lifted  suddenly  from  its  base  and 
thrown  into  the  sea.  One  of  the  sublimest 
parts  of  the  Paradise  Lost,  is  that  where 
the  poet  represents  the  angels  in  the 
great  battle  in  heaven  as  lifting  the 
mountains — tearing  them  from  their  base 
— and  hurling  them  on  the  foe. 

“  From  their  foundations  heaving  to  and  fro. 

They  plucked  the  seated  hills,  with  all  their  load, 
Rocks,  waters,  woods,  and  by  the  shaggy  tops 
Uplifting,  bore  them  in  their  hands,” — etc.— B.  vi. 

The  poet,  however,  has  not,  as  John 
has,  represented  a  volcano  borne  along 
and  cast  into  the  sea.  The  symbol  em¬ 
ployed  here  would  denote  some  fiery, 
impetuous,  destructive  power.  If  used 
to  denote  a  nation,  it  would  be  a  nation 
that  was,  as  it  were,  burning  with  the 
desire  of  conquest — impetuous  and  fierce 
and  fiery  in  its  assaults — and  consuming 
all  in  its  way.  f  Cast  into  the  sea. 
The  image  is  very  sublime;  the  scene, 
should  such  an  event  occur,  would  be 
awfully  grand. — As  to  the  fulfilment  of 
this,  or  the  thing  that  was  intended  to 
be  represented  by  it,  there  cannot  be 
any  material  doubt.  It  is  not  to  be  un¬ 
derstood  literally  of  course,  and  the  na¬ 
tural  application  is  to  some  nation  or 
army,  that  has  a  resemblance  in  some 
respects  to  such  a  blazing  mountain,  and 
the  effect  of  whose  march  would  be  like 
casting  such  a  mountain  into  the  ocean. 
We  naturally  look  for  agitation  and 
commotion,  and  particularly  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  sea,  or  to  some  maritime 
coasts.  It  is  undoubtedly  required  in 
the  application  of  this,  that  we  should 
find  its  fulfilment  in  some  country  lying 
beyond  the  sea,  or  in  some  sea-coast  or 
maritime  country,  or  in  reference  to 
commerce.  And  the  third  part  of  the 
sea  became  blood.  Resembled  blood; 
became  as  red  as  blood.  The  figure  here 
is,  that  as  such  a  blazing  mountain  cast 
into  the  sea,  would,  by  its  reflection  on 
the  waters,  seem  to  tinge  them  with  red, 
so  there  would  be  something  correspond¬ 
ing  with  this  in  what  was  referred  to 
by  the  symbol.  It  would  be  fulfilled  if 
there  was  a  fierce  maritime  warfare,  and 
20 


tures  which  were  in  the  sea,  and 
had  life,  died:  and  the  third  part 
of  the  ships  were  destroyed. 

b  Ex.  7. 19.  21.  c.  16.  3,  Ac. 


if  in  some  desperate  naval  engagement 
the  sea  should  be  tinged  with  blood. 

9.  And  the  third  part  of  the  creatures 
which  were  in  the  sea,  and  had  life,  died. 
The  effect  was  as  if  one  third  of  all  the 
fish  in  the  sea  were  cut  off.  Of  course, 
this  is  not  to  be  taken  literally.  It  is 
designed  to  describe  an  effect,  pertaining 
to  the  maritime  portion  of  the  world,  as 
if  a  third  portion  of  all  that  was  in  the 
sea  should  perish.  The  natural  interpre¬ 
tation  would  be  to  apply  it  to  some  in¬ 
vasion  or  calamity  pertaining  to  the 
sea  —  to  the  islands,  to  the  maritime 
regions,  or  to  commerce.  If  the  whole 
description  pertains  to  the  Roman  em¬ 
pire,  then  this  might  be  supposed  to 
have  particular  reference  to  something 
that  would  have  a  bearing  on  the  mari¬ 
time  parts  of  that  empire.  And  the 
third  part  of  the  ships  were  destroyed. 
This  also  pertains  to  the  same  general 
calamity,  affecting  the  commerce  of  the 
empire.  The  destruction  of  the  “  ships” 
was  produced,  in  some  way,  by  casting 
the  mountains  into  the  sea — either  by 
their  being  consumed  by  the  contact 
with  the  burning  mass,  or  by  being 
sunk  by  the  agitation  of  the  waters. 
The  essential  idea  is,  that  the  calamity 
would  be  of  such  a  nature  as  would  pro¬ 
duce  the  destruction  of  vessels  at  sea — 
either  naval  armaments,  or  ships  of 
commerce.  In  looking  now  for  the  ap¬ 
plication,  or  fulfilment  of  this,  it  is  ne¬ 
cessary  (a)  to  find  some  event  or  events 
which  would  have  a  particular  bearing 
on  the  maritime  or  commercial  part  of 
the  world;  and  ( b )  some  such  event  or 
events  that,  on  the  supposition  that  they 
were  the  things  referred  to,  would  be 
properly  symbolized  by  the  image  here 
employed.  (1)  If  the  first  trumpet  had 
reference  to  the  invasion  of  Alaric  and 
the  Goths,  then  in  this  we  naturally 
look  for  the  next  succeeding  act  of  in¬ 
vasion  which  shook  the  Roman  empire, 
and  contributed  to  its  fall.  (2)  Tho 
next  invasion  was  that  under  Genseric 
at  the  head  of  the  Vandals.  Gibbon  ii. 
306,  seq.  This  occurred  A.  D.  428-468. 
(3)  The  symbol  of  a  blazing  or  burning 
mountain,  torn  from  its  foundation,  and 


230 


REVELATION, 


precipitated  into  tlie  ocean,  would  well 
represent  this  mighty  nation  moved 
from  its  ancient  seat,  and  borne  along 
towards  the  maritime  parts  of  the  em¬ 
pire,  and  its  desolations  there  —  as  will 
be  shown  in  the  following  remarks. 
(4)  The  acts  of  the  Vandals  under  Gen- 
seric,  corresponded  with  the  ideas  ex¬ 
pressed  by  the  symbol. — In  illustrating 
this,  I  shall  be  indebted  as  heretofore, 
principally  to  Mr.  Gibbon,  (a)  His  ge¬ 
neral  account  of  the  Vandals  is  this  : 
They  are  supposed  (i.  138)  to  have  been 
originally  the  same  people  with  the 
Goths,  the  Goths  and  Vandals  consti¬ 
tuting  one  great  nation  living  on  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic.  They  passed  in 
connection  with  them  over  the  Baltic; 
emigrated  to  Prussia  and  the  Ukraine ; 
invaded  the  Roman  provinces  ;  received 
tribute  from  the  Romans ;  subdued  the 
countries  about  the  Bosphorus ;  plun¬ 
dered  the  cities  of  Bythynia;  ravaged 
Greece  and  Illyrium,  and  were  at  last 
settled  in  Thrace  under  the  emperor 
Theodosius.  Gibbon,  i.  136-166  ;  ii.  110- 
150.  They  were  then  driven  forward 
by  the  Huns,  and  having  passed  through 
France  and  Spain  into  Africa,  conquered 
the  Carthaginian  territory,  established 
an  independent  government,  and  thence 
through  a  long  period  harassed  the 
neighboring  islands,  and  the  coasts  of 
the  Mediterranean  by  their  predatory 
incursions,  destroying  the  ships  and  the 
commerce  of  the  Romans,  and  were  dis¬ 
tinguished  in  the  downfall  of  the  empire 
by  their  ravages  on  the  islands  and  the 
sea.  Thus  they  were  moved  along  from 
place  to  place  until  the  scene  of  their 
desolations  became  more  distinctly  the 
maritime  parts  of  the  empire ;  and  the 
effect  of  their  devastations  might  be 
well  .compared  with  a  burning  mountain 
moved  from  its  ancient  base  and  then 
thrown  into  the  sea.  (b)  This  will  be 
apparent  from  the  statements  of  Mr. 
Gibbon  in  regard  to  their  ravages  under 
their  leader  Genseric.  “  Seville  and  Car- 
thagena  became  the  reward,  or  rather 
the  prey  of  the  ferocious  conquerors” 
[after  they  had  defeated  the  Roman 
Castinus],  “  and  the  vessels  which  they 
found  in  the  harbor  of  Carthagena 
might  easily  transport  them  to  the  isles 
of  Majorca  and  Minorca,  where  the 
Spanish  fugitives,  as  in  a  secure  recess, 
had  vainly  concealed  their  families  and 
fortunes.  The  experience  of  navigation, 


[A.  I).  96. 

and  perhaps  the  prospect  of  Africa,  en¬ 
couraged  the  Vandals  to  accept  the  in¬ 
vitation  which  they  received  from  Count 
Boniface”  [to  aid  him  in  his  appre¬ 
hended  difficulties  with  Rome,  and  to 
enter  into  an  alliance  with  him  by  set¬ 
tling  permanently  in  Africa.  Gibbon  ii. 

305,  306];  “and  the  death  of  Genseric” 
[the  Vandal  king]  “served  only  to  for¬ 
ward  and  animate  the  bold  enterprise. 
In  the  room  of  a  prince,  not  conspicuous 
for  any  superior  powers  of  the  mind  or 
body,  they  acquired  his  bastard  brother, 
the  terrible  Genseric,  a  name,  which,  in 
the  destruction  of  the  Roman  empire,  has 
deserved  an  equal  rank  with  the  names 
of  Alaric  and  Attila.”  “  The  ambition 
of  Genseric  was  almost  without  bounds, 
and  without  scruples;  and  the  warrior 
would  dexterously  employ  the  dark  en¬ 
gines  of  policy  to  solicit  the  allies  who 
might  be  useful  to  his  success,  or  to  scat¬ 
ter  among  his  enemies  the  seeds  of  en¬ 
mity  and  contention.  Almost  in  the 
moment  of  his  departure  he  was  in¬ 
formed,  that  Hermanric,  king  of  the 
Suevi,  had  presumed  to  ravage  the  Spa¬ 
nish  territories,  which  he  was  resolved 
to  abandon,  impatient  of  the  insult, 
Genseric  pursued  the  hasty  retreat  of 
the  Suevi  as  far  as  Merida;  precipitated 
the  king  and  his  army  into  the  river 
Anas,  and  calmly  returned  to  the  sea¬ 
shore  to  embark  his  troops.  The  ves¬ 
sels  which  transported  the  Vandals  over 
the  modern  straits  of  Gibraltar,  a  chan¬ 
nel  only  twelve  miles  in  breadth,  were 
furnished  by  the  Spaniards,  who  anxious¬ 
ly  wished  for  their  departure ;  and  by 
the  African  general  who  had  implored 
their  formidable  assistance.”  Gibbon,  ii. 

306.  Genseric,  in  the  accomplishment 
of  his  purposes  soon  took  possession  of 
the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  defeating 
the  armies  of  Boniface,  and  “  Carthage, 
Cirta,  and  Hippo  Regius,  were  the  only 
cities  that  appeared  to  rise  above  the 
general  inundation.”  Gibbon  ii.  308. 
“  On  a  sudden,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon  (in 
309),  “  the  seven  fruitful  provinces,  from 
Tangier  to  Tripoli,  were  overwhelmed 
by  the  invasion  of  the  Vandals;  whose 
destructive  rage  has  perhaps  been  exag¬ 
gerated  by  popular  animosity,  religious 
zeal,  and  extravagant  declamation.  War, 
in  its  fairest  form,  implies  a  perpetual 
violation  of  humanity  and  justice;  and 
the  hostilities  of  barbarians  are  inflamed 
by  the  fierce  and  lawless  spirit  which 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


231 


A.  D.  96.] 

perpetually  disturbs  their  peaceful  and 
domestic  society.  The  Vandals,  where 
they  found  resistance,  seldom  gave  quar¬ 
ter  ;  and  the  deaths  of  their  valiant 
countrymen  were  expiated  by  the  ruin 
of  the  cities  under  whose  walls  they  had 
fallen,  <fcc.  The  result  of  the  invasion 
was  the  conquest  of  all  Northern  Africa; 
the  reduction  of  Hippo  and  Carthage, 
and  the  establishment  of  a  government 
under  Genseric  in  Africa  that  waged  a 
long  war  with  Rome.  Gibbon,  ii.  310,  311 
The  symbol  before  us  has  particular  re¬ 
ference  to  maritime  or  naval  operations 
and  desolations,  and  the  following  ex¬ 
tracts  from  Mr.  Gibbon  will  show  with 
what  propriety,  if  this  symbol  was  de- 
signed  to  refer  to  him,  these  images  were 
employed.  “  The  discovery  and  conquest 
of  the  Black  nations  [in  Africa],  that 
might  dwell  beneath  the  torrid  zone, 
could  not  tempt  the  rational  ambi¬ 
tion  of  Genseric;  but  he  cast  his  eyes 
towards  the  sea ;  he  resolved  to  create 
a  naval  power,  and  his  bold  resolution 
was  executed  with  steady  and  active 
perseverance.  The  woods  of  Mount 
Atlas  afforded  an  inexhaustible  supply 
_°f  timber;  his  new  subjects  were  skilled 
in  the  arts  of  navigation  and  ship¬ 
building;  he  animated  his  daring  Van¬ 
dals  to  embrace  a  mode  of  warfare  which 
would,  render  any  maritime  country 
accessible  to  their  arms ;  the  Moors  and 
Africans  were  allured  by  the  hope  of 
plunder ;  and  after  an  interval  of  six 
centuries,  the  fleets  that  issued  from  the 
port  of  Carthage  again  claimed  the  em¬ 
pire  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  success 
of  the  Vandals,  the  conquest  of  Sicily, 
the  sack  of  Palermo,  and  the  frequent 
descents  on  the  coasts  of  Lucania,  awak¬ 
ened  and  alarmed  the  mother  of  Valen- 
tinian,  and  the  sister  of  Theodosius. 
Alliances  were  formed ;  and  armaments, 
expensive  and  ineffectual,  were  prepared 
for  the  destruction  of  the  common 
enemy,  who  reserved  his  courage  to 
encounter  those  dangers  which  his  policy 
could  not  prevent  or  elude.  The  revo¬ 
lutions  of  the  palace,  which  left  the 
Western  empire  without  a  defender,  and 
without  a  lawful  prince,  dispelled  the 
apprehension,  and  stimulated  the  ava¬ 
rice,  of  Genseric.  He  immediately  equip¬ 
ped  a  numerous  fleet  of  Vandals  and 
Moors,  and  cast  anchor  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Tiber,”  &c.  Gibbon,  ii.  352.  “  On 

the  third  day  after  the  tumult  [A.  D. 


455,  on  the  death  of  Maximus]  Genseric 
boldly  advanced  from  the  port  of  Ostia 
to  the  gates  of  the  defenceless  city. 
Instead  of  a  sally  of  the  Roman  youth, 
there  issued  from  the  gates  an  unarmed 
and  venerable  procession  of  the  bishop 
at  the  head  of  his  clergy.  But  Rome 
and  its  inhabitants  were  delivered  to  tho 
licentiousness  of  the  Vandals  and  the 
Moors,  whose  blind  passions  revenged 
tho  injuries  of  Carthage.  The  pillage 
lasted  fourteen  days  and  nights  ;  and  all 
that  yet  remained  of  public  or  private 
wealth,  of  sacred  or  profane  treasure, 
was  diligently  transported  to  the  vessels 
of  Genseric,  See  the  account  of 

this  pillage  in  Gibbon,  ii.  355-366.  The 
emperor  Majorian  (A.  D. 457)  endeavored 
to  “restore  the  happiness  of  the  Romans,” 
but  he  encountered  the  arms  of  Genseric, 
from  his  character  and  situation,  their 
most  formidable  enemy.  A  fleet  of  Van¬ 
dals  and  Moors  landed  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Liris,  or  Garigliano;  but  the  impe¬ 
rial  troops  surprised  and  attacked  the 
disorderly  barbarians,  who  were  encum¬ 
bered  with  the  spoils  of  Campania ; 
they  were  chased  with  slaughter  to 
their  ships  ;  and  their  leader,  the  king’s 
brother-in-law,  was  found  in  the  num¬ 
ber  of  the  slain.  Such  vigilance  might 
announce  the  character  of  the  new 
reign;  but  the  strictest  vigilance,  and 
the  most  numerous  forces,  were  insuf¬ 
ficient  to  protect  the  long-extended 
coast  of  Italy  from  the  depredations  of 
a  naval  war.”  Gibbon,  ii.  363.  “  The 

emperor  had  foreseen  that  it  was  impos¬ 
sible,  without  a  maritime  power,  to 
achieve  the  conquest  of  Africa.  In  the 
first  Punic  war,  the  republic  had  exerted 
such  incredible  diligence,  that  within 
sixty  days  after  the  first  stroke  of  the 
axe  had  been  given  in  the  forest,  a  fleet 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  galleys  proudly 
rode  at  anchor  in  the  sea.  Under  cir¬ 
cumstances  much  less  favorable,  Majo¬ 
rian  equalled  the  spirit  and  perseverance 
of  the  ancient  Romans.  The  woods  of 
the  Apennines  were  felled;  the  arsenals 
and  manufactures  of  Ravenna  and  Mise- 
nium  were  restored ;  Italy  and  Gaul  vied 
with  each  other  in  liberal  contributions 
to  the  public  service ;  and  the  imperial 
navy  of  three  hundred  large  galleys,  with 
an  adequate  proportion  of  transports  and 
smaller  vessels,  was  collected  in  the 
secure  and  capacious  harbor  of  Cartha- 
gena  in  Spain.”  Gibbon,  ii.  363,  364. 


232 


REVELATION. 


[A.  D.  96. 


10  And  the  third  angel  sounded, 
and  there  fell  °  a  great  star  from 
heaven,  burning  as  it  were  a  lamp, 
a  Is.  14. 12;  c.  9. 1. 

The  fate  of  this  large  navy  is  thus 
described  by* Mr.  Gibbon:  “  Genseric 
was  saved  from  impending  and  inevit¬ 
able  ruin  by  the  treachery  of  some  pow¬ 
erful  subjects;  envious  or  apprehensive 
of  their  master’s  success.  Guided  by 
their  secret  intelligence,  he  surprised  the 
unguarded  fleet  in  the  bay  of  Cartha- 
gena ;  many  of  the  ships  were  sunk,  or 
taken,  or  burnt;  and  the  preparations  of 
three  years  were  destroyed  in  a  single 
day.”  ii.  364.  The  farther  naval  ope¬ 
rations,  and  maritime  depredations  of 
the  Vandals  under  Genseric,  are  thus 
stated  by  Mr.  Gibbon  :  “  The  kingdom 
of  Italy,  a  name  to  which  the  Western 
empire  was  gradually  reduced,  was 
afflicted,  under  the  reign  of  Ricimer, 
by  the  incessant  depredations  of  Vandal 
pirates.  In  the  spring  of  each  year,  they 
equipped  a  formidable  navy  in  the  port 
of  Carthage;  and  Genseric  himself, 
though  in  very  advanced  age,  still  com¬ 
manded  in  person  the  most  important 
expeditions.  His  designs  were  conceal¬ 
ed  with  impenetrable  secresy,  till  the 
moment  that  he  hoisted  sail.  When  he 
was  asked  by  the  pilot  what  course  he 
should  steer ;  ‘  Leave  the  determination 
to  the  winds,’  replied  the  barbarian,  with 
pious  arrogance,  ‘  they  will  transport  us 
to  the  guilty  coast,  whose  inhabitants 
have  provoked  the  divine  justice but 
Genseric  himself  deigned  to  issue  more 
precise  orders :  he  judged  the  most 
wealthy  to  be  the  most  criminal.  The 
Vandals  repeatedly  visited  the  coasts  of 
Spain,  Liguria,  Tuscany,  Campania,  Lu- 
cania,  Bruttium,  Apulia,  Calabria,  Vene- 
tia,  Dalmatia,  Epirus,  Greece,  and  Sicily; 
they  were  tempted  to  subdue  the  island 
of  Sardinia,  so  advantageously  placed 
in  the  centre  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  and 
their  arms  spread  desolation,  or  terror, 
from  the  columns  of  Hercules  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Nile.  As  they  were  more 
ambitious  of  spoil  than  of  glory,  they 
seldom  attacked  any  fortified  cities  or 
engaged  any  regular  troops  in  the  open 
field.  But  the  celerity  of  their  motions 
enabled  them,  almost  at  the  same  time, 
to  threaten  and  to  attack  the  most  dis¬ 
tant  objects  which  attracted  their  desires; 
and  as  they  always  embarked  a  sufficient 


and  it  fell  upon  the  third  part  of 
the  rivers,  and  upon  the  fountains 
of  waters : 


number  of  horses,  they  had  no  sooner 
landed  than  they  swept  the  dismayed 
country  with  a  body  of  light  cavalry.” 
ii.  366.  How  far  this  description  agrees 
with  the  symbol  in  the  passage  before 
us — “  a  great  mountain  burning  with 
fire  cast  into  the  sea;”  “the  third  part 
of  the  ships  were  destroyed,”  must  be 
left  to  the  reader  to  judge.  It  may  be 
asked,  however,  with  at  least  some  show 
of  reason,  whether,  if  it  be  admitted  that 
it  was  the  design  of  the  author  of  the 
Book  of  Revelation  to  refer  to  the  move¬ 
ments  of  the  Vandals  under  Genseric  as 
one  of  the  important  and  immediate 
causes  of  the  ruin  of  the  Roman  empire, 
he  could  have  found  a  more  expressive 
symbol  than  this  ?  Indeed,  is  there 
now  any  symbol  that  would  be  more 
striking  and  appropriate  ?  If  one  should 
now  undertake  to  represent  this  as  one 
of  the  causes  of  the  downfall  of  the 
empire  by  a  symbol,  could  he  easily 
find  one  that  would  be  more  expres¬ 
sive  ?  It  is  a  matter  that  is  in  itself 
perhaps  of  no  importance,  but  it  may 
serve  to  show  that  the  interpretation 
respecting  the  second  trumpet  was  not 
forced,  to  remark  that  I  had  gone 
through  with  the  interpretation  of  the 
language  of  the  symbol,  before  I  looked 
into  Mr.  Gibbon  with  any  reference  to 
the  application. 

10.  And  the  third  angel  sounded.  In¬ 
dicating,  according  to  the  interpretation 
above  proposed,  some  important  event- 
in  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  empire. 

And  there  fell  a  great  star  from  hea¬ 
ven.  A  star  is  a  natural  emblem  of  a 
prince,  of  a  ruler,  of  one  distinguished 
by  rank,  or  by  talent.  Comp.  Notes  on 
ch.  ii.  28.  See  Num.  xxiv.  17,  and  the 
Notes  on  Isa.  xiv.  12.  A  star  falling  from 
heaven,  would  be  a  natural  symbol  of 
one  who  had  left  a  higher  station,  or  of 
one  whose  character  and  course  would 
be  like  a  meteor  shooting  through  the 
sky.  Burning  as  it  were  a  lamp.  Or, 
as  a  torch.  The  language  here  is  such 
as  would  describe  a  meteor  blazing 
through  the  air;  and  the  reference  in 
the  symbol  is  to  something  that  would 
have  a  resemblance  to  such  a  meteor. 
It  is  not  a  lurid  meteor  (livid,  pale, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


233 


A.  D.  96.] 


11  And  the  name  of  the  star 
is  called  Wormwood:  a  and  the 
third  part  of  the  waters  4  became 
a  De.  29. 18.  Am.  5.  7.  He.  12. 15. 


ghastly)  that  is  here  referred  to,  but  a 
bright,  intense,  blazing  star — emblem  of 
fiery  energy ;  of  rapidity  of  movement 
and  execution ;  of  splendor  of  appear¬ 
ance — such  as  a  chieftain  of  high  endow¬ 
ments,  of  impetuousness  of  character, 
and  of  richness  of  apparel,  would  he. 
In  all  languages,  probably,  a  star  has 
been  an  emblem  of  a  prince  whose 
virtues  have  shone  brightly,  and  who 
has  exerted  a  beneficial  influence  on 
mankind.  In  all  languages  also,  pro¬ 
bably,  a  meteor  flaming  through  the 
sky  has  been  an  emblem  of  some 
splendid  genius  causing  or  threatening 
desolation  and  ruin  j  of  a  warrior  who 
has  moved  along  in  a  brilliant  but  de¬ 
structive  path  over  the  world;  and  who 
has  been  regarded  as  sent  to  execute 
the  vengeance  of  heaven.  This  usage 
occurs  because  a  meteor  is  so  bright; 
because  it  appears  so  suddenly  ;  because 
its  course  cannot  be  determined  by  any 
known  laws ;  and  because,  in  the  appre¬ 
hensions  of  men,  it  is  either  sent  as  a 
proof  of  the  divine  displeasure,  or  is 
adapted  to  excite  consternation  and 
alarm.  In  the  application  of  this  part 
of  the  symbol,  therefore,  we  naturally 
look  for  some  prince  or  warrior  of  bril¬ 
liant  talents,  who  appears  suddenly  and 
sweeps  rapidly  over  the  world;  who  ex¬ 
cites  consternation  and  alarm ;  whose 
path  is  marked  by  desolation,  and  who 
is  regarded  as  sent  from  heaven  to  exe¬ 
cute  the  divine  purposes  —  who  comes 
not  to  bless  the  world  by  brilliant 
talents  well-directed,  but  to  execute 
vengeance  on  mankind.  ^  And  it  fell 
upon  the  third  part  of  the  rivers,  and 
upon  the  fountains  of  waters.  On  the 
phrase  “the  third  part,”  see  Notes  on 
ver.  7.  This  reference  to  the  “rivers” 
and  to  the  “  fountains  of  waters”  seems, 
in  part,  to  he  for  the  purpose  of  saying 
that  every  thing  would  he  affected  by 
this  series  of  judgments.  In  the  pre¬ 
vious  visions  the  trees  and  the  green 
grass,  the  sea  and  the  ships,  had  been 
referred  to.  The  rivers  and  the  foun¬ 
tains  of  waters  are  not  less  important 
than  the  trees,  the  grass,  and  the  com¬ 
merce  of  the  world,  and  hence  this 
20  * 


wormwood ;  and  many  died  of  the 
waters,  because  they  were  made 
bitter. 

h  Ex.  15.  23.  Je.  9. 15.  23. 15. 


judgment  is  mentioned  as  particularly 
bearing  on  them.  At  the  same  time,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  other  trumpets,  there 
is  a  propriety  in  supposing  that  there 
would  be  something  in  the  event  referred 
to  by  the  symbol  which  would  make  it 
more  appropriate  to  use  this  symbol  in 
this  case  than  in  the  others.  It  is 
natural,  therefore,  to  look  for  some  deso¬ 
lations  that  would  particularly  affect  the 
portions  of  the  world  where  rivers 
abound,  or  where  they  take  their  rise  ; 
or,  if  it  be  understood  as  having  a  more 
metaphorical  sense,  to  regard  it  as  affect¬ 
ing  those  things  which  resemble  rivers 
and  fountains — the  sources  of  influence; 
the  morals,  the  religion  of  a  people,  the 
institutions  in  a  country,  which  are 
often  so  appropriately  compared  with 
running  fountains  or  flowing  streams. 

11.  And  the  name  of  the  star  is  called 
Wormwood.  Is  appropriately  so  called. 
The  writer  does  not  say  that  it  would  be 
actually  so  called,  but  that  this  name 
would  be  properly  descriptive  of  its 
qualities.  Such  expressions  are  common 
in  allegorical  writings.  The  Greek 
word — aiptvSos — denotes  wormxoood,  a 
well-known  bitter  herb.  That  word  be¬ 
comes  the  proper  emblem  of  bitterness. 
Comp.  Jer.  ix.  15,  xxiii.  15;  Lam.  iii. 
15,  19.  And  the  third  part  of  the 
waters  became  wormwood.  Became  bitter 
as  wormwood.  This  is  doubtless  an  em¬ 
blem  of  the  calamity  which  would  occur 
if  the  waters  should  be  thus  made  bitter. 
Of  course,  they  would  become  useless  for 
the  purposes  to  which  they  are  mostly 
applied,  and  the  destructiomof  life  would 
be  inevitable.  To  conceive  of  the  extent 
of  such  a  calamity,  we  have  only  to  ima¬ 
gine  a  large  portion  of  the  wells,  and 
rivers,  and  fountains  of  a  country  made 
bitter  as  wormwood.  Comp.  Ex.  xv.  23, 24. 

IT  -^xid  many  men  died  of  the  waters,  be¬ 
cause  they  were  made  bitter.  This  effect 
would  naturally  follow  if  any  considerable 
portion  of  the  fountains  and  streams  of  a 
land  were  changed  by  an  infusion  of  worm¬ 
wood.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
that  this  is  intended  to  be  literally  true, 
for  as,  by  the  use  of  a  symbol,  it  is  not 
to  bo  supposed  that  litorally  a  part  of  the 


234 


REVELATION, 


waters  would  be  turned  into  wormwood 
by  the  baleful  influence  of  a  falling  me¬ 
teor,  so  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
tbat  there  is  intended  to  be  represented 
a  literal  destruction  of  human  life  by  the 
use  of  waters.  Great  destruction  and 
devastation  are  undoubtedly  intended  to 
be  denoted  by  this  —  destruction  that 
would  bo  well  represented  in  a  land  by 
the  natural  effects  if  a  considerable  part 
of  the  waters  were,  by  their  bitterness, 
made  unfit  to  drink. 

In  the  interpretation  and  application, 
therefore,  of  this  passage,  we  may  adopt 
the  following  principles  and  rules :  — 

(а)  It  may  be  assumed,  in  this  exposi¬ 
tion,  that  the  previous  symbols,  under 
the  first  and  second  trumpet-blasts,  re¬ 
ferred  respectively  to  Alaric  and  his 
Goths,  and  to  Genseric  and  his  Vandals. 

(б)  That  the  next  great  and  decisive 
event  in  the  downfall  of  the  empire, 
is  the  one  that  is  hero  referred  to. 
(c)  That  there  would  be  some  chieftain 
or  warrior  who  might  be  compared  with 
a  blazing  meteor;  whose  course  would 
be  singularly  brilliant;  who  would  ap¬ 
pear  suddenly  like  a  blazing  star,  and 
then  disappear  like  a  star  whose  light 
was  quenched  in  the  waters.  ( d )  That 
the  desolating  course  of  that  meteor 
would  be  mainly  on  those  portions  of 
the  world  that  abounded  with  springs 
of  water  and  running  streams,  (e)  That 
an  effect  would  be  produced  as  if  those 
streams  and  fountains  were  made  bitter ; 
that  is,  that  many  persons  would  perish, 
and  that  wide  desolations  would  be 
caused  in  the  vicinity  of  those  rivers  and 
streams,  as  if  a  bitter  and  baleful  star 
should  fall  into  the  waters,  and  death 
should  spread  over  the  lands  adjacent  to 
them,  and  watered  by  them.  Whether 
any  events  occurred  of  which  this  would 
be  the  proper  emblem,  is  now  the  ques¬ 
tion.  Among  expositors  there  has  been 
a  considerable  degree  of  unanimity  in 
supposing  that  Attila,  the  king  of  the 
Huns,  is  referred  to,  and  if  the  preceding 
expositions  are  correct,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  on  the  subject.  After  Alaric  and 
Genseric,  Attila  occupies  the  next  place 
as  an  important  agent  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  Rqman  empire,  and  the  only 
question  is,  whether  he  would  be  proper¬ 
ly  symbolized  by  this  baleful  star.  The 
following  remarks  may  be  made  to  show 
the  propriety  of  the  symbol.  (1)  As 
already  remarked,  the  place  which  he 


[A.  D.  96. 

occupies  in  history,  as  immediately  suc¬ 
ceeding  Alaric  and  Genseric  in  the 
downhill  of  the  empire.  This  will  ap¬ 
pear  in  any  chronological  table,  or  in 
the  table  of  contents  of  any  of  the  his¬ 
tories  of  those  times.  A  full  detail  of 
the  career  of  Attila  may  be  found  in 
Gibbon,  vol.  ii.  pp.  314-351.  His  ca¬ 
reer  extended  from  A.  D.  433,  to  A.  D. 
453.  It  is  true  that  he  was  contempo¬ 
rary  with  Genseric,  king  of  the  Vandals, 
and  that  a  portion  of  the  operations  of 
Genseric  in  Africa  were  subsequent  to 
the  death  of  Attila  (A.  D.  455 — A.  I>. 
467);  but  it  is  also  true  that  Genseric 
preceded  Attila  in  the  career  of  con¬ 
quest,  and  was  properly  the  first  in  or¬ 
der,  being  pressed  forward  in  the  Roman 
warfare  by  the  Huns,  A.  D.  428.  See 
Gibbon,  ii.  306,  seq.  (2)  In  the  manner 
of  his  appearance,  he  strongly  resembled 
a  brilliant  meteor  flashing  in  the  sky. 
He  came  from  the  east,  gathering  his 
Huns,  and  poured  them  down,  as  we 
shall  see,  with  the  rapidity  of  a  flashing 
meteor,  suddenly  on  the  empire.  He 
regarded  himself  also  as  devoted  to 
Mars,  the  god  of  war,  and  was  accus¬ 
tomed  to  array  himself  in  a  peculiarly 
brilliant  manner,  so  that  his  appearance, 
in  the  language  of  his  flatterers,  was 
such  as  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  beholders. 
One  of  his  followers  perceived  that  a 
heifer  that  was  grazing  had  wounded 
her  foot,  and  curiously  followed  the  track 
of  blood,  till  he  found  in  the  long  grass 
the  point  of  an  ancient  sword,  which  he 
dug  out  of  the  ground  and  presented  to 
Attila.  “  That  magnanimous,  or  rather 
that  artful  prince/’  says  Mr.  Gibbon, 
“  accepted  with  pious  gratitude  this 
celestial  favor ;  and,  as  the  rightful  pos¬ 
sessor  of  the  sword  of  Mars,  asserted  his 
divine  and  indefeasible  claim  to  the  do¬ 
minion  of  the  earth.  The  favorite  of 
Mars  soon  acquired  a  sacred  character, 
which  rendered  his  conquests  more  easy 
and  more  permanent;  and  the  Barbarian 
princes  confessed,  in  the  language  of 
devotion  or  flattery,  that  they  could  not 
presume  .to  gaze,  with  a  steady  eye,  on 
the  divine  majesty  of  the  king  of  the 
Huns.”  ii.  317.  How  appropriate  would 
it  be  to  represent  such  a  prince  by  the 
symbol  of  a  bright  and  blazing  star — 
or  a  meteor  flashing  through  the  sky ! 
(3)  There  may  be  propriety,  as  applica¬ 
ble  to  him,  in  the  expression  —  “a  great 
star  from  heaven  falling  upon  the  earth.” 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


235 


A.  D.  96.] 


Attila  was  regarded  as  an  instrument  in 
the  divine  hand  in  inflicting  punishment. 
The  common  appellation  by  which  he 
has  been  known  is  “  the  scourge  of 
God.”  This  title  is  supposed  by  the 
modern  Hungarians  to  have  been  first 
given  to  Attila  by  a  hermit  of  Gaul,  hut 
:t  was  “inserted  by  Attila  among  the 
titles  of  his  royal  dignity.”  Gibbon,  ii. 
321,  foot-note.  To  no  one  could  the 
title  be  more  applicable  than  to  him. 
(4)  His  career  as  a  conqueror,  and  the 
effect  of  his  conquests  on  the  downfall 
of  the  empire,  were  such  as  to  be  pro¬ 
perly  symbolized  in  this  manner,  (a) 
The  general  effect  of  the  invasion  was 
worthy  of  an  important  place  in  de¬ 
scribing  the  series  of  events  whieh  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the  empire. 
This  is  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Gibbon : 
“  The  western  world  was  oppressed  by 
the  Goths  and  Vandals,  who  fled  before 
the  Huns ;  but  the  achievements  of  the 
Huns  themselves  were  not  adequate  to 
their  power  and  prosperity.  Their  vic¬ 
torious  hordes  had  spread  from  the  Vol¬ 
ga  to  the  Danube,  but  the  public  force 
was  exhausted  by  the  discord  of  inde¬ 
pendent  chieftains ;  their  valor  was  idly 
consumed  in  obscure  and  predatory  ex¬ 
cursions  ;  and  they  often  degraded  their 
national  dignity  by  condescending,  for 
the  hopes  of  spoil,  to  enlist  under  the 
banners  of  their  fugitive  enemies.  In 
the  reign  of  Attila,  the  Huns  again  be¬ 
came  the  terror  of  the  world;  and  I 
shall  now  describe  the  character  and 
actions  of  that  formidable  Barbarian 
who  alternately  invaded  and  insulted 
the  east  and  the  west,  and  urged  the 
rapid  downfall  of  the  Roman  empire.” 
vol.  ii.  pp.  314,  315.  (b)  The  parts  of  the 
earth  affected  by  the  invasion  of  the 
Huns,  were  those  which  would  be  pro¬ 
perly  symbolized  by  the  things  specified 
at  the  blowing  of  this  trumpet.  It  is 
said  particularly,  that  the  effect  would 
be  on  “the  rivers,”  and  on  “the  foun¬ 
tains  of  waters.”  If  this  has  a  literal 
application,  or  if,  as  was  supposed  in 
the  case  of  the  second  trumpet,  the  lan¬ 
guage  used  was  such  as  had  reference 
to  the  portion  of  the  empire  that  would 
bo  particularly  affected  by  the  hostile 
invasion,  then  we  may  suppose  that  this 
refers  to  those  portions  of  the  empire 
that  abounded  in  rivers  and  streams, 
and  more  particularly  those  in  which  the 
rivers  and  streams  had  their  origin — for 


the  effect  was  permanently  in  the  “foun¬ 
tains  of  waters.”  —  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  principal  operations  of  Attila  were 
in  the  regions  of  the  Alps  and  on  the 
portions  of  the  empire  whence  the  rivers 
flow  down  into  Italy.  The  invasion  of 
Attila  is  described  by  Mr.  Gibbon  in  this 
general  language  :  “  The  whole  breadth 
of  Europe,  as  it  extends  above  five  hun¬ 
dred  miles  from  the  Euxino  to  the  Adri¬ 
atic,  was  at  once  invaded,  and  occu¬ 
pied,  and  desolated,  by  the  myriads  of 
barbarians  whom  Attila  led  ‘  into  the 
field,  ii.  319,  320.  After  describing  the 
progress  and  the  effects  of  this  invasion 
(pp.  320-331),  he  proceeds  more  parti¬ 
cularly  to  detail  the  events  in  the  inva¬ 
sion  of  Gaul  and  Italy,  pp.  331-347. 
After  the  terrible  battle  of  Chalons,  in 
which,  according  to  one  account,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand,  and, 
according  to  other  accounts,  threo  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  persons  were  slain,  and 
in  whieh  Attila  was  defeated,  he  re¬ 
covered  his  vigor,  collected  his  forces, 
and  made  a  descent  on  Italy.  Under 
pretence  of  claiming  Honoria,  the  daugh¬ 
ter  of  the  empress  of  Rome,  as  his  bride, 
“the  indignant  lover  took  the  field, 
passed  the  Alps,  invaded  Italy,  and  be¬ 
sieged  Aquileia  with  an  innumerable 
host  of  barbarians.”  After  endeavoring 
in  vain  for  three  months  to  subdue  the 
city,  and  when  about  to  abandon  the 
siege,  Attila  took  advantage  of  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  a  stork  as  a  favorable  omen 
to  arouse  his  men  to  a  renewed  effort, 
“a  large  breach  was  made  in  the  part 
of  the  wall  where  the  stork  had  taken 
her  flight;  the  Huns  marched  to  the  as¬ 
sault  with  irresistible  fury;  and  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  generation  could  scarcely  dis¬ 
cover  the  ruins  of  Aquileia.  After  this 
dreadful  chastisement,  Attila  pursued  his 
march;  and  as  he  passed,  the  cities  of 
Altinum,  Concordia,  and  Padua,  were 
reduced  into  heaps  of  stones  and  ashes. 
The  inland  towns,  Vicenza,  Verona,  and 
Bergamo,  were  exposed  to  the  rapacious 
cruelty  of  the  Huns.  Milan  and  Pavia 
submitted,  without  resistance,  to  the  loss 
of  their  wealth,  and  applauded  the  un¬ 
usual  clemency  which  preserved  from 
the  flames  the  public,  as  well  as  the  pri¬ 
vate  buildings,  and  spared  the  lives  of 
the  captive  multitude.  Tho  popular  tra¬ 
ditions  of  Comum,  Turin,  or  Modena, 
may  be  justly  suspected,  yet  they  concur 
with  more  authentic  evidence  to  prove 


238 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


12  And  the  fourth  angel  sounded,  I 
and  the  third  part  of  the  sun  “  was 
smitten,  and  the  third  part  of  the 


moon,  and  the  third  part  of  the 

a  Isa.  13. 10;  Je.  4. 23;  Eze.32. 7,  8;  Joel  2. 
10;  Am.  8,  9. 


that  Attala  spread  his  ravages  over  the 
rich  plains  of  modern  Lombardy,  which 
are  divided  by  the  Po,  and  bounded  by 
the  Alps  and  the  Apennines.”  ii.  pp.343, 
344.  “  It  is  a  saying  worthy  of  the  fero¬ 
cious  pride  of  Attila,  that  the  grass  never 
grew  on  the  spot  where  his  horse  had 
trod.”  Ibid.  p.  345.  Any  one  has  only 
to  look  on  a  map,  and  to  trace  the  pro¬ 
gress  of  those  desolations  and  the  chief 
seats  of  his  military  operations,  to  see 
with  what  propriety  this  symbol  would 
be  employed.  In  these  regions  the  great 
rivers  that  water  Europe  have  their  ori¬ 
gin,  and  are  swelled  by  numberless 
streams  that  flow  down  from  the  Alps, 
and  about  the  fountains  whence  these 
streams  flow,  were  the  principal  military 
operations  of  the  invader,  (c)  With 
equal  propriety  is  he  represented  in  the 
symbol,  as  affecting  “a  third”  part  of 
these  rivers  and  fountains.  At  least  a 
third  part  of  the  empire  was  invaded 
and  desolated  by  him  in  his  savage 
march,  and  the  effects  of  his  invasion 
were  as  disastrous  on  the  empire  as  if  a 
bitter  star  had  fallen  into  a  third  part  of 
those  rivers  and  fountains  and  had  con¬ 
verted  them  into  wormwood.  ( d )  There 
is  one  other  point  which  shows  the  pro¬ 
priety  of  this  symbol.  It  is,  that  the 
meteor,  or  star,  seemed  to  be  absorbed  in 
the  waters.  It  fell  into  the  waters ;  em¬ 
bittered  them ;  and  was  seen  no  more. 
Such  would  be  the  case  with  a  meteor 
that  should  thus  fall  upon  the  earth  — 
flashing  along  the  sky,  and  then  disap¬ 
pearing  forever.  Now,  it  was  remark¬ 
able  in  regard  to  the  Huns,  that  their 
power  was  concentrated  under  Attila; 
that  he  alone  appeared  as  the  leader  of 
this  formidable  host;  and  that  when 
he  died  all  the  concentrated  power  of  the 
Huns  was  dissipated,  or  became  ab¬ 
sorbed  and  lost.  —  “The  revolution,” 
says  Mr.  Gibbon  (ii.  348),  “which  sub¬ 
verted  the  empire  of  the  Huns,  establish¬ 
ed  the  fame  of  Attila,  whose  genius  alone 
had  sustained  the  huge  and  disjointed 
fabric.  After  his  death,  the  boldest 
chieftains  aspired  to  the  rank  of  kings ; 
the  most  powerful  kings  refused  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  a  superior;  and  the  nume¬ 
rous  sons,  whom  so  many  various  mo¬ 


thers  bore  to  the  deceased  monarch, 
divided  and  disputed,  like  a  private  in¬ 
heritance,  the  sovereign  command  of  the 
nations  of  Germany  and  Scythia.”  Soon, 
however,  in  the  conflicts  which  suc¬ 
ceeded,  the  empire  passed  away,  and  the 
empire  of  the  Huns  ceased.  The  people 
that  composed  it  were  absorbed  in  the 
surrounding  nations,  and  Mr.  Gibbon 
makes  this  remark,  after  giving  a  sum¬ 
mary  account  of  these  conflicts,  which 
continued  but  for  a  few  years :  “  The 
Igours  of  the  north,  issuing  from  the 
cold  Siberian  regions,  which  produced 
the  most  valuable  furs,  spread  them¬ 
selves  over  the  desert,  as  far  as  the  Bo- 
risthenes  and  the  Caspian  gates,  and 
finally  extinguished  the  empire  of  the 
Huns.” — These  facts  may,  perhaps,  show 
with  what  propriety  Attila  would  be 
compared  with  a  bright  but  beautiful 
meteor ;  and  that,  if  the  design  was  to 
symbolize  him  as  acting  an  important 
part  in  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  em¬ 
pire,  there  is  a  fitness  in  the  symbol 
here  employed. 

12.  And  the  fourth  angel  sounded. 
Notes  vs.  6,  7.  And  the  third  part  of 
the  sea  teas  smitten.  On  the  phrase  the 
third  part,  see  Notes  on  ver.  7.  The 
darkening  of  the  heavenly  luminaries  is 
everywhere  an  emblem  of  any  great 
calamity  —  as  if  the  light  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  should  be  put  out.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  vi.  12, 13. — There  is  no  cer¬ 
tain  evidence  that  this  refers  to  riders, 
as  many  have  supposed,  or  to  any  thing 
that  would  particularly  affect  the  govern¬ 
ment  as  such.  The  meaning  is,  that  cala¬ 
mity  would  come  as  if  darkness  should 
spread  over  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the 
stars,  leaving  the  world  in  gloom.  What 
is  the  precise  nature  of  the  calamity,  is 
not  indicated  by  the  language,  but  any 
thing  that  would  diffuse  gloom  and  dis¬ 
aster,  would  accord  with  the  fair  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  symbol. — There  are  a  few  cir¬ 
cumstances,  however,  in  regard  to  this 
symbol,  which  may  aid  us  in  determin¬ 
ing  its  application.  (1)  It  would  follow 
in  the  series  of  calamities  that  were  to 
occur.  (2)  It  would  be  sepurated  in 
some  important  sense — of  time,  place,  or 
degree,  from  those  which  were  to  follow, 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


stars  ;  so  as  the  third  part  of  them 
was  darkened,  and  the  day  shone 


for  there  is  a  pause  here  (ver.  13),  and 
the  angel  proclaims  that  more  terrible 
woes  are  to  succeed  this  series.  (3)  Like 
the  preceding,  it  is  to  affect  “one  third 
part”  of  the  world;  —  that  is,  it  is  to  be 
a  calamity  as  if  a  third  part  of  the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  the  stars  were  suddenly 
smitten  and  darkened.  (4)  It  is  not  to 
be  total.  It  is  not  as  if  the  sun,  the 
moon,  and  the  stars  were  entirely  blotted 
out,  for  there  was  still  some  remaining 
light :  that  is,  there  was  a  continuance  of 
the  existing  state  of  things  —  as  if  these 
heavenly  bodies  should  still  give  an  ob¬ 
scure  and  partial  light.  (5)  Perhaps  it  is 
j  also  intended  by  the  symbol,  that  there 
would  be  light  again.  The  world  was 
not  to  go  into  a  state  of  total  and  per¬ 
manent  night.  For  a  third  part  of  the 
day,  and  a  third  part  of  the  night,  this 
darkness  reigned  ;  but  does  not  this  im¬ 
ply  that  there  would  be  light  again  — 
that  the  obscurity  would  pass  away,  and 
that  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars  would 
shine  again  ?  That  is,  is  it  not  implied 
that  there  would  still  be  prosperity  in 
some  future  period  ? 

Now,  in  regard  to  the  application  of 
this,  if  the  explanation  of  the  preceding 
symbols  is  correct,  there  can  be  little 
difficulty.  If  the  previous  symbols  re¬ 
ferred  to  Alaric,  to  Genseric,  and  to  Attila, 
there  can  be  no  difficulty  in  applying 
this  to  Odoacer,  and  to  his  reign — a  reign 
in  which,  in  fact,  the  Roman  dominion 
in  the  West  came  to  an  end,  and  passed 
into  the  hands  of  this  barbarian.  Any 
one  has  only  to  open  the  “  Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,”  to  see  that 
this  is  the  next  event  that  should  be 
symbolized  if  the  design  were  to  repre¬ 
sent  the  downfall  of  the  empire.  These 
four  great  barbarian  leaders  succeed 
each  other  in  order,  and  under  the  last, 
Odoacer,  the  barbarian  dominion  was 
established;  for  it  is  here  that  the 
existence  of  the  Roman  power,  as 
such,  ended.  The  Western  empire, 
terminated,  according  to  Mr.  Gibbon 
(ii.  p.  380),  about  A.  D.  476,  or  479. 
Odoacer  was  “  King  of  Italy”  from  A.  D. 
476  to  A.  D.  490.  Gibbon,  ii.  379.  The 
Eastern  empire  still  lingered,  but  cala¬ 
mity,  like  blotting  out  the  sun,  and 
moon,  and  stars,  had  come  over  that 


237 

not  for  a  third  part  of  it,  and  the 
night  likewise. 


part  of  the  world  which  for  so  many 
centuries  had  constituted  the  seat  of 
power  and  dominion. — Odoacer  was  the 
son  of  Edecon,  a  barbarian,  who  was  in 
the  service  of  Attila,  and  who  left  two 
sons  —  Onulf  and  Odoacer.  The  former 
directed  his  steps  to  Constantinople; 
Odoacer,  “led  a  wandering  life  among 
the  barbarians  of  Noricum,  with  a  mind 
and  fortune  suited  to  the  most  desperate 
adventures ;  and  when  he  had  fixed  his 
choice  he  privily  visited  the  cell  of 
Severinus,  the  popular  saint  of  the 
country,  to  solicit  his  approbation  and 
blessing.  The  lowness  of  the  door  would 
not  admit  the  lofty  stature  of  Odoacer; 
he  was  obliged  to  stoop;  but  in  that 
humble  attitude  the  saint  could  discern 
the  symptoms  of  his  future  greatness; 
and  addressing  him  in  a  prophetic  tone, 

‘  Pursue/  said  he,  year  design  ;  proceed 
to  Italy ;  you  will  cast  away  the  coarse 
garment  of  skins ;  and  your  wealth  will 
be  adequate-  to  the  liberality  of  your 
mind.’  The  barbarian,  whose  daring 
spirit  accepted  and  ratified  this  predic¬ 
tion,  was  admitted  into  the  service  of 
the  Western  empire,  and  soon  obtained 
an  honorable  rank  in  the  guards.  His 
manners  were  gradually  polished,  his 
military  skill  improved,  and  the  con¬ 
federates  of  Italy  would  not  have  elected 
him  for  their  general,  unless  the  ex¬ 
ploits  of  Odoacer  had  established  a  high 
opinion  of  his  courage  and  capacity. 
Their  military  acclamations  saluted  him 
with  the  title  of  king;  but  he  abstained 
during  his  whole  reign  from  the  use  of 
the  purple  and  the  diadem,  lest  he  should 
offend  those  princes,  whose  subjects,  by 
their  accidental  mixture,  had  formed 
the  victorious  army  which  time  and 
policy  might  insensibly  unite  into  a 
great  nation.”  Gibbon,  ii.  379,  380- 
In  another  place  Mr.  Gibbon  says, 

“  Odoacer  was  the  first  barbarian  who 
reigned  in  Italy,  over  a  people  who  had 
once  asserted  their  superiority  above  the 
rest  of  mankind.  The  disgrace  of  the 
Romans  still  excites  our  respectful  com¬ 
passion,  and  we  fondly  sympathize  with 
the  imaginary  grief  and  indignation  of 
their  degenerate  posterity.  But  the 
calamities  of  Italy  had  gradually  sub¬ 
dued  the  proud  consciousness  of  freedom 


238 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96 


and  glory.  In  the  age  of  Roman  virtue, 
the  provinces  were  subject  to  the  arms, 
and  the  citizens  to  the  laws,  of  the  re¬ 
public  ;  till  those  laws  were  subverted  by 
civil  discord,  and  both  the  city  and  the 
provinces  became  the  property  of  a 
servile  tyrant.  The  forms  of  the  consti¬ 
tution  which  alleviated  or  disguised 
their  abject  slavery,  were  abolished  by 
time  and  violence ;  the  Italians  alter¬ 
nately  lamented  the  presence  or  the 
absence  of  the  sovereigns  whom  they 
detested  or  despised ;  and  the  succession 
of  five  centuries  inflicted  the  various 
evils  of  military  license,  capricious  des¬ 
potism,  and  elaborate  oppression.  Du¬ 
ring  the  same  period  the  barbarians  had 
emerged  from  obscurity  and  contempt, 
and  the  warriors  of  Germany  and  Scythia 
were  introduced  into  the  provinces,  as 
the  servants,  the  allies,  and  at  length 
the  masters,  of  the  Romans,  whom  they 
insulted  or  protected.”  ii.  381,  382.  Of 
the  effect  of  the  reign  of  Odoacer,  Mr. 
Gibbon  remarks  :  “  In  the  division  and 
decline  of  the  empire,  the  tributary  har¬ 
vests  of  Egypt  and  Africa  were  with¬ 
drawn  ;  the  numbers  of  the  inhabitants 
continually  decreased  with  the  means  of 
subsistence ;  and  the  country  was  ex¬ 
hausted  by  the  irretrievable  losses  of 
war,  famine,  and  pestilence.  St.  Am¬ 
brose  has  deplored  the  ruin  of  a  popu¬ 
lous  district,  which  had  been  once 
adorned  with  the  flourishing  cities  of 
Bologna,  Modena,  Regium,  and  Pla¬ 
centia.  Pope  Gelasius  was  a  subject  of 
Odoacer;  and  he  affirms,  with  strong 
exaggeration,  that  in  Aimilia,  Tuscany, 
and  the  adjacent  provinces,  the  human 
species  was  almost  extirpated.  One- 
tliird  of  those  ample  estates,  to  which 
the  ruin  of  Italy  is  originally  imputed, 
was  extorted  for  the  use  of  the  con¬ 
querors.”  ii.  383.  Yet,  the  light  was  not 
wholly  extinct.  It  was  “  a  third  part” 
of  it  which  was  put  out ;  and  it  was  still 
true  that  some  of  the  forms  of  the 
ancient  constitution  were  observed — that 
the  light  still  lingered  before  it  wholly 
passed  away.  In  the  language  of  an¬ 
other,  “  The  authority  of  the  Roman 
name  had  not  yet  entirely  ceased.  The 
senate  of  Rome  continued  to  assemble 
as  usual.  The  consuls  were  appointed 
yearly,  one  by  the  Eastern  emperor,  one 
by  Italy  and  Rome.  Odoacer  himself 
governed  Italy  under  a  title  (that  of 
Patrician),  conferred  on  him  by  the 


Eastern  emperor.  There  was  still  a 
certain,  though  often  faint,  recognition 
of  the  supreme  imperial  authority.  The 
moon  and  the  stars  might  seem  still  to 
shine  in  the  West,  with  a  dim,  reflected 
light.  In  the  course  of  the  events,  how¬ 
ever,  which  rapidly  followed  in  the  next 
half  century,  these  too  were  extinguish¬ 
ed.  After  above  a  century  and  a  half 
of  calamities  unexampled  almost,  as  Dr. 
Robertson  most  truly  represents  it,* 
in  the  History  of  Nations,  the  statement 
of  Jerome  —  a  statement  couched  under 
the  very  Apocalyptic  figure  of  the  text, 
but  prematurely  pronounced  on  the 
first  taking  of  Rome  by  Alaric — might 
be  considered  at  length  accomplished : 

‘  Clarissimum  terrarum  lumen  extinc- 
tum  est’ — ‘  The  world’s  glorious  sun  has 
been  extinguished;’  or  as  the  modern 
poet  (Byron,  Childe  Harold,  canto  iv.) 
has  expressed  it,  still  under  the  Apoca¬ 
lyptic  imagery — 

4  She  saw  her  glories  star  by  star  expire,* 

till  not  even  one  star  remained  to  glim¬ 
mer  in  the  vacant  and  dark  night.” 
Elliott,  i.  360,  361. 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  explain  the 
meaning  of  the  four  first  trumpets  under 
the  opening  of  the  seventh  seal,  em¬ 
bracing  the  successive  severe  blows 
struck  on  the  empire  by  Alaric,  Gen- 
seric,  Attila,  and  Odoacer,  until  the 
empire  fell  to  rise  no  more.  I  cannot 
better  conclude  this  part  of  the  expo¬ 
sition  than  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Gibbon, 
in  his  reflections  on  the  fall  of  the  em¬ 
pire  :  “  I  have  now  accomplished,”  says 
he,  “  the  laborious  narrative  of  the  de¬ 
cline  and  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  from 
the  fortunate  age  of  Trajan  and  the 
Antonines,  to  its  latest  extinction  in  the 
West,  about  five  centuries  after  the 
Christian  era.  At  that  unhappy  period, 
the  Saxons  fiercely  struggled  with  the 
natives  for  the  possessiou  of  Britain ; 
Gaul  and  Spain  were  divided  between  the 
powerful  monarchies  of  the  Franks  and 
the  Visigoths,  and  the  dependent  king¬ 
doms  of  the  Suevi  and  the  Burgundians; 
Africa  was  exposed  to  the  cruel  perse¬ 
cution  of  the  Vandals,  and  the  savage 
insults  of  the  Moors ;  Rome  and  Italy, 
as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  were 
afflicted  by  an  army  of  barbarian  mer- 


*  ‘  If  we  were  called  on  to  fix  a  period  most  cala¬ 
mitous,  it  would  be  that  from  the  death  of  Theodosiu* 
to  the  establishment  of  the  Lombards.’  Charles  V%. 

pp.  11,  12. 


235 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


13  And  I  beheld,  and  heard  an 
angel  flying  « through  the  midst  of 
heaven,  saying  with  a  loud  voice, 

a  c.  14.  6. 


Woe,  woe,  woe,  to  the  inhabitants 
ot  the  earth,  by  reason  of  the  other 
voices  of  the  trumpet  of  the  three 
angels,  which  are  yet  to  sound. 


cenaries,  whose  lawless  tyranny  was 
succeeded  by  the  reign  of  Theodosia,  the 
Ostrogoth.  All  the  subjects  of  the' em-, 
pne,  who,  by  the  use  of  the  Latin 
language  more  particularly  deserved  the 
name  and  privileges  of  Romans,  were 
oppressed  by  the  disgrace  and  calamities 
ol  foreign  conquest  ,•  and  the  victorious 
nations  of  Germany  established  a  new 
system  of  manners  and  government  in 
the.  western  countries  of  Europe.  The 
majesty  of  Rome  was  faintly  represented 
by  the  princes  of  Constantinople,  the 
feeble  and  imaginary  successors  of 
Augustus.”  Yol.  ii.  pp.  440,  441.  “The 
splendid  days  of  Augustus  and  Trajan 
were  eclipsed  by  a  cloud  of  ignorance 
[a  fine  illustration  of  the  language  ( the 
third  part  of  the  sun  was  smitten,  and 
the  day  shone  not,  and  the  night  like¬ 
wise’]  ;  and  the  barbarians  subverted 
the  laws  and  palaces  of  Rome.”  Ibid 
p.  446. 

Thus  ended  the  history  of  the  Gothic 
period ;  and,  as  I  suppose,  the  immediate 
symbolic  representation  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Western  empire.  An  interval  now 
occurs  (ver.  15)  in  the  sounding  of  the 
trumpets,  and  the  scene  is  transferred, 
m  the  three  remaining  trumpets,  to  the 
Eastern  parts  of  the  empire.  After  that, 
the  attention  is  directed  again  to  the 
West,  to  contemplate  Rome  under  a 
new  form,  and  exerting  a  new  influence 
m  the  nations,  under  the  Papacy,  but 
destined  ultimately  to  pass  away  in  its 
spiritual  power,  as  its  temporal  power 
had  yielded  to  the  elements  of  internal 
decay  in  its  bosom,  and  to  the  invasions 
of  the  Northern  hordes. 

13.  And  I  beheld.  My  attention  was 
attracted  by  a  new  vision.  And  heard 
an  angel  flying,  &c.  I  heard  the  voice 
of  an  angel  making  this  proclamation. 

Woe,  woe,  woe.  That  is,  there  will  bo 
great  woe.  The  repetition  of  the  word 
is  intensive,  and  the  idea  is,  that  the 
sounding  of  the  three  remaining  trum¬ 
pets  would  indicate  great  and  fearful 
calamities.  These  three  are  grouped  to¬ 
gether,  as  if  they  pertained  to  a  similar 
series  of  events,  as  the  first  four  had 
been.  The  two  classes  are  separated 


from  each  other  by  this  interval  and  by 

this  proclamation  — implying  that  the 
first  series  had  been  completed,  and  that 
there  would  be  some  interval,  either  of 
space  or  time,  before  the  other  series 
would  come  upon  the  world.  All  that 
is  fairly  implied  here  would  be  fulfilled 
y  supposition  that  the  former  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  West,  and  that  the  latter 
pertained  to  the  East,  and  were  to  fol¬ 
low  when  those  should  have  been  com¬ 
pleted. 

CHAPTER  IX. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

The  three  remaining  trumpets  (chs. 
lx— xl)  are  usually  called  the  tooe-trum- 
pets,  in  reference  to  the  proclamation  of 
woes,  ch.  viii.  13.  Prof.  Stuart.  The 
three  extend,  as  I  suppose,  to  the  end 
ot  time,  or,  as  it  is  supposed  by  the 
writer  himself  (ch.  xi.  16),  to  the  period 
when  “  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall 
have  become  the  kingdom  of  Christ,” 
embracing  a  succinct  view  of  the  most 
material  events  that  were  to  occur,  par¬ 
ticularly  in  a  secular  point  of  view.  See 
the  Analysis  prefixed  to  the  book.  In 
ch.  xi.  19,  as  I  understand  it,  a  new 
view  is  commenced,  referring  to  the 
church  internally;  the  rise  of  Anti¬ 
christ,  and  the  effect  of  the  rise  of 
that  formidable  power  on  the  internal 
history  of  the  church,  to  the  time  of 
its  overthrow,  and  the  triumphant  esta¬ 
blishment  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  This 
of  course,  synchronizes  in  its  begin¬ 
ning  and  its  close  with  the  portion 
already  passed  over,  but  with  a  different 
view.  See  the  Analysis  prefixed  to  ch. 
xi.  19,  seq. 

This  chapter  contains  properly  three 
parts. 

(1)  First,  a  description  of  the  first  of 
those  trumpets,  or  the  fifth  in  the  order 
ot  the  whole,  vs.  1-12.— This  woo  is  re¬ 
presented  under  the  figure  of  calamities 
brought  upon  the  earth  by  an  immense 
army  of  locusts.  A  star  is  seen  to  fall 
from  heaven — representing  some  mighty 
chieftain,  and  to  him  is  given  the  key  of 
the  bottomless  pit.  He  opens  the  pit,  and 
then  comes  forth  an  innumerable  sivarm 


240 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ND  the  fifth  angel  sounded, 
and  I  saw  a  star  °  fall  from 
a  Lu.10. 18;  c.  8. 10. 


of  locusts  that  darken  the  heavens,  and 
they  go  forth  upon  the  earth.  They 
have  a  command  given  them  to  do  a 
certain  work. — They  are  not  to  hurt  the 
earth,  or  any  green  thing,  hut  they  are 
sent  against  those  men  which  have  not 
the  seal  of  God  on  their  foreheads. 
Their  main  business,  however,  was  not 
to  kill  them,  hut  to  torment  them  for  a 
limited  time — for  five  months.  A  des¬ 
cription  of  the  appearance  of  the  locusts 
then  follows.  Though  they  are  called 
locusts,  because  in  their  general  appear¬ 
ance,  and  in  the  ravages  they  commit, 
they  resemble  them,  yet,  in  the  main, 
they  are  imaginary  beings,  and  combine 
in  themselves  qualities  which  are  never 
found  united  in  reality.  They  had  a 
strong  resemblance  to  horses  prepared 
for  battle ;  they  wore  on  their  heads 
crowns  of  gold ;  they  had  the  faces  of 
men,  but  the  hair  of  women,  and  the 
teeth  of  lions.  They  had  breastplates 
of  iron,  and  tails  like  scorpions,  with 
stings  in  their  tails.  They  had  a  mighty 
king  at  their  head,  with  a  name  signifi¬ 
cant  of  the  destruction  which  he  would 
bring  upon  the  world.  These  myste¬ 
rious  beings  had  their  origin  in  the 
bottomless  pit,  and  they  are  summoned 
forth  to  spread  desolation  upon  the 
earth. 

(2)  Second,  a  description  of  the  second 
of  these  trumpets,  the  sixth  in  order,  vs. 
13-19.  When  this  is  sounded,  a  voice 
is  heard  from  the  four  horns  of  the 
altar  which  is  before  God.  The  angel  is 
commanded  to  loose  the  four  angels 
which  are  bound  in  the  great  river 
Euphrates.  These  angels  are  loosed — 
angels  which  had  been  prepared  for  a 
definite  period  —  a  day,  and  a  month, 
and  a  year,  to  slay  the  third  part  of 
men.  —  The  number  of  the  army  that 
would  appear  —  composed  of  cavalry  — 
is  stated  to  amount  to  two  hundred 
thousand,  and  the  peculiarities  of  these 
horsemen  are  then  stated.  They  are 
remarkable  for  having  breastplates  of 
fire,  and  jacinth,  and  brimstone;  the 
heads  of  the  horses  resemble  lions ; 
and  they  breathe  forth  fire  and  brim¬ 
stone.  A  third  part  of  men  fall  before 


heaven  unto  the  earth:  and  to  him 
was  given  the  key  of  the  bottom¬ 
less  pit.  b 

b  c.  17. 8. 20. 1. 


them,  by  the  fire,  and  the  smoke,  and 
the  brimstone.  Their  power  is  in 
their  mouth  and  in  their  tails,  for  their 
tails  are  like  serpents. 

(3)  Third,  a  statement  of  the  effect  of 
the  judgments  brought  upon  the  world 
under  these  trumpets,  vs.  207  21.  The 
effect,  so  far  as  the  reasonable  result 
could  have  been  anticipated,  is  lost. 
The  nations  are  not  turned  from  idola¬ 
try.  Wickedness  still  abounds,  and 
there  is  no  disposition  to  repent  of  the 
abominations  which  had  been  so  long 
practised  on  the  earth. 

1.  And  the  fifth  angel  sounded.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  viii.  6,  7.  And  I  saw  a 
star  fall  from  heaven  unto  the  earth. 
This  denotes,  as  was  shown  in  the 
Notes  on  ch.  viii.  10,  a  leader,  a  mili¬ 
tary  chieftain,  a  warrior.  —  In  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  this,  as  in  the  former  case,  we 
look  for  the  appearance  of  some  mighty 
prince  and  warrior,  to  whom  is  given 
power,  as  it  were,  to  open  the  bottomless 
pit,  and  to  summon  forth  its  legions.  That 
some  such  agent  is  denoted  by  the  star, 
is  farther  apparent  from  the  fact  that  it 
is  immediately  added  that  "  to  him 
[the  star]  was  given  the  key  of  the 
bottomless  pit.”  It  could  not  be  meant 
that  a  key  would  be  given  to  a  literal 
star,  and  we  naturally  suppose,  there¬ 
fore,  that  some  intelligent  being  of  ex¬ 
alted  rank,  and  of  baleful  influence,  is 
here  referred  to.  Angels,  good  and  bad, 
are  often  called  stars ;  but  the  reference 
here,  as  in  ch.  viii.  10,  seems  to  me  not 
to  he  to  angels,  but  to  some  mighty 
leader  of  armies,  who  was  to  collect  his 
hosts,  and  to  go  through  the  world  in 
the  work  of  destruction,  And  to  him 
teas  given  the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit. 
Of  the  under-world,  considered  particu¬ 
larly  of  the  abode  of  the  wicked.  This 
is  represented  often  as  a  dark  prison- 
house,  enclosed  with  walls,  and  accessi¬ 
ble  by  gates  or  doors.  These  gates  or 
doors  are  fastened,  so  that  none  of  the 
inmates  can  come  out,  and  the  key  is  in 
the  hand  of  the  keeper  or  guardian.  In 
ch.  i.  18,  it  is  said  that  the  keys  of  that 
world  are  in  the  hand  of  the  Saviour 
(comp.  Notes  on  that  passage);  here  it 


A.  D.  96.] 

.  2  And  he  opened  the  bottomless 
pit;  and  there  arose  a  smoke  out 
of  the  pit,  as  the  smoke  of  a  great 
furnace  ;  and  the  sun  and  the  air 
a  Joel  2.  2. 


is  said  that  for  a  time,  and  for  a  tempo¬ 
rary  purpose,  they  are  committed  to  an¬ 
other.  The  word  pit — <j>ptap — denotes, 
properly,  a  well,  or  a  pit  for  water  dug 
in  the  earth ;  and  then  any  pit,  cave, 
abyss.  The  reference  here  is  doubtless 
to  the  nether  world  considered  as  the 
abode  of  the  wicked  dead,  the  prison- 
house  of  the  guilty.  The  word  bottom¬ 
less — aflvotro;  —  whence  our  word  abyss, 
means  properly  without  any  bottom 
(from  a,  pr.  and  pv$oS,  depth,  bottom). 
It  would  be  applied  properly  to  the 
ocean,  or  to  any  deep  and  dark  dell,  or 
to  any  obscure  place  whose  depth  was 
I  unknown.  Here  it  refers  to  Hades — the 
region  of  the  dead — the  abode  of  wicked 
spirits  —  as  a  deep,  dark  place  whose 
bottom  was  unknown.  Having  the  key 
to  this,  is  to  have  the  power  to  confine 
those  who  are  there,  or  to  permit  them 
to  go  at  large.  The  meaning  here  is 
that  this  master-spirit  would  have  power 
to  evoke  the  dead  from  these  dark  re¬ 
gions  ;  and  it  would  be  fulfilled  if  some 
mighty  genius,  that  could  be  compared 
with  a  fallen  star,  or  a  lurid  meteor, 
should  summon  forth  followers  which 
would  appear  like  the  dwellers  in  the 
nether  world  called  forth  to  spread  de¬ 
solation  over  the  earth. 

2.  And  he  opened  the  bottomless  pit. 
It  is  represented  before  as  wholly  con¬ 
fined,  so  that  not  even  the  smoke  or  va¬ 
por  could  escape,  f  And  there  arose  a 
smoke  out  of  the  pit.  Comp.  ch.  xiv.  11. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  the  pit,  as  a 
place  of  punishment,  or  as  the  abode  of 
the  wicked,  was  filled  with  burning  sul¬ 
phur,  and  consequently  that  it  emitted 
smoke  and  vapor  as  soon  as  opened. 
The  common  image  of  the  place  of 
punishment,  in  the  Scriptures,  is  that  of 
a  “lake  that  burns  with  fire  and  brim¬ 
stone.”  Comp.  ch.  xiv.  10  ;  xix.  20  ;  xx. 
10;  xxi.  8.  See  also  Ps.  xi.  6;  Ezek. 
xxxviii.  22 ;  Isa.  xxx.  33.  It  is  not  im¬ 
probable  that  this  image  was  taken  from 
the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomor¬ 
rah.  Gen.  xix.  24.  Such  burning  sul¬ 
phur  would  produce,  of  course,  a  dense 
smoke  or  vapor,  and  the  idea  here  is, 


241 

were  darkened  0  by  reason  of  the 
smoke  of  the  pit. 

3  And  there  came  out  of  the 
smoke  locusts  6  upon  the  earth: 

b  Ex.  10.  4,  Ac. 


that  the  pit  had  been  closed,  and  that  as 
soon  as  the  door  was  opened,  a  dense 
column  escaped  that  darkened  the  hea¬ 
vens.  The  purpose  of  this  is,  probably, 
to  indicate  the  origin  of  the  plague  that 
was  about  to  come  upon  the  world.  It 
would  be  of  such  a  character  that  it 
would  appear  as  if  it  had  been  emitted 
from  hell ;  as  if  the  inmates  of  that  dark 
world  had  broke  loose  upon  the  earth. 
Comp.  Notes  on  eh.  vi.  8.  <j[  A  s  the  smoke 
of  a  great  furnace.  So  in  Gen.  xix.  28, 

whence  probably  this  image  is  taken ; _ 

“And  he  looked  towards  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  and  all  the  land  of  the  plain, 
and  beheld,  and  lo,  the  smoke  of  the 
country  went  up  as  the  smoke  of  a  fur¬ 
nace.”  And  the  sun  and  the  air  were 
darkened,  &c.  As  will  be  the  case  when 
a  smoke  ascends  from  a  furnace.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  an  effect  would  be 
produced  as  if  a  dense  and  dark  vapor 
should  ascend  from  the  under-world. 
We  are  not,  of  course,  to  understand  this 
literally. 

3.  And  there  came  out  of  the  smoke 
locusts  upon  the  earth.  That  is,  they 
escaped  from  the  pit  with  the  smoke. 
At  first  they  were  mingled  with  the 
smoke  so  that  they  were  not  distinctly 
seen,  but  when  the  smoke  cleared  away, 
they  appeared  in  great  numbers.  The 
idea  seems  to  be,  that  the  bottomless  pit 
was  filled  with  vapor  and  with  those 
creatures,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  gate 
was  opened  the  whole  contents  expand¬ 
ed  and  burst  forth  upon  the  earth.  The 
sun  was  immediately  darkened  and  the 
air  was  full,  but  the  smoke  soon  cleared 
away,  so  that  the  locusts  became  dis¬ 
tinctly  visible.  The  appearance  of  these 
locusts  is  described  in  another  part  of 
the  chapter,  vs.  7,  seq.  The  locust  is  a 
voracious  insect  belonging  to  the  grass¬ 
hopper  or  grylli  genus,  and  is  a  great 
scourge  in  Oriental  countries.  A  full 
description  of  the  locust  may  be  seen  in 
Robinson’s  Calmet,  and  in  Kitto's  Ency, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  258,  seq.  There  are  ten  He¬ 
brew  words  to  denote  the  locust,  and 
there  are  numerous  references  to  the 
destructive  habits  of  the  inseot  in  the 


CHAPTER  IX. 


242 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 

and  unto  them  waa  given  power  I  as  the  scorpions  °  of  the  earth  have 

a  ver.  10.  '  Power- 


Scriptures.  In  fact,  from  their  numbers, 
and  their  destructive  habits,  there  was 
scarcely  any  other  plague  that  was  so 
much  dreaded  in  the  East.  Considered  as 
a  symbol,  or  emblem,  thefollowing  remarks 
may  be  made  in  explanation  :  —  (1)  The 
symbol  is  Oriental,  and  would  most  na¬ 
turally  refer  to  something  that  was  to 
occur  in  the  East.  As  locusts  have 
appeared  chiefly  in  the  East,  and  as 
they  are  in  a  great  measure  an  Oriental 
plague,  the  mention  of  this  symbol  would 
most  naturally  turn  the  thoughts  to  that 
portion  of  the  earth.  The  symbols  of 
the  first  four  trumpets  had  no  especial 
locality,  and  would  suggest  no  particular 
part  of  the  world  ;  but,  on  the  mention 
of  this,  the  mind  would  be  naturally 
turned  to  the  East,  and  we  should  ex¬ 
pect  to  find  that  the  scene  of  this  woe 
would  be  located  in  the  regions  where 
the  ravages  of  locusts  most  abounded. 
Compare,  on  this  point,  Elliott,  Horae. 
Apoc.,  i.  394-406.  He  has  made  it  pro¬ 
bable  that  the  prophets,  when  they  used 
symbolical  language  to  denote  any 
events,  commonly,  at  least,  employed 
those  which  had  a  local  or  geographical 
reference.  Thus,  in  the  symbols  derived 
from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  when  Ju¬ 
dah  is  to  be  symbolized,  the  olive,  the 
vine,  and  the  fig-tree  are  selected ;  when 
Egypt  is  referred  to,  the  reed  is  chosen ; 
where  Babylon,  the  willow.  And  so,  in 
the  animal  kingdom,  the  lion  is  the 
symbol  of  Judah;  the  wild-ass,  of  the 
Arabs ;  the  crocodile,  of  Egypt,  Ac. 
Whether  this  theory  could  be  wholly 
carried  out  or  not,  no  one  can  doubt  that 
the  symbol  of  locusts  would  most  natu¬ 
rally  suggest  the  Oriental  world,  and  that 
the  natural  interpretation  of  the  passage 
would  lead  us  to  expect  its  fulfilment 
there.  (2)  Locusts  were  remarkable  for 
their  numbers  —  so  great  often  as  to  ap¬ 
pear  like  clouds,  and  to  darken  the  sky. 
In  this  respect,  they  would  naturally  be 
symbolical  of  numerous  armies  or  hosts 
of  men.  This  natural  symbol  of  nume¬ 
rous  armies  is  often  employed  by  the 
prophets.  Thus,  in  Jer.  xlvi.  23  : 

u  Cut  down  her  forest  [i.  e.  her  people,  or  cities!, 
saith  Jehovah, 

That  it  may  not  be  found  on  searching  ; 

Although  they  surpass  the  locusts  in  multitude, 

And  they  are  without  number.” 


So  in  Nahum  iii.  15  : 

“  There  shall  the  fire  devour  thee  ; 

The  sword  shall  cut  thee  off;  it  shall  devour  tbe« 
as  the  locust, 

Increase  thyself  as  the  numerous  locust.” 

So  also  in  Nahum  iii.  17 : 

“Thy  crown’d  princes  are  as  the  numerous  locust,. 

And  thy  captains  as  the  grasshoppers; 

Which  encamp  in  the  fences  in  the  cold  day, 

But  when  the  sun  ariseth  they  depart. 

And  their  place  is  not  known  where  they  were.” 

See  also  D-eufc.  xxviii.  38, 42 ;  Ps.  lxxviii. 
46 ;  Amos  vii.  1.  Comp.  Judges  vi.  3 
—  6,  vii.  12,  and  Joel,  chs.  i.  and  ii. 
(3)  Locusts  are  an  emblem  of  desolation 
or  destruction.  No  symbol  of  desolation 
could  be  more  appropriate  or  striking 
than  this,  for  one  of  the  most  remarka¬ 
ble  properties  of  locusts  is,  that  they 
devour  every  green  thing,  and  leave  a 
land  perfectly  waste.  They  do  this  even 
when  what  they  destroy  is  not  necessary 
for  their  own  sustenance.  “  Locusts 
seem  to  devour  not  so  much  from  a 
ravenous  appetite  as  from  a  rage  for 
destroying.  Destruction,  therefore,  and 
not  food,  is  the  chief  impulse  of  their 
devastations,  and  in  this  consists  their 
utility;  they  are  in  fact  omnivorous. 
The  most  poisonous  plants  are  indifferent 
to  them ;  they  will  prey  even  upon  the 
crowfoot,  whose  causticity  burns  even 
the  hides  of  beasts.  They  simply  con¬ 
sume  every  thing,  without  predilection — 
vegetable  matter,  linens,  woollens,  silk, 
leather,  Ac. ;  and  Pliny  does  not  exag¬ 
gerate  them  when  he  says,  fores  quoque 
tectorum  —  ‘even  the  doors  of  houses/ 
for  they  have  been  known  to  consume 
the  very  varnish  of  furniture.  They 
reduce  every  thing  indiscriminately  to 
shreds,  which  become  manure.” — Kitto’s 
Encyclo.  ii.  263.  Locusts  become,  there¬ 
fore,  a  most  striking  symbol  of  an  all- 
devouring  army,  and  as  such  are  often 
referred  to  in  Scripture.  So  also  in 
Josephus,  de  Bello  Jud.  B.  v.  ch.  vii: 
“As  after  locusts,  we  see  the  woods 
stripped  of  their  leaves,  so,  in  the  •  rear 
of  Simon’s  army,  nothing  but  devastation 
remained.”  The  natttral  application  of 
this  symbol,  then,  is  to  a  numerous  and 
destructive  army,  or  to  a  great  multitude 
of  people  committing  ravages,  and  sweep¬ 
ing  off  every  thing  in  their  march. 

And  unto  them  was  given  power.  Thi* 


CHAPTER  IX. 


243 


A.  D.  96.] 

4  And  it  was  commanded  them 
°  that  they  should  not  hurt  the  grass 
of  the  earth,  neither  any  green  thing, 
a  c.  6.  6. 


was  something  that  was  imparted  to 
them  beyond  their  ordinary  nature.  The 
locust  in  itself  is  not  strong,  and  is  not 
a  symbol  of  strength.  Though  destruc¬ 
tive  in  the  extreme,  yet  neither  as  indi¬ 
viduals,  nor  as  combined,  are  they  dis¬ 
tinguished  for  strength.  Hence  it  is 
mentioned  as  a  remarkable  circumstance 
that  they  had  such  power  conferred  on 
them.  the  scorpions  of  the  earth 

have  power.  The  phrase  “the  earth,” 
seems  to  have  been  introduced  here  be¬ 
cause  these  creatures  are  said  to  have 
come  up  from  “  the  bottomless  pit,”  and 
it  was  natural  to  compare  them  with 
some  well-known  objects  found  on  the 
earth.  The  scorpion  is  an  animal  with 
eight  feet,  eight  eyes,  and  a  long  jointed 
tail,  ending  in  a  pointed  weapon  or  sting. 
It  is  the  largest  and  the  most  malignant 
of  all  the  insect  tribes.  It  somewhat 
resembles  the  lobster  in  its  general  ap¬ 
pearance,  but  is  much  more  hideous. 
See  Notes  on  Luke  x.  19.  Those  found 
in  Europe  seldom  exceed  four  inches  in 
length,  but  in  tropical  climates,  where 
they  abound,  they  are  often  found  twelve 
inches  long.  There  are  few  animals 
more  formidable,  and  none  more  irasci¬ 
ble,  than  the  scorpion.  Goldsmith  states 
that  Maupertius  put  about  a  hundred  of 
them  together  in  the  same  glass,  and 
that  as  soon  as  they  came  into  contact, 
they  began  to  exert  all  their  rage  in 
mutual  destruction,  so  that  in  a  few  days 
there  remained  but  fourteen,  which  had 
killed  and  devoured  all  the  rest.  The 
sting  of  the  scorpion,  Dr.  Shaw  states, 
is  not  always  fatal;  the  malignity  of 
their  venom  being  in  proportion  to  their 
size  and  complexion.  The  torment  of  a 
scorpion  when  he  strikes  a  man,  is  thus 
described  by  Dioscoridcs,  lib.  vii.  cap.  7, 
as  cited  by  Mr.  Taylor:  “When  the 
scorpion  has  stung,  the  place  becomes 
inflamed  and  hardened;  it  reddens  by 
tension,  and  is  painful  by  intervals,  being 
now  chilly,  now  burning.  The  pain  soon 
rises  high,  and  rages,  sometimes  more, 
sometimes  less.  A  sweating  succeeds, 
attended  by  a  shivering  and  trembling;  j 
the  extremities  of  the  body  become  cold,  ! 
the  groin  swells,  the  hair  stands  on  end,  | 


neither  any  tree ;  but  only  those 
men  which  have  not  the  seal  b  of 
God  in  their  foreheads. 

b  Ex.  12.  23.  Job  2.  6.  Eze.  9.  4.  c.  7.  3. 


the  members  become  pale,  and  the  skin 
feels  throughout  the  sensation  of  a  per¬ 
petual  pricking,  as  if  by  needles.” — 
Fragments  to  Calmet,  Die.  vol.  iv.  376, 
377.  “The  tail  of  the  scorpion  is  long, 
and  formed  after  the  manner  of  a  string 
of  beads,  the  last  larger  than  the  others, 
and  longer ;  at  the  end  of  which  are, 
sometimes,  two  stings  which  are  hollow, 
and  filled  with  a  cold  poison,  which  ,it 
ejects  into  the  part  which  it  stings*.” 
Cal.  Die.  The  sting  of  the  scorpion, 
therefore,  becomes  the  emblem  of  that 
which  causes  acute  and  dangerous  suf¬ 
fering.  On  this  comparison  with  scor¬ 
pions,  see  the  remark  of  Niebuhr,  quoted 
in  the  Notes  on  ver.  7. 

4.  And  it  was  commanded  them.  The 
writer  does  not  say  by  whom  this  com¬ 
mand  was  given,  but  it  is  clearly  by 
some  one  who  had  the  direction  of  them. 
As  they  were  evoked  from  the  “  bottom¬ 
less  pit”  by  one  who  had  the  key  to  that 
dark  abode,  and  as  they  are  represented 
in  ver.  11  as  under  the  command  of  one 
who  is  there  called  Abaddon,  or  Apolly- 
on,  the  Destroyer,  it  would  seem  most 
probable  that  the  command  referred  to 
is  one  that  is  given  by  him  ;  that  is,  that 
this  expresses  one  of  the  principles  on 
which  he  would  act  in  his  devastations. 
At  all  events,  this  denotes  what  would 
be  one  of  the  characteristics  of  these 
destroyers.  Their  purpose  would  be  to 
vex  and  trouble  men;  not  to  spread 
desolation  over  vineyards,  olive-yards, 
and  fields  of  grain,  f  That  they  should 
not  hurt  the  grass  of  the  earth,  Ac.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  viii.  7.  The  meaning  here 
is  plain.  There  would  be  some  sense 
in  which  these  invaders  would  be  cha¬ 
racterized  in  a  manner  that  was  not 
common  among  invaders,  to  wit,  that 
they  would  show  particular  care  not  to 
carry  their  devastations  into  the  vegeta¬ 
ble  world.  Their  warfare  would  be  with 
men,  and  not  with  orchards  and  green 
fields.  But  only  those  men  tvhich  have 
not  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  vii.  2,  3.  They  com¬ 
menced  war  against  that  part  of  the 
human  race  only.  The  language  here 
properly  denotes  those  who  were  not  the 


244 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


5  And  to  them  it  was  given  that 
they  should  not  kill  them,  hut 
that  they  should  he  tormented  five 


friends  of  God.  It  may  here  refer,  how¬ 
ever,  either  to  those  who  in  reality  were 
not  such,  or  to  those  who  were  regarded 
by  him  who  gave  this  command  as  not 
being  such.  In  the  former  case,  the 
commission  would  have  respect  to  real 
infidels  in  the  sight  of  God;  that  is,  to 
those  who  rejected  the  true  religion ;  in 
the  latter,  it  would  express  the  sentiment 
of  the  leader  of  this  host,  as  referring  to 
those  who  in  his  apprehension  were  in¬ 
fidels  or  enemies  of  God.  The  true  in¬ 
terpretation  must  depend  on  the  sense 
in  which  we  understand  the  phrase  “it 
was  commanded  ;”  whether  as  referring 
to  God,  or  to  the  leader  of  the  host  him¬ 
self.  The  language,  therefore,  is  am¬ 
biguous,  and  the  meaning  must  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  the  other  parts  of  the  passage. 
Either  method  of  understanding  the 
passage  would  be  in  accordance  with  its 
fair  interpretation. 

5.  And  to  them  it  was  given.  There  is 
here  the  same  indefiniteness  as  in  the 
former  verse,  the  impersonal  verb  being 
here  also  used.  The  writer  does  not 
say  by  whom  this  power  was  given, 
whether  by  God,  or  by  the  leader  of  the 
host.  It  may  be  admitted,  however, 
that  the  most  natural  interpretation 
is  to  suppose  that  it  was  given  them 
by  God,  and  that  this  was  the  exe¬ 
cution  of  his  purpose  in  this  case.  Still, 
it  is  remarkable  that  this  is  not  directly 
affirmed,  and  that  the  language  is  so 
general  as  to  admit  of  the  other  applica¬ 
tion.  The  fact  that  they  did  not  kill 
them,  but  tormented  them  —  if  such  a 
fact  should  be  found  to  exist — would  be 
in  every  sense  a  fulfilment  of  what  is 
here  said.  <|f  That  they  should  not  kill 
them.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the 
nature  of  the  symbol.  The  locusts  do 
not  themselves  destroy  any  living  crea¬ 
ture;  and  the  sting  of  the  scorpion, 
though  exceedingly  painful,  is  not  usu¬ 
ally  fatal.  The  proper  fulfilment  of  this 
would  be  found  in  that  which  would  not 
be  generally  fatal,  but  which  would  dif¬ 
fuse  misery  and  wretchedness.  Comp, 
ver.  6.  Perhaps  all  that  would  be  ne¬ 
cessarily  meant  by  this,  would  be,  not 
that  individual  men  would  not  be  killed, 


months  :  and  their  torment  was  as 
the  torment  of  a  scorpion,  when  he 
striketh  a  man. 


but  that  they  would  be  sent  to  inflict 
plagues  and  torments  rather  than  to 
take  life,  and  that  the  characteristic 
effects  of  their  appearing  would  be  dis¬ 
tress  and  suffering  rather  than  death. — 
There  may  be  included  in  the  fair  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  words,  general  distress 
and  sorrow ;  acts  of  oppression,  cruelty, 
and  violence ;  such  a  condition  of  public 
suffering  that  men  would  regard  death  as 
a  relief  if  they  could  find  it.®  f  But  that 
they  should  be  tormented.  That  is,  that 
they  should  be  subjected  to  ills  and 
troubles  which  might  be  properly  com¬ 
pared  with  the  sting  of  a  scorpion. 

Five  months.  So  far  as  the  words  here 
are  concerned,  this  might  be  taken  lite¬ 
rally,  denoting  five  months  or  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  days ;  or  as  a  prophetic 
reckoning,  where  a  day  stands  for  a 
year.  Comp.  Notes  on  Dan.  ix.  24,  seq. 
The  latter  is  undoubtedly  the  correct 
interpretation  here,  for  it  is  the  charac¬ 
ter  of  the  book  thus  to  reckon  time. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  15.  If  this  be  the 
true  method  of  reckoning  here,  then  it 
will  be  necessary  to  find  some  events 
which  will  embrace  about  the  period  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  during 
which  this  distress  and  sorrow  would 
continue.  The  proper  laws  of  interpre¬ 
tation  demand  that  one  or  the  other  of 
these  periods  should  be  found — either 
that  of  five  months  literally,  or  that  of 
an  hundred  and  fifty  years.  It  may  be 
true,  as  Prof.  Stuart  suggests  (in  loc.) 
that the  usual  time  of  locusts  is  from 
May  to  September,  inclusive  =  five 
months.”  It  may  be  true,  also,  that  this 
symbol  was  chosen  partly  because  that 
was  the  fact,  and  they  would,  from  that 
fact,  be  well  adapted  to  symbolize  a 
period  that  could  be  spoken  of  as  “  five 
months ;”  but  still  the  meaning  must  be 
more  than  simply  it  was  “a  short  p>e- 
riod,”  as  he  supposes.  The  phrase  a 
few  months  might  designate  such  a  pe¬ 
riod,  but  if  that  had  been  the  writer’s 
intention,  he  would  not  have  selected 
the  definite  number  Jive.  And  their 
torment  was  as  the  torment  of  a  scorpion , 
<fec.  See  Notes  on  ver.  3.  That  is,  it 
would  be  painful,  severe,  dangerous. 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


6  And  in  those  days  shall  men  “ 
seek  death,  and  shall  not  find  it; 
and  shall  desire  to  die,  and  death 
shall  flee  from  them. 


6.  And  in  those  days  shall  men  seek 
death,  &c.  See  Notes  on  ver.  5.  It  is 
very  easy  to  conceive  of  such  a  state  of 
things  as  is  here  described,  and,  indeed, 
this  has  not  been  very  uncommon  in  the 
world.  It  is  a  state  where  the  distress  is 
so  great  that  men  would  consider  death 
a  relief,  and  where  they  anxiously  look 
to  the  time  when  they  may  be  released 
from  their  sufferings  by  death.  In  the 
case  before  us,  it  is  not  intimated  that 
they  would  lay  violent  hands  on  them- 
selves,  or  that  they  would  take  any  po¬ 
sitive  measures  to  end  their  sufferings, 
and  this,  perhaps,  may  be  a  circumstance 
of  some  importance  to  show  that  the 
persons  referred  to  were  servants  of 
God.  When  it  is  said  that  “  they  would 
seek  death,”  it  can  only  be  meant  that 

they  would  look  out  for  it — or  desire  it _ 

as  the  end  of  their  sorrows.  This  is 
descriptive,  as  we  shall  see,  of  a  particu¬ 
lar  period  of  the  world ;  but  the  language 
is  beautifully  applicable  to  what  occurs 
in  all  ages,  and  in  all  lands.  There  is 
always  a  great  number  of  sufferers  who 
are  looking  forward  to  death  as  a  re¬ 
lief.  In  cells  and  dungeons ;  on  bods  of 
pain  and  languishing;  in  scenes  of  po¬ 
verty  and  want;  in  blighted  hopes  and 
disappointed  affections,  how  many  are 
there  who  would  be  glad  to  die,  and 
who  have  no  hope  of  an  end  of  suffering 
but  in  the  grave!  A  few,  by  the  pistol* 
by  the  halter,  by  poison,  or  by  drown¬ 
ing,  seek  thus  to  end  their  woes.  A 
large  part  look  forward  to  death  as  a 
release,  when,  if  the  reality  were  known, 
death  would  furnish  no  such  relief,  for 
there  are  deeper  and  longer  woes  be¬ 
yond  the  grave  than  there  are  this  side 
of  it.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job  iii.  20-22. 
But  to  a  portion  death  will  be  a  relief! 

It  will  be  an  end  of  sufferings.  They 
will  find  peace  in  the  grave;  and  are 
assured  they  shall  suffer  no  more.  Such 
bear  their  trials  with  patience,  for  the 
end  of  all  sorrow  to  them  is  near,  and 
death  will  come  to  release  their  spirits 
from  the  suffering  clay,  and  to  bear 
them  in  triumph  to  a  world  where  a 
pang  shall  never  bo  felt,  and  a  tear 
never  shed. 

21.  * 


245 

7  And  the  shapes  *  of  the  locusts 
icere  like  unto  horses  prepared  unto 
battle ;  and  on  their  heads  were  as 

a  Job  3.  21 ;  Je.  8»  3.  b  Joel  2.  4. 


7-  And  the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were 
luce  unto  horses  prepared  for  battle. 
ilie  resemblance  between  the  locust  and 
the  horse,  dissimilar  as  they  are  in  most 
respects,  has  been  often  marked.  Dr. 
Robmson  (Bib.  Research,  i.  59),  says,* 
.  We  fo“nd  to-day  upon  the  shrubs  an 
insect,  either  a  species  of  black  locust, 
or  much  resembling  them,  which  our 
Bedawin  called  Faras  el-Jundy,  ‘sol¬ 
diers’  horses.’  They  said  these  insects 
were  common  on  Mount  Sinai,  of  a 
green  color,  and  were  found  on  dead 
trees,  but  did  them  no  injury.”  The 
editor  of  the  Pictorial  Bible  makes  the 
following  remarks :  “  The  first  time  we 
saw  locusts  browsing  with  their  wArns 
closed,  the  idea  of  comparing  them  to 
horses  arose  spontaneously  to  our  minds 
as  we  had  not  previously  met  with 
such  a  comparison,  and  did  not  at  that 
time  advert  to  the  present  text  [Joel  ii. 
4.]  The  resemblance  in  the  head  first 
struck  our  attention,  and  this  notion, 
having  once  arisen,  other  analogies  were 
found  or  imagined  in  its  general  appear¬ 
ance  andaction  in  feeding.  We  havesince 
found  the  observation  very  common.  The 
Italians,  indeed,  from  this  resemblance, 
call  the  locust  cavaletta,  or  little  horse. 
bir  W.  Ouseley  reports,  ‘Zakaria  Cazvini 
divides  the  locusts  into  two  classes, 
like  horsemen  and  footmen  —  mounted 
and  pedestrian.’  Niebuhr  says,  that  he 
heard  from  a  Bedouin,  near  Bussorah,  a 
particular  comparison  of  the  locust  to 
other  animals;  but  as  this  passage  of 
scripture  did  not  occur  to  him  at  the 
time,  he  thought  it  a  mere  fancy  of  the 
Arab  s,  till  ho  heard  it  repeated  at 
Bagdad.  He  compared  the  head  of  the 
locust  to  that  of  the  horse ;  the  feet  to 
those  of  the  camel ;  the  belly  with  that 
of  a  serpent;  the  tail  with  that  of  a 
scorpion;  and  the  feelers  (if  Niebuhr 
remembered  rightly)  to  the  hair  of  a 
virgin."  Piet.  Bib.  on  Joel,  ii.  4.  The 
resemblance  to  horses  would  naturally 
suggest  the  idea  of  cavalry,  as  being 
referred  to  by  the  symbol.  ^ [  And  on 
their  heads  were,  as  it  icere,  crowns 
like  gold.  The  wrifer  does  not  say 
either  that  these  were  literally  crowns, 


246 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96, 


it  were  “  crowns  like  gold,  and  their 
feces  4  loere  as  the  faces  of  men. 

8  And  they  had  hair  as  the  hair 

a  Na.  3. 17.  b  Da.  7.  4,  8. 

or  that  they  were  actually  made  of  gold. 
They  were  “as  it  were” — 'og  — crowns, 
and  they  were  like — Zgoioi — gold.  That 
is,  as  seen  by  him,  they  had  a  resem¬ 
blance  to  crowns  or  diadems,  and  they 
also  resembled  gold  in  their  color  and 
brilliancy.  The  word  crown — arttpavog — 
means  properly  a  circlet,  chaplet,  en¬ 
circling  the  head,  (a)  as  an  emblem  of 
royal  dignity,  and  as  worn  by  kings ; 
(b)  as  conferred  on  the  victors  in  the 
public  games  —  a  chaplet,  a  wreath ; 
(e)  as  an  ornament,  honor,  or  glory. 
Phil.  iv.  1.  No  particular  shape  is 
designated  by  the  word  ari^avog —  Ste¬ 
phanos,  and  perhaps  the  word  crown 
does  not  quite  express  the  meaning.  The 
word  diadem  would  come  nearer  to  it. 
The  true  notion  in  the  word  is  that  of 
something  that  is  passed  around  the 
head,  and  that  encircles  it,  and  as  such 
it  would  well  describe  the  appearance  of 
a  turban  as  seen  at  a  distance.  On  the 
supposition  that  the  symbolic  beings 
here  referred  to  had  turbans  on  their 
heads,  and  on  the  supposition  that 
something  was  referred  to  which  was 
not  much  worn  in  the  time  of  John, 
and  which  therefore  had  no  name,  the 
word  Stephanos,  or  diadem  would  be 
likely  to  be  used  in  describing  it.  This, 
too,  would  accord  with  the  use  of  the 
phrase  “  as  it  were”  —  iig.  The  writer 
saw  such  head-ornaments  as  he  was 
accustomed  to  see.  They  were  not  ex¬ 
actly  crowns  or  diadems,  but  they  had  a 
resemblance  to  them,  and  he,  therefore, 
uses  this  language  :  “  and  on  their  heads 
were,  as  it  were,  crowns.”  Suppose  that 
these  were  turbans,  and  that  they  were 
not  in  common  use  in  the  time  of  John, 
and  that  they  had,  therefore,  no  name, 
would  not  this  be  the  exact  language 
which  he  would  use  in  describing  them  ? 
The  same  remarks  may  be  made  re¬ 
specting  the  other  expression  :  like  gold. 
They  were  not  pure  gold ;  hut  they  had 
a  resemblance  to  it.  Would  not  a  yellow 
turban  correspond  with  all  that  is  said 
in  this  description  ?  And  their  faces 
were  as  the  faces  of  men.  They  had  a 
human  countenance.  This  would  indi¬ 
cate  that,  after  all,  they  were  human 


of  women,  and  their  teeth  c  were  as 
the  teeth  of  lions. 

9  And  they  had  breastplates,  as 

c  Ps.  57.  4;  Joel  1.  6. 


beings  that  the  symbol  described,  though 
they  had  come  up  from  the  bottomless 
pit.  Horsemen,  in  strange  apparel,  with 
a  strange  head-dress,  would  be  all  that 
would  be  properly  denoted  by  this. 

8.  And  they  had  hair  as  the  hair  of 
women.  Long  hair;  not  such  as  men 
commonly  wear,  but  such  as  women 
wear.  See  Notes  on  1  Cor.  xi.  14. 
This  struck  John  as  a  peculiarity,  that, 
though  warriors,  they  should  have  the 
appearance  of  effeminacy  indicated  by 
allowing  their  hair  to  grow  long.  It  is 
clear  from  this,  that  John  regarded  their 
appearance  as  unusual  and  remarkable. 
Though  manifestly  designed  to  represent 
an  army,  yet  it  was  not  the  usual  ap¬ 
pearance  of  men  who  went  forth  to 
battle.  Among  the  Greeks  of  ancient 
times,  indeed,  long  hair  was  not  uncom¬ 
mon  (see  the  Notes  above  referred  to 
on  1  Cor.  xi.  14),  but  this  was  by  no 
means  the  usual  custom  among  the 
ancients ;  and  the  fact  that  these  war¬ 
riors  had  long  hair  like  women  was  a 
circumstance  that  would  distinguish 
them  particularly  from  others.  On  this 
comparison  of  the  appearance  of  the 
locusts  with  the  hair  of  women,  see  the 
remarks  of  Niebuhr,  in  the  Notes  on 
ver  7.  And  their  teeth  were  as  the 
teeth  of  lions.  Strong;  fitted  to  devour. 
The  teeth  of  the  locust  are  by  no  means 
prominent,  though  they  are  strong,  for 
they  readily  cut  down,  and  eat  up,  all 
vegetable  substances  that  come  in  their 
way.  But  it  is  evident  that  John  means 
to  say  that  there  was  much  that  was  un¬ 
usual  and  remarkable  in  the  teeth  of 
these  locusts.  They  would  be  ravenous 
and  fierce,  and  would  spread  terror  and 
desolation  like  the  lions  of  the  desert. 

9.  And  they  had  breastplates,  as  it 
were  breastplates  of  iron.  Hard,  horny, 
impenetrable  as  if  they  were  made  of 
iron.  The  locust  has  a  firm  and  hard 
cuticle  on  the  fore-part  of  the  breast, 
which  serves  for  a  shield  or  defence 
while  it  moves  in  the  thorny  and  furzy 
vegetation.  On  those  which  John  saw, 
this  was  peculiarly  hard  and  horny,  and 
would  thus  be  well  adapted  to  be  an  em¬ 
blem  of  tho  breastplates  of  iron  com- 


CHAPTER  IX. 


247 


A.  D.  96.] 


it  were  breastplates  of  iron ;  and 
the  sound  of  their  wings  was  as  the 
sound  of c  chariots  of  many  horses 
running  to  battle. 

10  And  they  had  tails  like  unto 

a  Na.  2.  4. 


monly  worn  by  ancient  warriors.  The 
meaning  is,  that  the  warriors  referred  to 
would  be  well  clad  with  defensive  armor. 
*[  And  the  sound  of  their  wings  was  as  the 
sound  of  chariots  of  many  horses,  running 
to  battle. '  The  noise  made  by  locusts  is 
often  spoken  of  by  travellers,  and  the 
comparison  of  that  noise  with  that  of 
chariots  rushing  to  battle,  is  not  only 
appropriate,  but  also  indicates  clearly 
what  was  symbolized.  It  was  an  army 
that  was  symbolized,  and  every  thing 
about  them  served  to  represent  hosts  of 
men,  well  armed,  rushing  to  conflict. 
The  same  thing  here  referred  to  is 
noticed  by  Joel  (ch.  ii.  4,  5,  .7) : 

41  The  appearance  of  "them  is  as  the  appearance  of 
horses ; 

And  as  horsemen  so  shall  they  run. 

Like  the  noise  of  chariots  on  the  tops  of  mountains, 
shall  they  leap ; 

Like  the  noise  of  a  flame  of  fire  that  devoureth  the 
stubbie ; 

As  a  6trong  people  set  in  battle  array 

They  shall  run  like  mighty  men 4 

They  shall  climb  the  wall  like  men  of  war; 

And  they  shall  march  every  one  his  ways,  and  shall 
not  break  their  ranks,”  &c. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Volney,  who  had 
no  intention  of  illustrating  the  truth  of 
Scripture,  has  given  a  description  of 
locusts,  as  if  he  meant  to  confirm  the 
truth  of  what  is  here  said:  “  Syria,” 
says  he,  “as  well  as  Egypt,  Persia,  and 
almost  all  the  South  of  Asia,  is  subject 
to  another  calamity  no  less  dreadful 
jfthan  earthquakes]  ;  I  mean  those  clouds 
of  locusts  so  often  mentioned  by  travel¬ 
lers.  The  quantity  of  these  insects  is 
incredible  to  all  who  have  not  them¬ 
selves  witnessed  their  astounding  num¬ 
bers;  the  whole  earth  is  covered  with 
them  for  the  space  of  several  leagues. 
The  noise  they  make  in  browsing  on  the 
trees  and  herbage  may  be  heard  to  a 
great  distance,  and  resembles  that  of  an 
army  foraging  in  secret.”  Travels  in 
Egypt  and  Syria,  voL  i.  pp.  283,  284. 

10.  And  they  had  tails  like  unto  scor¬ 
pions.  The  fancy  of  an  Arab  now  often 
discerns  a  resemblance  between  the  tail 
of  the  locust  and  the  scorpion.  See  the 
remark  of  Niebuhr,  quoted  in  the  Notes 
on  ver.  7.  If  And  there  were  stings  in 


scorpions,  and  there  were  stings  in 
their  tails :  and  1  their  power  was 
to  hurt  men  five  months. 

11  And  they  had  a  king  c  over 
them,  which  is  the  angel  of  the 

6  Ver.  5.  c  Ep.  2.  2. 


their  tails.  Like  the  stings  of  scorpions. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  3.  This  made  the 
locusts  which  appeared  to  John  the 
more  remarkable,  for,  though  the  fancy 
may  imagine  a  resemblance  between  the 
tail  of  a  locust  and  a  scorpion,  yet  the 
locusts  have  properly  no  sting.  The 
only  thing  which  they  have  resembling 
a  sting  is  a  hard  bony  substance,  like  a 
needle,  with  which  the  female  punctures 
the  bark  and  wood  of  trees  in  order  to 
deposit  her  eggs.  It  has,  however,  no 
adaptation  like  a  sting,  for  conveying 
poison  into  a  wound.  These,  however, 
appeared  to  be  armed  with  stings  pro¬ 
perly  so  called.  And  their  power  teas 
to  hnrt  men.  Not  primarily  to  kill  men, 
but  to  inflict  on  them  various  kinds  of 
tortures.  See  Notes  on  ver.  5.  Tho 
word  here  used — a&isijaai,  rendered  to 
hurt,  is  different  from  the  word  in  ver.  5 
—  fiaaiviaSHai — rendered  should  be  tor¬ 
mented. .  This  word  properly  means  to 
do  wrong,  to  do  unjustly,  to  injure,  to 
hurt ;  and  the  two  words  would  seem  to 
convey  the  idea  that  they  would  produce 
distress  by  doing  wrong  to  others;  or  by 
dealing  unjustly  with  them.  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  wrong  would  be  by  in¬ 
flicting  bodily  torments,  but  would  be 
characterized  by  that  injustice  towards 
others  which  produces  distress  and  an¬ 
guish.  Five  months.  See  Notes  on  ver.  5. 

11.  And  they  had  a  king  over  them. 
A  ruler  who  marshalled  their  hosts.  Lo¬ 
custs  often,  and  indeed  generally,  move 
in  bands,  though  they  do  not  appear 
to  be  under  the  direction  of  any  one  as 
a  particular  ruler  or  guide.  In  this  case 
it  struck  John  as  a  remarkable  pecu¬ 
liarity  that  they  had  a  king  —  a  king 
who,  it  would  seem,  had  the  absolute 
control,  and  to  whom  was  to  be  traced 
all  the  destruction  which  would  ensue 
from  their  emerging  from  the  bottom¬ 
less  pit.  Which  is  the  angel  of  the 
bottomless  pit.  Notes,  ver.  1.  The  word 
angel  here  would  seem  to  refer  to  the 
chief  of  the  evil  angels,  who  presided 
over  the  dark  and  gloomy  regions  from 
whence  the  locusts  seemed  to  emerge. 


248 


KEY  ELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


bottomless  pit,  whose  name  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  is  Abaddon,  but  in 


This  may  either  mean  that  this  evil 
angel  seemed  to  command  them  person¬ 
ally,  or  that  his  spirit  was  infused  into 
the  leader  of  these  hosts.  Whose  name 
in  the  Hebrew  tongue  is  Abaddon.  The 
name  Abaddon  means  literally  destruc¬ 
tion,  and  is  the  same  as  Apollyon.  But 
in  the  Greek  tongue  hath  his  name 
Apollyon.  From  a-niWvyi  —  to  destroy. 
The  word  properly  denotes  a  destroyer, 
and  the  name  is  given  to  this  king  of 
the  hosts  represented  by  the  locusts, 
because  this  would  be  bis  principal  cha¬ 
racteristic. 

After  this  minute  explanation  of  the 


the  Greek  tongue  hath  his  name 
“Apollyon. 

o  That  is,  a  destroyer. 

literal  meaning  of  the  symbol,  it  may  be 
useful,  before  attempting  to  apply  it, 
and  to  ascertain  the  events  designed  to 
be  represented,  to  have  a  distinct  im¬ 
pression  of  the  principal  image  —  the 
locust.  It  is  evident  that  this  is,  in 
many  respects,  a  creature  of  the  ima¬ 
gination,  and  that  we  are  not  to  expect 
the  exact  representation  to  be  found  in 
any  forms  of  actual  existence  in  the 
animal  creation.  The  following  cut, 
prepared  by  Mr.  Elliott  (vol.  i.  p.  410), 
will  give  a  sufficiently  accurate  repre¬ 
sentation  of  this  symbolical  figure  as  it 
appeared  to  John. 


The  question  now  is,  whether  any 
events  occurred  in  history,  subsequent 
to,  and  succeeding  those  supposed  to  be 
referred  to  in  the  fourth  seal,  to  which 
this  symbol  would  be  applicable. — Rea¬ 
sons  have  already  been  suggested  for 
supposing  that  there  was  a  transfer  of 
the  seat  of  the  operations  to  another 
part  of  the  world.  The  first  four  trum¬ 
pets  referred  to  a  continual  series  of 
events  of  the  same  general  character, 
and  having  a  proper  close.  These 
have  been  explained  as  referring  to  the 
successive  shocks  which  terminated  in 
the  downfall  of  the  Western  empire.  At 
the  close  of  that  series  there  is  a  pause 
in  the  representation  (ch.  viii.  13),  and  a 
solemn  proclamation  that  other  scenes 
were  to  open  distinguished  for  woe. 
These  were  to  be  symbolized  in  the 


sounding  of  the  remaining  three  trum¬ 
pets,  embracing  the  whole  period  till  the 
consummation  of  all  things  —  or  sketch¬ 
ing  great  and  momentous  events  in  the 
future,  until  the  volume  sealed  with  the 
seven  seals  (ch.  v.  1)  should  have  been 
wholly  unrolled  and  its  contents  dis¬ 
closed.  The  whole  scene  now  is  changed. 
Rome  has  fallen.  It  has  passed  into 
the  hands  of  strangers.  The  power  that 
had  spread  itself  over  the  world  has,  in 
that  form,  come  to  an  end,  and  is  to 
exist  no  more — though,  as  we  shall  see 
(ch.  xi.,  seq.),  another  power,  quite  as 
formidable,  existing  there,  is  to  be 
described  by  a  new  set  of  symbols.  But 
here  (ch.  ix.)  anew  power  appears.  The 
scenery  is  all  Oriental,  and  clearly  has 
reference  to  events  that  were  to  spring 
up  in  the  East.  With  surprising  una- 


249 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  IX. 


nimity,  commentators  have  agreed  in 
regarding  this  as  referring  to  the  em¬ 
pire  of  the  Saracens,  or  to  the  rise  and 
progress  of  the  religion,  and  the  empire, 
set  up  by  Mohammed.  The  enquiry 
now  is,  whether  the  circumstances  intro¬ 
duced  into  the  symbol  find  a  proper  ful¬ 
filment  in  the  rise  of  the  Saracenic 
power,  and  in  the  conquests  of  the 
Prophet  of  Meeca. 

(1)  The  country  where  the  scene  is  laid. 
As  already  remarked,  the  scene  is  Orien- 
tal  for  the  mention  of  locusts  naturally 
suggests  the  Past — 'that  being  the  part 
of  the  world  where  they  abound,  and 
they  being  in  fact  peculiarly  an  Oriental 
plague.  It  may  now  be  added,  that,  in 
a  more  strict  and  proper  sense,  Arabia 
may  be  intended ;  that  is,  if  it  be  ad¬ 
mitted  that  the  design  was  to  symbolize 
events  pertaining  to  Arabia,  or  the  ga¬ 
thering  of  the  hosts  of  Arabia  for  con¬ 
quest,  the  symbol  of  locusts  would  have 
been  employed,  for  the  locust,  the 
groundwork  of  the  symbol,  is  peculiarly 
Arabic.  It  was  the  east  wind  which 
brought  the  locusts  on  Egypt  (Ex.  x. 
13),  and  they  must  therefore  have  come 
from  some  portion  of  Arabia — for  Arabia 
is  the  land  that  lies  over  against  Egypt 
in  the  East.  Such,  too,  is  the  testimony 
of  Volney,  “  the  most  judicious,”  as  Mr. 
Gibbon  calls  him,  “  of  modern  travel¬ 
lers.”  “  The  inhabitants  of  Syria,”  says 
he,  “  have  remarked  that  locusts  come 
constantly  from  the  desert  of  Arabia.” 
Ch,  xx.  Sect.  5.  All  that  is  necessary  to 
say  further  on  this  point  is,  that  on  the 
supposition  that  it  was  the  design  of  the 
Spirit  of  inspiration  in  the  passage 
before  us,  to  refer  to  the  followers  of 
Mohammed,  the  image  of  the  locusts 
was  that  which  would  be  naturally  se¬ 
lected.  There  was  no  other  one  so  ap¬ 
propriate  and  so  striking ;  no  one  that 
would  so  naturally  designate  the  coun¬ 
try  of  Arabia.  As  some  confirmation  of 
this,  or  as  showing  how  natural  the 
symbol  would  be,  a  remark  may  be  in¬ 
troduced  from  Mr.  Forster.  In  his  Ma- 
hommedanism  Unveiled  (i.  217),  he  says, 
“In  the  Bedoween  romance  of  Antar, 
the  locust  is  introduced  as  the  national 
emblem  of  the  Ishmaelites.  And  it  is  a 
remarkable  coincidence  that  Mahom- 
medan  tradition  speaks  of  locusts  having 
dropped  into  the  hands  of  Mahomet, 
bearing  on  their  wings  this  inscription 
• — ‘We  are  the  army  of  the  Great 


God.’  ”  These  circumstances  will  show 
the  propriety  of  the  symbol  on  the 
supposition  that  it  refers  to  Arabia  and 
the  Saracens. 

(2)  The  people.  The  question  is,  whe¬ 
ther  there  was  any  thing  in  the  symbol, 
as  described  by  John,  which  would  pro¬ 
perly  designate  the  followers  of  Moham¬ 
med,  on  the  supposition  that  it  was 
designed  to  have  such  a  reference, 
(a)  As  to  numbers.  Judges  vi.  5: 
“They  (the  Midianite  Arabs)  came  as 
locusts  for  multitude.”  See  Notes  on 
Vi?r’  ^°thing  would  better  represent 
the  numbers  of  the  Saracenic  hordes  that 
came  out  of  Arabia,  and  that  spread 
over  the  East,  over  Egypt,  Libya,  Mau¬ 
ritania,  Spain,  and  that  threatened  to 
spread  over  Europe,  than  such  an  army 
of  locusts.  “  One  hundred  years  after 
his  flight  [Mohammed]  from  Mecca,” 
says  Mr.  Gibbon,  “the  arms  and  reigns 
of  his  successors  extended  from  India 
to  the  Atlantic  ocean,  over  the  various 
and  distant  provinces  which  may  be 
comprised  under  the  names  of  Persia, 
Syria,  Egypt,  Africa,  and  Spain.”  iii.  410. 
“At  the  end  of  the  first  century  of  the 
Hegira,  the  caliphs  were  the  most  potent 
and  absolute  monarchs  on  the  globe. 
Under  the  last  of  the  Ommiades,  the 
Arabian  empire  extended  two  hundred 
days’  journey  from  east  to  west,  from 
the  confines  of  Tartary  and  India  to  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  ocean.”  Ibid,  p.  460. 
In  regard  to  the  immense  hosts  employed 
in  these  conquests,  an  idea  may  be 
formed  by  a  perusal  of  the  whole  51st 
chapter  in  Gibbon  (vol.  iii.  pp.  408-461). 
Those  hosts  issued  primarily  from  Ara¬ 
bia,  and  in  their  numbers  would  be  well 
compared  with  the  swarms  of  locusts 
that  issued  from  the  same  country,  so 
numerous  as  to  darken  the  sky.  (5)  The 
description  of  the  people.  Their  faces 
were  as  the.  faces  of  men.  This  would 
seem  to  be  in  contrast  with  other  people, 
or  to  denote  something  that  was  peculiar 
in  the  appearance  of  the  persons  repre¬ 
sented.  In  other  words,  the  meaning 
would  seem  to  be,  that  there  was  some¬ 
thing  manly  and  warlike  in  their  appear¬ 
ance,  so  far  as  their  faces  were  concerned. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  appearance  of 
the  Goths  (represented,  as  I  suppose, 
under  the  previous  trumpets)  is  described 
by  Jerome  (Com.  on  Isa.  viii.)  as  quite 
the  reverse.  They  are  described  as 
having  faces  shaven  and  smooth j  faces, 


250 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96 


in  contrast  with  the  bearded  Romans, 
like  women’s  faces.*  Is  it  fancy  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  reference  here  is  to  the 
beard  and  moustache  of  the  Arabic 
hosts?  We  know  with  what  care  they 
regarded  the  beard ;  and  if  a  representa¬ 
tion  was  made  of  them,  especially  in 
contrast  with  nations  that  shaved  their 
faces,  and  who  thus  resembled  women, 
it  would  be  natural  to  speak  of  those 
represented  in  the  symbol  as  “having 
faces  as  the  faces  of  men.”  They  had 
hair  as  the  hair  of  women.  A  strange 
mingling  of  the  appearance  of  effemi¬ 
nacy  with  the  indication  of  manliness 
and  courage.  See  Notes  on  ver.  8.  And 
yet  this  strictly  accords  with  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  Arabs  or  Saracens.  Pliny, 
the  contemporary  of  John,  speaks  of  the 
Arabs  then  as  having  the  hair  long  and 
uncut,  with  the  moustache  on  the  upper 
lip,  or  the  beard :  Arabes  mitrati  sunt, 
aut  intonso  crine.  Barba  abraditur, 
praeterquam  in  superior e  lahro.  Aliis 
et  haec  intonsa.  Nat.  His.  vi.  28.  So 
Solinus  describes  them  in  the  third  cen¬ 
tury  (Plurimis  crinis  intonsus,  mitrata 
capita,  pars  rasa  in  cutem  barba,  c.  53)  ; 
so  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  in  the  fourth 
century  ( Grinitus  quidam  a  Saraceno- 
rum  cuneo,  xxxi.  16) ;  and  so  Claudian, 
Theodore  of  Mopsuesta,  and  Jerome,  in 
the  fifth.  Jerome  lived  about  two  cen¬ 
turies  before  the  great  Saracen  invasion, 
and  as  he  lived  at  Bethlehem,  on  the 
borders  of  Arabia,  he  must  have  been 
familiar  with  the  appearance  of  the 
Arabs.  Still  later,  in  that  most  charac¬ 
teristic  of  Arab  poems,  Antar,  a  poem 
written  in  the  time  of  Mohammed’s 
childhood,  we  find  the  moustache,  and 
the  beard,  and  the  long  flowing  hair  on 
the  shoulder,  and  the  turban,  all  speci¬ 
fied  as  characteristic  of  the  Arabians. 
“  He  adjusted  himself  properly,  twisted 
his  whiskers,  and  folded  up  his  hair  un¬ 
der  his  turban ,  drawing  it  from  off  his 
shoulders.”  i.  340.  “His  hair  flowed 
down  on  his  shoulders.”  i.  169.  “Antar 
cut  off  Maudi’s  hair  in  revenge  and  in¬ 
sult.”  iii.  117.  “We  will  hang  him  up 
by  his  hair.”  iv.  325.  See  Elliott,  i. 
411,  412.  Comp.  Newton  on  the  Pro¬ 
phecies,  p.  485.  And  on  their  heads 
were  as  it  were  crowns  of  gold.  Notes 
ver  7.  That  is,  diadems,  or  something 
that  appeared  like  crowns,  or  chaplets. 

*  Foemineas  incisas  facies  praeferentes,  virorum  et 
tene  barbatorum  fugienta  terga  confodiunt. 


This  will  agree  well  with  the  turban 
worn  by  the  Arabs  or  Saracens,  and 
which  was  quite  characteristic  of  them 
in  the  early  periods  when  they  became 
known.  So  in  the  passage  already 
quoted,  Pliny  speaks  of  them  as  Arabes 
mitrati;  so  Solinus,  mitrata  capita ;  so 
in  the  poem  of  Antar,  “  he  folded  up  his 
hair  under  his  turban.”  It  is  remarkable 
also  that  Ezekiel  (ch.  xxiii.  42)  describes 
the  turbans  of  the  Sabean  or  Keturite 
Arabs,  under  the  very  appellation  here 
used  by  John  :  “  Sabeans  from  the  wil¬ 
derness,  which  put  beautiful  crowns  upon 
their  heads.”  So  in  the  Preface  to  An¬ 
tar,  it  is  said,  “It  was  a  usual  saying 
among  them,  that  God  had  bestowed 
four  peculiar  things  on  the  Arabs ;  that 
their  turbans  should  be  unto  them  in¬ 
stead  of  diadems,  their  tents  instead  of 
walls  and  houses,  their  swords  instead 
of  intrenchments,  and  their  poems  in¬ 
stead  of  written  laws.”  Mr.  Forster,  in 
his  “Mohammedanism Unveiled,”  quotes 
as  a  precept  of  Mohammed,  “  Make  a 
point  of  wearing  turbans,  because  it  is 
the  way  of  angels.”  Turbans  might 
then  with  propriety  be  represented  as 
crowns,  and  no  doubt  these  were  often 
so  gilded  and  ornamented  that  they 
might  be  spoken  of  as  “  crowns  of  gold.” 
They  had  breastplates,  as'it  were  breast¬ 
plates  of  iron.  See  the  Notes  on  ver.  9. 
As  a  symbol,  this  would  be  properly  de¬ 
scriptive  of  the  Arabians  or  Saracens. 
In  the  poem  Antar,  the  steel  and  iron 
cuirasses  of  the  Arab  warriors  are  fre¬ 
quently  noticed :  “A  warrior  immersed 
in  steel  armor.”  ii.  203.  “  Fifteen  thou¬ 

sand  men  armed  with  cuirasses,  and  well 
accoutred  for  war.”  ii.  42.  “  They  were 

clothed  in  iron  armor,  and  brilliant 
cuirasses.”  i.  23.  “  Out  of  the  dust  ap¬ 

peared  horsemen  clad  in  iron.”  iii.  274. 
The  same  thing  occurs  in  the  Koran : 
“  God  hath  given  you  coats  of  mail  to 
defend  you  in  your  wars.”  ii.  104.  In 
the  history  of  Mohammed,  we  read  ex¬ 
pressly  of  the  cuirasses  of  himself  and 
of  his  Arab  troops.'  Seven  cuirasses  are 
noted  in  the  list  of  Mohammed’s  private 
armory.  Gagnier,  iii.  328-334.  In  his 
second  battle  with  the  Koreish,  seven 
hundred  of  his  little  army  are  spoken  of 
by  Mr.  Gibbon  as  armed  with  cuirasses. 
See  Elliott,  i.  413.  These  illustrations 
will  show  with  what  propriety  the  locusts 
in  the  symbol  were  represented  as  having 
breastplates  like  breastplates  of  iron. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


251 


A.  D.  96.] 


On  the  supposition  that  this  referred  to 
the  Arabs  and  the  Saracens,  this  would 
have  been  the  very  symbol  which  would 
have  been  used.  Indeed  all  the  features 
in  the  symbol  are  precisely  such  as 
would  properly  be  employed  on  the  sup¬ 
position  that  the  reference  was  to  them. 
It  is  true  that,  beforehand,  it  might  not 
have  been  practicable  to  describe  exactly 
what  people  were  referred  to,  but  (1)  it 
would  be  easy  to  see  that  some  fearful 
calamity  was  to  be  anticipated  from  the 
ravages  of  hosts  of  fearful  invaders ; 
and  (2)  when  the  events  occurred,  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  determining  to 
whom  this  application  should  be  made. 

(3)  The  time  when  (his  loould  occur. 
As  to  this,  there  can  be  no  difficulty  in 
the  application  to  the  Saracens.  On  the 
supposition  that  the  four  first  trumpets 
refer  to  the  downfall  of  the  Western  em¬ 
pire,  then  the  proper  time  supposed  to 
be  represented  by  this  symbol  is  subse¬ 
quent  to  that;  and  yet  the  manner  in 
which  the  last  three  trumpets  are  intro¬ 
duced  (ch.  viii.  13)  shows  that  there 
would  be  an  interval  between  the  sound¬ 
ing  of  the  last  of  the  four  trumpets  and 
the  sounding  of  the  fifth.  The  events 
referred  to,  as  I  have  supposed,  as  re¬ 
presented  by  the  fourth  trumpet,  occur¬ 
red  in  the  close  of  the  fifth  century  (A.  D. 
476-490).  The  principal  events  in  the 
seventh  century,  were  connected  with 
the  invasions  and  conquests  of  the  Sara¬ 
cens.  The  interval  of  a  century  is  not 
more  than  the  fair  interpretation  of  the 
proclamation  in  ch.  viii.  13  would  ius- 
tify. 

(4)  The  commission  given  to  the  sym¬ 
bolical  locusts.  This  embraces  the  fol¬ 
lowing  things :  —  (a)  They  were  not  to 
hurt  the  grass  of  the  earth,  nor  any 
green  thing;  (6)  they  were  especially  to 
go  against  those  who  had  not  the  seal  of 
God  in  their  foreheads;  (c)  they  were 
not  to  kill  them,  but  were  to  torment 
them.  —  They  were  not  to  hurt  the  grass 
of  the  earth,  <fcc.  Notes  ver.  4.  This 
agrees  remarkably  with  an  express  com¬ 
mand  in  the  Koran.  The  often-quoted 
order  of  the  Caliph  Aboubeker,  the 
father-in-law  and  successor  of  Moham¬ 
med,  issued  to  the  Saracen  hordes  on 
their  invasion  of  Syria,  shows  what  was 
understood  to  be  the  spirit  of  their  reli¬ 
gion  :  “  Remember  that  you  are  always 
in  the  presence  of  God,  on  the  verge  of 
death,  in  the  assurance  of  judgment,  | 


and  the  hope  of  paradise.  Avoid  injus¬ 
tice  and  oppression ;  consult  with  your 
brethren,  and  study  to  procure  the  love 
and  confidence  of  your  troops.  When 
you  fight  the  battle  of  the  Lord,  acquit 
yourselves  like  men,  without  turning 
your  backs ;  hut  let  not  the  victory  be 
stained  with  the  blood  of  women  or  chil¬ 
dren.  Destroy  no  palm-trees,  nor  burn 
any  fields  of  corn.  Cut  down  no  fruiU 
trees,  nor  do  any  mischief  to  cattle,  only 
such  as  you  kill  to  eat.  When  you  make 
any  covenant  or  article,  stand  to  it,  and 
be  as  good  as  your  word.  As  you  go  on 
you  will  find  some  religious  persons  who 
live  retired  in  monasteries,  and  propose 
to  themselves  to  serve  God  in  that  way  • 
let  them  alon6,  and  neither  kill  them” 
[And  to  them  it  was  given  that  they 
should  not  kill  them,  ver.  5],  "nor  de¬ 
stroy  their  monasteries,”  &c.  gibbon 
iii.  417,  418.  So  Mr.  Gibbon  notices  this 
precept  of  the  Koran  : — "  In  the  siege  of 
Tayaf,”  says  he,  "sixty  miles  from 
Mecca,  Mahomet  violated  his  own  laws 
by  the  extirpation  of  the  fruit-trees.”  ii. 
392.  The  same  order  existed  among  the 
Hebrews,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
Mohammed  derived  his  precept  from  the 
command  of  Moses  (Deut.  xx.  19),  though 
what  was  mercy  among  the  Hebrews  was 
probably  mere  policy  with  him.  This 
precept  is  the  more  remarkable  because 
it  has  been  the  usual  custom  in  war,  and 
particularly  among  barbarians  and  semi¬ 
barbarians,  to  destroy  grain  and  fruit, 
and  especially  to  cut  down  fruit-trees,  in 
order  to  do  greater  injury  to  an  enemy. 
Thus  we  have  seen  (Notes  on  ch.  viii. 
7),  that  in  the  invasion  of  the  Goths,' 
their  course  was  marked  by  desolations 
of  this  kind.  Thus,  in  more  modern 
times,  it  has  been  common  to  carry  the 
desolations  of  war  into  gardens,  orchards, 
and  vineyards.  In  the  single  province 
of  Upper  Messenia,  the  troops  of  Mo¬ 
hammed  Ali,  in  the  war  with  Greece, 
cut  down  half  a  million  of  olive-trees, 
and  thus  stripped  the  country  of  its 
means  of  wealth.  So  Scio  was  a  beau¬ 
tiful  spot,  the  seat  of  delightful  villas, 
and  gardens,  and  orchards;  and  in  one 
day  all  this  beauty  was  destroyed. — On 
the  supposition,  therefore,  that  this  pre¬ 
diction  had  reference  to  the  Saracens, 
nothing  could  be  more  appropriate.  In¬ 
deed,  in  all  the  history  of  barbarous  and 
savage  warfare,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  another  distinct  command  that  no 


252 


revelation, 


[A.  D.  96. 


injury  should  bo  done  to  gardens  and 
orchards.  ( b )  Their  commission  was 
expressly  against  “  those  men  who  had 
not  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads.” 
See  Notes  on  ver.  4.  That  is,  they  were 
to  go  either  against  those  who  were  not 
really  the  friends  of  God,  or  those  who 
in  their  estimation  were  not.  Perhaps, 
if  there  were  nothing  in  the  connexion 
to  demand  a  different  interpretation,  the 
former  would  be  the  most  natural  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  passage ;  but  the  lan¬ 
guage  may  be  understood  as  referring  to 
the  purpose  which  they  considered  them¬ 
selves  as  called  upon  to  execute: — that 
is,  that  they  were  to  go  against  those 
whom  they  regarded  as  being  strangers 
to  the  true  God,  to  wit,  idolaters.  Now, 
it  is  well  known  that  Mohammed  consi¬ 
dered  himself  called  upon,  principally, 
to  make  war  with  idolaters,  and  that  he 
went  fOTth,  professedly,  to  bring  them 
into  subjection  to  the  service  of  the  true 
God.  “  The  means  of  persuasion,”  says 
Mr.  Gibbon,  “  had  been  tried,  the  season 
of  forbearance  was  elapsed,  and  he  was 
now  commanded  to  propagate  his  reli¬ 
gion  by  the  sword,  to  destroy  the  monu¬ 
ments  of  idolatry,  and  without  regarding 
the  sanctity  of  days  or  months — to  pur¬ 
sue  the  unbelieving  nations  of  the  earth.” 
iii.  387.  “  The  fair  option  of  friendship, 

or  submission,  or  battle,  was  proposed  to 
the  enemies  of  Mohammed.”  Ibid.  "The 
sword,”  says  Mohammed,  “is  the  key 
of  heaven  and  hell;  a  drop  of  blood 
shed  in  the  cause  of  God,  a  night  spent 
in  arms,  is  of  more  avail  than  two 
months  of  fasting  and  prayer;  whosoever 
falls  in  battle,  his  sins  are  forgiven  :  at 
the  day  of  judgment  his  wounds  shall 
be  resplendent  as  vermilion  and  odor¬ 
iferous  as  musk ;  and  the  loss  of  his 
limbs  shall  be  supplied  by  the  wings  of 
angels  and  cherubim.”  Gibbon,  iii.  387. 
The  first  conflicts  waged  by  Mohammed 
were  against  the  idolaters  of  his  own 
country — those  who  can,  on  no  supposi¬ 
tion,  be  regarded  as  “having  the  seal 
of  God  in  their  foreheads ;”  his  subse¬ 
quent  wars  were  against  infidels  of  all 
classes,  that  is,  against  those  whom  he 
regarded  as  not  having  the  “seal  of  God 
in  their  foreheads/’  or  as  being  the  ene¬ 
mies  of  God.  (e)  The  other  part  of  the 
commission  was  “  not  to  kill,  but  to  tor¬ 
ment  them.”  Notes  ver.  5.  Comp,  the 
quotation  from  the  command  of  Abube- 
kir,  as  quoted  abovo :  “  Let  not  the  vic- 
22 


tory  be  stained  with  the  blood  of  women 
and  children.”  “Let  them  alone,  and 
neither  kill  them  nor  destroy  their  mon¬ 
asteries.”  The  meaning  of  this,  if  un¬ 
derstood  as  applied  to  their  commission 
against  Christendom,  would  seem  to  be, 
that  they  were  not  to  go  forth  to  “  kill,” 
but  to  “  torment”  them ;  to  wit,  by  the 
calamities  which  they  would  bring  upon 
Christian  nations  for  a  definite  period. 
Indeed,  as  we  have  seen  above,  it  was 
an  express  command  of  Abubekir  that 
they  should  not  put  those  to  death 
who  were  found  leading  quiet  and 
peaceable  lives  in  monasteries,  though 
against  another  class,  he  did  give  an  ex¬ 
press  command  to  “  cleave  their  skulls.” 
See  Gibbon,  iii.  418.  As  applicable  to 
the  conflicts  of  the  Saracens  with  Chris¬ 
tians,  the  meaning  here  would  seem  to 
be,  that  the  power  conceded  to  those 
who  are  represented  by  the  locusts  was 
not  to  cut  off  and  to  destroy  the  church, 
but  it  was  to  bring  upon  it  various  cala¬ 
mities  to  continue  for  a  definite  period. 
Accordingly,  some  of  the  severest  afflic¬ 
tions  which  have  come  upon  the  church 
have  undoubtedly  proceeded  from  the 
followers  of  the  Prophet  of  Mecca.  There 
were  times  in  the  early  history  of  that 
religion,  when  to  all  human  appearance 
it  would  universally  prevail,  and  wholly 
supplant  the  Christian  church.  But  the 
church  still  survived,  and  no  power  was 
at  any  time  given  to  the  Saracenic  hosts 
to  destroy  it  altogether.  In  respect  to 
this,  some  remarkable  facts  have  oc¬ 
curred  in  history.  The  followers  of  the 
false  prophet  contemplated  the  subjuga¬ 
tion  of  Europe,  and  the  destruction  of 
Christianity,  from  two  quarters  —  the 
East  and  the  West — expecting  to  make 
a  junction  of  the  two  armies  in  the 
North  of  Italy,  and  to  march  down  to 
Rome.  Twice  did  they  attack  the  vital 
part  of  Christendom  by  besieging  Con¬ 
stantinople;  first,  in  the  seven  years’ 
siege,  which  lasted  from  A.  D.  6(38  to 
A.  D.  675,  and  secondly,  in  the  years 
716-718,  when  Leo  the  Isaurian  was  on 
the  imperial  throne.  But,  on  both  oc¬ 
casions,  they  were  obliged  to  retire  de¬ 
feated  and  disgraced.  Gibbon,  iii.  461, 
seq.  Again,  they  renewed  their  attack 
on  the  West.  Having  conquered  North¬ 
ern  Africa,  they  passed  over  into  Spain, 
subdued  that  country  and  Portugal,  and 
extended  their  conquests  as  far  as  the 
Loire.  At  that  time,  they  designed  to 


CHAPTER  IX. 


253 


A.  D.  96.] 


subduo  France,  and  having  united  with 
the  forces  which  they  expected  from  the 
East,  they  intended  to  make  a  descent 
on  Italy,  and  complete  the  conquest  of 
Europe.  This  purpose  was  defeated  by 
the  valor  of  Charles  Martel,  and  Europe 
and  the  Christian  world  were  saved  from 
subjugation.  Gibbon,  iii.  467,  seq.  "A 
victorious  line  of  march,”  says  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon,  "  had  been  prolonged  above  a  thou¬ 
sand  miles,  from  the  rock  of  Gibraltar 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Loire ;  the  repetition 
of  an  equal  space  would  have  carried 
the  Saracens  to  the  confines  of  Poland, 
and  the  highlands  of  Scotland.  The 
Rhine  is  not  more  impassable  than  the 
Nile  or  the  Euphrates,  and  the  Arabian 
fleet  might  have  sailed  without  a  naval 
combat  into  the  mouth  of  the  Thames. 
Perhaps  the  interpretation  of  the  Koran 
would  now  be  taught  in  the  schools  of 
Oxford,  and  her  pulpits  might  demon- 
,  strate  to  a  circumcised  people,  the  sanc¬ 
tity  and  truth  of  the  revelations  of 
Mahomet.”  The  arrest  of  the  Saracen 
hosts  before  Europe  was  subdued,  was 
what  there  was  no  reason  to  anticipate, 
and  it  even  yet  perplexes  historians  to 
be  able  to  account  for  it.  "The  calm 
historian,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  “  who 
strives  to  follow  the  rapid  course  of  the 
Saracens,  must  study  to  explain  by 
what  means  the  church  and  state  were 
saved  from  this  impending,  and,  as  it 
should  seem,  inevitable  danger.”  “  These 
conquests,”  says  Mr.  Hallam,  "which 
astonish  the  careless  and  superficial,  are 
less  perplexing  to  a  calm  inquirer  than 
their  cessation  —  the  loss  of  half  the 
Roman  empire  than  the  preservation  of 
the  rest.”  Middle  Agee,  ii.  3,  169. 
These  illustrations  may  serve  to  explain 
the  meaning  of  the  symbol  —  that  their 
grand  commission  was  not  to  annihilate 
or  root  out,  but  to  annoy  and  afflict. 
Indeed,  they  did  not  go  forth  with  a 
primary  design  to  destroy.  The  an¬ 
nouncement  of  the  Mussulman  always 
was,  "the  Koran,  the  tribute,  or  the 
sword,”  and  when  there  was  submission, 
either  by  embracing  his  religion,  or  by 
tribute,  life  was  always  spared.  “  The 
fair  option  of  friendship,  or  submission, 
or  battle,”  says  Mr.  Gibbon  (iii.  387), 

"  was  proposed  to  the  enemies  of  Maho¬ 
met.”  Comp,  also,  vol.  iii.  453,  456. 
The  torment  mentioned  here,  I  suppose, 
refers  to  the  calamities  brought  upon 
the  Christian  world  —  on  Egypt,  and 
22 


Northern  Africa,  and  Spain,  and  Gaul, 
and  the  East,  by  the  hordes  which  came 
out  of  Arabia,  and  which  swept  over  all 
those  countries,  like  a  troublesome  and 
destructive  host  of  locusts.  Indeed, 
would  any  image  better  represent  the 
effects  of  the  Saracenic  invasions,  than 
such  a  countless  host  of  locusts  ?  Even 
now,  can  we  find  an  image  that  would 
better  represent  this  ? 

(5)  The  leader  of  this  host,  (a)  He 
was  like  a  star  that  fell  from  heaven 
(ver.  1),  a  bright  and  illustrious  prince, 
as  if  heaven-endowed,  but  fallen.  Would 
anything  better  characterize  the  genius, 
the  power,  and  the  splendid  but  per¬ 
verted  talent  of  Mohammed  ?  Moham¬ 
med  was,  moreover,  by  birth,  of  the 
princely  house  of  the  Koreish,  governors 
of  Mecca,  and  to  no  one  could  the  term 
be  more  appropriate  than  to  one  of  that 
family.  (6)  He  was  a  king.  That  is, 
there  was  to  be  one  monarch — one  ruling 
spirit  to  which  all  these  hosts  were  sub¬ 
ject.  And  never  was  any  thing  more 
appropriate  than  this  title  as  applied  to 
the  leader  of  the  Arabic  hosts.  All  those 
hosts  were  subject  to  one  mind — to  the 
command  of  the  single  leader  that  origi¬ 
nated  the  scheme,  (c)  The  name,  Abad¬ 
don,  or  Apollyon — Destroyer.  ver.  11. 
This  name  would  be  appropriate  to  one 
who  spread  his  conquests  so  far  over  the 
world;  who  wasted  so  many  cities  and 
towns ;  who  overthrew  so  many  king¬ 
doms;  and  who  laid  the  foundation  of 
ultimate  conquests  by  which  so  many 
human  beings  were  sent  to  the  grave, 
y)  The  description  of  the  leader  "as 
the  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit.”  ver.  11. 
If  this  be  regarded  as  meaning  that  "the 
angel  of  the  bottomless  pit” — the  Spirit 
of  darkness  himself — originated  the 
scheme,  and  animated  these  hosts,  what 
term  would  better  characterize  the  lead¬ 
er  ?  And  if  it  be  a  poetic  description  of 
Mohammed  as  sent  out  by  that  presiding 
spirit  of  evil,  how  could  a  better  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  spirit  of  the  nether  world 
have  been  sent  out  upon  the  earth 
than  he  was  —  one  more  talented,  more 
sagacious,  more  powerful,  more  warlike, 
more  wicked,  more  fitted  to  subdue  the 
nations  of  the  earth  to  the  dominion  of 
the  Prince  of  darkness,  and  to  hold  them 
for  ages  under  his  yoke  ? 

(6)  The  duration  of  the  torment.  It  is 
said  (ver.  5)  that  this  would  be  five 
months ;  that  is,  prophetically,  an  hun- 


254 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


dred  and  fifty  years.  See  Notes  on  ver. 
5.  The  Hegira,  or  flight  of  Mohammed, 
occurred  A.  D.  622 ;  the  Saracens  first 
issued  from  the  desert  into  Syria,  and 
began  their  series  of  wars  on  Christen¬ 
dom,  A.  D.  629.  Reckoning  from  these 
periods  respectively,  the  five  months,  or 
the  hundred  and  fifty  years,  would  ex¬ 
tend  to  A.  D.  772,  or  779.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  understand  this  period  of 
an  hundred  and  fifty  years,  of  the  actual 
continued  existence  of  the  bodies  sym¬ 
bolized  by  the  locusts,  but  only  of  the 
period  in  which  they  would  inflict  their 
“torment”  —  “that  they  should  be  tor¬ 
mented  five  months.”  That  is,  this 
would  be  the  period  of  the  intensity  of 
the  woe  inflicted  by  them  ;  there  would 
be  at  that  time  some  marked  inter¬ 
mission  of  the  torment.  The  question 
then  is,  whether,  in  the  history  of  the 
Saracens,  there  was  any  period  after 
their  career  of  conquest  had  been  con¬ 
tinued  for  about  an  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  which  would  mark  the  inter¬ 
mission  or  cessation  of  these  “  torments.” 
If  so,  then  this  is  all  that  is  necessary  to 
determine  the  applicability  of  the  symbol 
to  the  Arabian  hordes.  Now,  in  reply 
to  this  question,  we  have  only  to  refer  to 
Mr.  Gibbon.  The  table  of  contents  pre¬ 
fixed  to  chapters  forty-one  and  forty- 
two  of  his  work,  would  supply  all  the 
information  desired.  I  looked  at  that 
table,  after  making  the  estimate  as  to 
what  period  the  “  five  months,”  or  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  years,  would  conduct  us 
to,  to  see  whether  any  thing  occurred  at 
about  that  time  in  the  Mohammedan 
power  and  influence,  which  could  be 
regarded  as  marking  the  time  of  the 
intermission  or  cessation  of  the  cala¬ 
mities  inflicted  by  the  Arabic  hordes  on 
the  Christian  world.  After  Mr.  Gibbon 
had  recorded  in  detail  (vol.  iii.  360-460) 
the  character  and  conquests  of  the  Ara¬ 
bian  hordes  under  Mohammed  and  his 
successors,  I  find  the  statement  of  the 
decline  of  their  power  at  just  about  the 
period  to  which  the  hundred  and  fifty 
years  would  lead  us,  for  at  that  very 
time  an  important  change  came  over  the 
followers  of  the  prophet  of  Mecca,  turn¬ 
ing  them  from  the  love  of  conquest  to 
the  pursuits  of  literature  and  science. 
From  that  period,  they  ceased  to  be 
formidable  to  the  church ;  their  limits 
were  gradually  contracted  :  their  power 
diminished;  and  the  Christian  world, 


in  regard  to  them,  was  substantially  at 
peace.  This  change  in  the  character 
and  purposes  of  the  Saracens  is  thus 
described  by  Mr.  Gibbon,  at  the  close 
of  the  reign  of  the  caliph  Abdalrahman, 
whose  reign  commenced  A.  D.  755,  and 
under  whom  the  peaceful  sway  of  the 
Ommiades  of  Spain  began,  which  con¬ 
tinued  for  a  period  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  “  The  luxury  of  the 
caliphs,  so  useless  to  their  private  hap¬ 
piness,  relaxed  the  nerves,  and  termi¬ 
nated  the  progress,  of  the  Arabian 
empire.  Temporal  and  spiritual  con¬ 
quest  had  been  the  sole  occupation  of 
the  successors  of  Mahomet;  and  after 
supplying  themselves  with  the  neces¬ 
saries  of  life,  the  whole  revenue  was 
scrupulously  devoted  to  that  salutary 
work.  The  Abassides  were  impoverish¬ 
ed  by  the  multitude  of  their  wants,  and 
their  contempt  of  economy.  Instead  of 
pursuing  the  great  object  of  ambition, 
their  leisure,  their  affections,  and  the 
powers  of  their  minds,  were  diverted  by 
pomp  and  pleasure  :  the  rewards  of  valor 
were  embezzled  by  women  and  eunuchs, 
and  the  royal  camp  was  encumbered  by 
the  luxury  of  the  palace.  A  similar 
temper  was  diffused  among  the  subjects 
of  the  caliph.  Their  stern  enthusiasm 
was  softened  by  time  and  prosperity ; 
they  sought  riches  in  the  occupations  of 
industry,  fame  in  the  pursuits  of  lite¬ 
rature,  and  happiness  in  the  tranquillity 
of  domestic  life.  War  was  no  longer 
the  passion  of  the  Saracens ;  and  the 
increase  of  pay,  the  repetition  of  dona-  - 
tive,  were  insufficient  to  allure  the  pos¬ 
terity  of  these  voluntary  champions  who 
had  crowded  to  the  standard  of  Abubeker 
and  Omar  for  the  hopes  of  the  spoil  of 
paradise.”  iii.  477,  478.  Of  the  Ommi¬ 
ades,  or  princes  who  succeeded  Abdal¬ 
rahman,  Mr.  Gibbon  remarks  in  general, 

“  Their  mutual  designs  or  declarations 
of  war  evaporated  without  effect;  but 
instead  of  opening  a  door  to  the  con¬ 
quest  of  Europe,  Spain  was  dissevered 
from  the  trunk  of  the  monarchy,  engaged 
in  perpetual  hostility  with  the  East,  and 
inclined  to  peace  and  friendship  with  the 
Christian  sovereigns  of  Constantinople 
and  France.”  iii.  p.  472.  How  much 
does  this  look  like  some  change  occur¬ 
ring  by  which  they  would  cease  to  be  a 
source  of  “  torment”  to  the  nations  with 
whom  they  now  dwelt !  From  this 
period,  they  gavo  themselves  to  the 


CHAPTER  IX. 


255 


A.  D.  96.] 


12  One  °  woe  is  past ;  and,  be- 

a  c.  8. 13. 


arts  of  peace ;  cultivated  literature  and 
science ;  lost  entirely  their  spirit  of 
conquest,  and  their  ambition  for  uni¬ 
versal  dominion,  until  they  gradually 
withdrew,  or  were  driven  from  those 
parts  of  the  Christian  world  where  they 
had  inspired  most  terror,  and  which  in 
the  days  of  their  power  and  ambition 
they  had  invaded.  By  turning  merely 
to  the  table  of  “  contents”  of  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon’s  history,  the  following  periods, 
occurring  at  about  the  time  that  would 
be  embraced  in  the  “  five  months,”  or 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  are  distinctly 
marked  : 

“A.  D.  668-675.  First  siege  of  Constan¬ 
tinople  by  the  Arabs. 

“  677.  Peace  and  tribute. 

“  716-18.  Second  siege  of  Con¬ 

stantinople. 

“  “  Failure  and  retreat  of  the 

Saracens. 

“  “  Invention  and  use  of  the 

Greek  fire. 

“  721.  Invasion  of  France  by  the 

Arabs. 

“  73. 2.  Defeat  of  the  Saracens  by 

Charles  Martel. 

“  “  They  retreat  before  the 

Franks. 

u  746-750.  The  elevation  of  the 

A  ndccinoc 

**  750.  Fall  of  the  Ommiades. 

“  '  755.  Revolt  of  Spain. 

“  Triple  division  of  the  cali¬ 
phate. 

“  750-960.  Magnificence  of  the 

caliphs. 

“  “  Its.  consequence  on  private 

and  public  happiness. 

“  734,  Ac.  Introduction  of  learn¬ 

ing  among  the  Arabians. 

“  “  Their  real  progress  in  the 

sciences.” 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  the  decline 
of  their  military  and  civil  power ;  their 
defeats  in  their  attempts  to  subjugate 
Europe;  their  turning  their  attention  to 
the  peaceful  pursuits  of  literature  and 
science,  synchronize  remarkably  with 
the  period  that  would  be  indicated  by 
the  five  months,  or  the  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  It  should  be  added,  also, 
that  in  the  year  762,  Almanzor,  the 
Caliph,  built  Bagdad,  and  made  it  the 


hold,  there  come  two  woes  moro 
hereafter. 


capital  of  the  Saracen  empire.  Hence¬ 
forward  that  became  the  seat  of  Arabio 
learning,  luxury,  and  power,  and  the 
wealth  and  talent  of  the  Saracen  empire 
were  gradually  drawn  to  that  capital, 
and  they  ceased  to  vex  and  annoy  the 
Christian  world.  The  building  of  Bag¬ 
dad  occurred  within  just  ten  years  of 
the  time  indicated  by  the  “five  months” 
—  reckoning  that  from  the  Hegira,  or 
flight  of  Mohammed ;  or  reckoning  from 
the  time  when  Mohammed  began  to 
preach  (A.  D.  609,  Gibbon,  iii.  383),  it 
wanted  but  three  years  of  coinciding 
exactly  with  the  period. 

These  considerations  show  with  what 
propriety  the  fifth  trumpet— the  symbol 
of  the  locusts  —  is  referred  to  the  Ara¬ 
bian  hordes  under  the  guidance  of  Mo¬ 
hammed  and  his  successors.  On  the 
supposition  that  it  was  the  design  of 
John  to  symbolize  these  events,  the 
symbol  has  been  chosen  which  of  all 
others  was  best  adapted  to  the  end. 
If,  now  that  those  events  are  passed, 
we  should  endeavor  to  find  some  sym¬ 
bol  which  would  appropriately  repre¬ 
sent  them,  we  could  not  find  one  that 
would  be  more  striking  or  appropriate 
than  that  which  is  here  employed  by 
John. 

12.  One  woe  is  past.  The  woe  referred 
to  in  vs.  1—11.  In  chapter  viii.  13,  threo 
woes  are  mentioned  which  were  to  occur 
successively,  and  which  were  to  em¬ 
brace  the  whole  of  the  period  comprised 
in  the  seven  seals,  and  the  seven  trum¬ 
pets.  Under  the  last  of  the  seals,  we 
have  considered  four  successive  periods, 
referring  to  events  connected  with  the 
downfall  of  the  Western  empire;  and 
then,  we  have  found  one  important 
event,  worthy  of  a  place  in  noticing  the 
things  which  would  permanently  affect 
the  destiny  of  the  world  —  the  rise,  the 
character,  and  the  conquests  of  the  Sa¬ 
racens.  This  was  referred  to  by  the 
first  woe-trumpet.  We  enter  now  on  the 
consideration  of  the  second.  This  occu¬ 
pies  the  remainder  of  the  chapter,  and  in 
illustrating  it  the  same  method  will  be 
pursued  as  heretofore ;  first,  to  explain 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  words,  phrases, 
and  symbols;  and  then  to  enquire  what 
events  in  history,  if  any,  succeeding  th« 


256 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


13  And  the  sixth  angel  sounded, 
and  I  heard  a  voice  from  the  four 
horns  of  the  golden  altar  which  is 
before  God, 

14  Saying  to  the  sixth  angel 


former,  occurred,  whieh  would  correspond 
with  the  language  used.  And  behold 
there  come  ti do  woes  hereafter.  Two 
momentous  and  important  events  that 
will  be  attended  with  sorrow  to  man¬ 
kind.  It  cannot  be  intended  that  there 
would  be  no  other  evils  that  would  visit 
mankind;  but  the  eye,  in  glancing  along 
the  future,  rested  on  these  as  having 
a  special  pre-eminence  in  affecting  the 
destiny  of  the  church  and  the  world. 

13.  And  the  sixth  angel  sounded.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  viii.  2,  7.  And  I  heard  a 
voice  from,  the  four  horns  of  the  golden  al¬ 
tar  which  is  before  God.  In  the  language 
here  used  there  is  an  allusion  to  the 
temple,  but  the  scene  is  evidently  laid 
in  heaven.  The  temple  in  its  arrange¬ 
ments  was  designed  undoubtedly  to  be 
in  important  respects  a  symbol  of  hea¬ 
ven,  and  this  idea  constantly  occurs  in 
the  Scriptures.  Comp,  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  passim.  The  golden  altar  stood 
in  the  holy  place,  between  the  table  of 
shew-bread  and  the  golden  candlestick. 
See  Notes  on  Heb.  ix.  1,  2.  This  altar, 
made  of  shittim  or  acacia  wood,  was 
ornamented  at  the  four  corners,  and 
overlaid  throughout  with  laminae  of 
gold.  Hence  it  was  called  “  the  golden 
altar,”  in  contradistinction  from  the  al¬ 
tar  for  sacrifice,  which  was  made  of 
stone.  Comp.  Notes  on  Matthew,  xxi. 
12,  seq.  On  its  four  corners  it  had  pro¬ 
jections  which  were  called  horns  (Ex. 
xxx.  2,  3),  which  seem  to  have  been  in¬ 
tended  mainly  for  ornaments.  See  Jahn, 
Arch.  $  332 ;  Joseph.  Ant.  iii.  6.  8.  When 
it  is  said  that  this  was  ‘‘before  God,” 
the  meaning  is,  that  it  was  directly 
before  or  in  front  of  the  symbol  of  the 
divine  presence  in  the  most  holy  place. 
This  image,  in  the  vision  of  John,  is 
transformed  to  heaven.  The  voice  seemed 
to  come  from  the  very  presence  of  the 
Deity ;  from  the  place  where  offerings 
are  made  to  God. 

14.  Saying  to  the  sixth  angel  which 
had  the  trumpet.  Notes  ch.  viii.  2. 
1[  Loose,  <!kc.  This  power,  it  would  seem, 
was  given  to  the  sixth  angel  in  addition 
to  his  office  of  blowing  the  trumpet. 


which  had  the  trumpet,  Loose  the 
four  angels  which  are  hound  in  the 
great  river  Euphrates.  ° 

a  Ge.  2. 14;  Je.  51.  63;  c.16. 12. 


All  this,  of  course,  was  in  vision,  and 
cannot  be  literally  interpreted.  The 
meaning  is,  that  the  effect  of  his  blow¬ 
ing  the  trumpet  would  be  the  same  as  if 
angels  that  had  been  bound  should  be 
suddenly  loosed  and  suffered  to  go  forth 
over  the  earth :  —  that  is,  some  event 
would  occur  which  would  be  properly 
symbolized  by  such  an  act.  The  four 
angels.  Comp.  Notes  ch.  viii.  1,  2.  It 
was  customary  to  represent  important 
events  as  occurring  under  the  ministry 
of  angels.  The  general  meaning  here 
is,  that,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  Eu¬ 
phrates,  there  were  mighty  powers  which 
had  been  bound  or  held  in  check,  which 
were  now  to  be  let  loose  upon  the  world. 
What  we  are  to  look  for  in  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  is  evidently  this — some  power  that 
seemed  to  be  kept  back  by  an  invisible 
influence  as  if  by  angels,  now  suddenly  let 
loose  and  suffered  to  accomplish  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  desolation  mentioned  in  the  sub¬ 
sequent  verses.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  angels  were  actually  em¬ 
ployed  in  these  restraints,  though,  no  one 
can  demonstrate  that  their  agency  was 
not  concerned  in  the  transactions  here 
referred  to.  Comp.  Notes  on  Daniel, 
x.  12,  13.  It  has  been  made  a  question 
why  the  number  four  is  specified,  and 
whether  the  forces  were  in  any  sense 
made  up  of  four  divisions,  nations,  or 
people.  While  nothing  certain  can  be 
determined  in  regard  to  that,  and  while 
the  number  four  may  be 'used  merely  to 
denote  a  great  and  strong  force,  yet  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  most  obvious 
interpretation  would  be  to  refer  it  to 
some  combination  of  forces,  or  to  some 
union  of  powers,  that  was  to  accomplish 
what  is  here  said.  If  it  had  been  a 
single  nation,  it  would  have  been  more 
in  accordance  with  the  usual  method  in 
prophecy  to  have  represented  them  as 
restrained  by  an  angel,  or  by  angels  in 
general,  without  specifying  any  number, 
•f  Which  are  bound.  That  is,  they  seemed 
to  be  bound.  There  was  something 
which  held  them,  and  the  forces  under 
them,  in  check,  until  they  were  thus 
commanded  to  go  forth.  In  the  fulfil- 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


15  And  _  the  four  angels  were 
loosed,  which  were  prepared  °  for 
an  hour,  and  a  day,  and  a  month, 


ment  of  this,  it  will  be  necessary  to  look 
for  something  of  the  nature  of  a  check 
or  restraint  on  these  forces,  until  they 
were  commissioned  to  go  forth  to  ac¬ 
complish  the  work  of  destruction,  f  In 
the  great  river  Euphrates.  The  well- 
known  river  of  that  name,  commonly 
called,  m  the  Scriptures,  “the  great 

r*ver,„  Way  of  eminence,  “  the 

river.”  Ex.  xxiii.  31;  Isa.  viii.  7.  This 
river  was  on  the  east  of  Palestine  ;  and 
the  language  here  used  naturally  de¬ 
notes  that  the  power  referred  to  under 
the  sixth  trumpet  would  spring  up  in 
the  east,  and  that  it  would  have  its  ori¬ 
gin  in  the  vicinity  of  that  river.  Those 
interpreters,  therefore,  who  apply  this  to 
the  invasion  of  Judea  by  the  Romans, 
have  great  difficulty  in  explaining  this — 
as  the  forces  employed  in  the  destruc¬ 
tion  ot  Jerusalem  came  from  the  west, 
and  not  from  the  east.  The  fair  inter¬ 
pretation  is,  that  there  were  forces  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Euphrates  which 
were,  up  to  this  period,  bound  or  re¬ 
strained,  but  which  were  now  suffered  to 
spread  wo  and  sorrow  over  a  consider- 
able  portion  of  the  world. 

And  the  four  angels  were  loosed. 
VVho  had  this  mighty  host  under  re¬ 
straint.  The  loosening  of  the  angels 
was  in  fact  also  a  letting  loose  of  all 
these  hosts,  that  they  might  accomplish 
the  work  which  they  were  commissioned 
to  do.  Which  were  prepared.  See 
ver.  7.  The  word  here  used  properly 
refers  to  that  which  is  made  ready,  fitted 
up,  arranged  for  any  thing as  persons 
prepared  for  a  journey,  horses  for  battle, 
a  load  for  travellers,  food  for  the  hungry 
a  house  to  live  in,  Ac.  See  Rob.  Lex.’ 
s.  voce  Eroigdfa.  As  used  here,  the 
word  means  that  whatever  was  neces- 
SMy  to  prepare  these  angels— the  leaders 
of  this  host  —  for  the  work  which  they 
were  commissioned  to  perform,  was  now 
done,  and  that  they  stood  in  a  state  of 
readiness  to  execute  the  design.  Jn  the 
fulfilment  of  this  it  will  be  necessary  to 
look  for  some  arrangements  existing  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Euphrates,  by  which 
these  restrained  hosts  were  in  a  state  of 
readiness  to  be  summoned  forth  to  the 


257 

and  a  year,  for  to  slay  the  third  * 
part  of  men. 

a  Or,  at.  j  c  8.  7-9. 


execution  of  this  work,  or  in  such  a  con- 
22* 


dition  that  they  would  go  forth  spon 
taneously  if  the  restraints  existing  were 
removed,  f  For  an  hour,  Ac.  Marg., 
at.  The  Greek  fir  —  means  properly 
unto,  with  reference  to;  and  the  sense  is, 
that  with  reference  to  that  hour,  they 
had  all  the  requisite  preparation.  Prof 
btuart  explains  it  as  meaning  that  thev 
were  “prepared  for  the  particular  year, 
month,  day,  and  hour,  destined  by  God 
rn  „  g™at  catastrophe  which  is  to 
ollow.  The  meaning,  however,  rather 
seems  to  be  that  they  were  prepared,  not 
lor  tne  commencement  of  such  a  period 
but  they  were  prepared  for  the  whole 
period  indicated  by  the  hour,  the  dav. 
the  month,  and  the  year;  that  is, 
tnat  the  continuance  of  this  “  woe” 
would  extend  along  through  the  whole 
period.  For,  (a)  this  is  the  natural  in¬ 
terpretation  of  the  word  “for” rf ;• 

(6)  it  makes  the  whole  sentence  intel¬ 
ligible— for  though  it  might  be  proper  to 
say  of  any  thing  that  it  was  “  prepared 
for  an  hour,”  indicating  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  what  was  to  be  done,  it  is  not 
usual  to  say  of  any  thing  that  it  is 
prepared  for  an  hour,  a  month,  a  day, 
a  year,”  when  the  design  is  merely  to 
indicate  the  beginning  of  it;  and  (c)  it  is 
in  accordance  with  the  prediction  re¬ 
specting  the  first  “woe”  (ver.  5),  where 
the  time  is  specified  in  language  similar 
to  this,  to  wit,  “  five  months.”  It  seems 
to  me,  therefore,  that  we  are  to  regard  the 
time  here  mentioned  as  a  prophetic  indi¬ 
cation  of  the  period  during  which  this  woe 
would  continue.  ^  An  hour,  and  a  dau, 
and  a  month,  and  a  year.  If  this  were 
to  be  taken  literally,  it  would,  of  course, 
be  but  little  more  than  a  year.  If  it  bo 
taken,  however,  in  the  common  pro¬ 
phetic  style,  where  a  day  is  put  for  a 
year  (Notes  on  Dan.  ix.  24,  seq.),  then 
the  amount  of  time  (360  -j-  30  -f-  1  -4- 
an  hour)  would  be  three  hundred  and 
ninety-one  years,  and  the  portion  of  the 
year  indicated  by  an  hour — a  twelfth  or 
twenty-fourth  part,  according  as  the  day 
was  supposed  to  bo  divided  into  twelve 
or  twenty-four  hours.  That  this  is  the 
true  view  seems  to  be  clear,  because  this 
accords  with  the  usual  stylo  in  this 
book ;  because  it  can  hardly  be  supposed 


258 


REVELATION, 


16  And  the  number  of  the  army  ° 
of  the  horsemen  were  two  hundred 
thousand  thousand :  b  and  I  heard c 
the  number  of  them. 


that  the  “  preparation”  here  referred  to 
would  have  been  for  so  brief  a  period  as 
the  time  would  be  if  literally  interpreted; 
and  because  the  mention  of  so  small  a 
portion  of  time  as  an  “  hour,”  if  literally 
taken,  would  be  improbable  in  so  great 
transactions.  The  fair  interpretation, 
therefore,  will  require  us  to  find  some 
events  that  will  fill  up  the  period  of 
about  three  hundred  and  ninety-one 
years.  For  to  slay  the  third  part  of 
men.  Comp.  ch.  viii.  7.  9.  12.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  the  immense  host 
which  was  restrained  on  the  Euphrates, 
would,  when  loosed,  spread  desolation 
over  about  a  third  part  of  the  world. 
We  are  not  to  suppose  that  this  is  to  be 
understood  in  exactly  a  literal  sense, 
but  the  meaning  is,  that  the  desolation 
would  be  so  wide-spread  that  it  would 
seem  to  embrace  a  third  of  the  world. 
No  such  event  as  the  cutting  off  of  a  few 
thousands  of  Jews  in  the  siege  of  Jeru¬ 
salem  would  correspond  with  the  lan¬ 
guage  here  employed,  and  we  must  look 
for  events  more  general  and  more  dis¬ 
astrous  to  mankind  at  large. 

16.  And  the  number  of  the  army  of  the 
horsemen.  It  is  to  be  observed  here  that 
the  strength  of  the  army  seemed  to  be 
cavalry.  In  the  former  plagues  there  is 
no  distinct  mention  of  horsemen ;  but 
here  that  which  struck  the  beholder  was 
the  immense  and  unparalleled  number  of 
horsemen.  Were  two  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  thousand.  A  thousand  thousand 
are  a  million,  and  consequently  the 
number  here  referred  to  would  be  two 
hundred  millions.  This  would  be  a 
larger  army  than  was  ever  assembled, 
and  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  it 
is  to  be  taken  literally.  That  it  would 
be  a  very  large  host  —  so  large  that  it 
would  not  readily  be  numbered  —  is 
clear.  The  expression  in  the  original, 
while  it  naturally  conveys  the  idea  of  an 
immense  number,  would  seem  also  to 
refer  to  some  peculiarity  in  the  manner 
of  reckoning  them.  The  language  is, 
two  myriads  of  myriads  —  ivo  pvpiades 
/ivpidSbtv.  The  myriad  was  ten  thousand. 
The  idea  would  seem  to  be  this.  John 
saw  an  immense  host  of  cavalry.  They 


[A.  D.  96. 

17  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses  in 
the  vision,  and  them  that  sat  on 
them,  having  breastplates  of  fire, 
a  Eze.  38. 4;  Da.  11. 40.  b  Ps.  68.17.  ec.7.  4. 


appeared  to  be  divided  into  large  bodies 
that  were  in  some  degree  separate,  and 
that  might  be  reckoned  by  ten  thousands. 
Of  these  different  squadrons  there  were 
many,  and  to  express  their  great  and  un¬ 
usual  number  he  said  that  there  seemed 
to  be  myriads  of  them — two  myriads  of 
myriads,  or  twice  ten  thousand  myriads. 
The  army  thus  would  seem  to  be  immense 
— an  army,  as  we  would  say,  to  be  reck¬ 
oned  by  tens  of  thousands,  And  I  heard 
the  number  of  them.  They  were  so  nu¬ 
merous  that  he  did  noli  pretend  to  be 
able  to  estimate  the  number  himself,  for 
it  was  beyond  his  power  of  computation ; 
but  he  heard  it  stated  in  these  round 
numbers,  that  there  were  “  two  myriads 
of  myriads”  of  them. 

17.  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses  in  the 
vision.  That  is,  he  saw  them  as  he  pro¬ 
ceeds  to  describe  them,  for  the  word 
thus  —  SvTias  —  refers  to  what  follows. 
Comp.  Rob.  Lex.  on  the  word;  (6),  and  see 
Matt.  i.  18,  ii.  5;  John  xxi.  1;  Heb.  iv.  4. 
Prof.  Stuart,  however,  refers  it  to  what 
precedes.  The  meaning,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  is,  that  he  fixed  his  attention  on  the 
appearance  of  the  immense  army — the 
horses  and  their  riders,  and  proceeded 
to  describe  them  as  they  struck  him. 

And  them  that  sat  on  them.  He  fixed 
the  attention  on  horse  and  rider.  Their 
appearance  was  unusual,  and  deserved  a 
particular  description.  Having  breast¬ 
plates  of  fire.  That  is,  those  who  sat  on 
them  had  such  breast-plates.  The  word 
here  rendered  breast-plate,  denoted  pro¬ 
perly  a  coat  of  mail  that  covered  the 
body  from  the  neck  to  the  thighs.  See 
Notes  on  Ephesians,  vi.  14.  This  would 
be  a  prominent  object  in  looking  at  a 
horseman.  This  was  said  to  be  com¬ 
posed  of  “fire,  and  jacinth,  »and  brim¬ 
stone  ;”  that  is,  the  part  of  the  body 
usually  encased  in  the  coat-of-mail  had 
these  three  colors.  The  word  “fire”  here 
simply  denotes  red.  It  was  burnished 
and  bright,  and  seemed  to  be  a  blaze  of 
fire. — The  word  “jacinth”  —  ’vaxivSivovs 
—  means  hyacinthine.  The  color  de¬ 
noted  is  that  of  the  hyacinth  —  a  flower 
of  a  deep  purple  or  reddish  blue.  Then 
it  refers  to  a  gem  of  the  same  color 


CHAPTER  IX. 


259 


A.  D.  96.] 


and  of  jacinth,  and  brimstone:  and 
the  heads  of  the  horses  were  as  the 
heads  of  lions :  “  and  out  of  their 
mouths  issued  fire  and  smoke  and 
brimstone. 

a  1  Ch.  12.  8.  Is.  5. 28,  29. 


nearly  related  to  the  zircon  of  the  mine¬ 
ralogists,  and  the  color  here  mentioned 
is  deep  purple  or  reddish  blue.  The 
word  rendered  “brimstone”  —  ScidSris  — 
means  properly  sulphurous,  that  is,  made 
of  sulphur,  and  means  here  simply  yel¬ 
low.  The  meaning  of  the  whole  then  is, 
that  these  horsemen  appeared  to  be  clad 
in  a  peculiar  kind  of  armor — armor  that 
shone  like  fire,  mingled  with  blue  and 
yellow.  It  will  be  necessary  to  look  for 
the  fulfilment  of  this  in  cavalry  that  was 
so  caparisoned.  ^  And  the  heads  of  the 
horses  were  as  the  heads  of  lions.  Re¬ 
sembled,  in  some  respects,  the  heads  of 
lions.  He  does  not  say  that  they  were 
the  heads  of  lions,  or  that  the  riders  were 
on  monsters,  but  only  that  they,  in  some 
respects,  resembled  the  heads  of  lions. 
It  would  be  easy  to  give  this  general 
appearance  by  the  way  in  which  the 
head-dress  of  the  horses  was  arrayed. 
j[  And  out  of  their  mouths  issued.  That 
is,  appeared  to  issue.  It  is  not  neces¬ 
sary  to  understand  this  as  affirming  that 
it  actually  came  from  their  mouths,  but 
only  that,  to  one  looking  on  such  an 
approaching  army,  it  would  have  this  ap¬ 
pearance.  The  heathen  poets  often  speak 
of  horses  breathing  out  fire  and  smoke 
(Virg.  Geor.  ii.  140,  iii.  85  ;  Ovid,  Met. 
vii.  104),  meaning  that  their  breath 
seemed  to  be  mingled  smoke  and  fire. 
There  is  an  image  superadded  here  not 
found  in  any  of  the  classic  descriptions, 
that  this  was  mingled  with  brimstone. 
All  this  seemed  to  issue  from  their 
mouths;  that  is,  it  was  breathed  forth 
in  front  of  the  host,  as  if  the  horses 
emitted  it  from  their  mouths.  Fire 
and  smoke,  and  brimstone.  The  exact 
idea,  whether  that  was  intended  or  not, 
would  be  conveyed  by  the  discharge  of 
musketry  or  artillery.  The  fire,  the 
smoke,  and  the  sulphurous  smell  of 
such  a  discharge  would  correspond  pre¬ 
cisely  with  this  language,  and  if  it  be 
supposed  that  the  writer  meant  to  de¬ 
scribe  such  a  discharge,  this  would  be 
the  very  language  that  would  be  used. 
Moreover,  in  describing  a  battle,  nothing 


18  By  these  three  was  the  third 
part  of  men  killed,  by  the  fire,  and 
by  the  smoke,  and  by  the  brim¬ 
stone,  which  issued  out  of  their 
mouths. 

19  For  their  power  is  in  their 


would  be  more  proper  than  to  say  that 
this  appeared  to  issue  from  the  horses’ 
mouths.  If,  therefore,  it  should  be 
found  that  there  were  any  events  where 
fire-arms  were  used,  in  contradistinction 
from  the  ancient  mode  of  warfare,  this 
language  would  be  appropriate  to  describe 
that,  and  if  it  were  ascertained  that  the 
writer  meant  to  refer  to  some  such  fact, 
then  the  language  here  used  would  be 
that  which  he  would  adopt.  One  thing  is 
certain,  that  this  is  not  language  which 
would  be  employed  to  describe  the  onset 
of  ancient  cavalry  in  the  mode  of  war¬ 
fare  which  prevailed  then.  No  one  de¬ 
scribing  a  charge  of  cavalry  among  the 
Persians,  the  Greeks,  or  the  Romans, 
when  the  only  armor  was  the  sword  and 
the  spear,  would  think  of  saying  that 
there  seemed  to  be  emitted  from  the 
horses’  mouths  fire,  and  smoke,  and 
brimstone. 

18.  By  these  three.  Three  things  — 
explained  immediately  as  referring  to 
the  fire,  the  smoke,  and  the  brimstone. 
If  Was  the  third  part  of  men  killed.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  viii.  7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  on 
each  of  which  verses  we  have  notices  of 
calamities  that  came  upon  the  third  part 
of  the  race,  of  the  sea,  of  rivers,  &c. 
We  are  not  to  suppose  that  this  is  to  be 
taken  literally,  but  the  description  is 
given  as  it  appeared  to  John.  Those 
immense  numbers  of  horsemen  would 
sweep  over  the  world,  and  a  full  third 
part  of  the  race  of  men  would  seem  to 
fall  before  them. 

19.  For  their  power  is  in  their  month. 
That  is,  as  described— in  the  fire,  smoke, 
and  brimstone  that  proceeded  out  of 
their  mouths.  What  struck  the  seer  as 
remarkable  on  looking  on  the  symbol 
was,  that  this  immense  destruction 
seemed  to  proceed  out  of  their  mouths. 

It  was  not  that  they  trampled  down 
their  enemies ;  nor  that  they  destroyed 
them  with  the  sword,  tho  bow,  or  the 
spear :  it  was  some  new  and  remarkable 
power  in  warfare — in  which  the  destruc¬ 
tion  seemed  to  proceed  from  fire  and 
smoke  and  sulphur  issuing  from  the 


260 


REVELATION. 


mouth,  and  in  their  tails :  for  their 
tails  °  icere  like  unto  serpents,  and 
had  heads,  and  with  them  they  do 
hurt. 

20  And  the  rest  of  the  men 
which  were  not  killed  by  these 
plagues,  yet  b  repented  not  of  the 
works  of  their  hands,  that  they 

a  Is.  9. 15.  Ep.  4. 14. 
b  Je.  5.  3;  8.  6. 


mouths  of  the  horses  themselves.  And 
in  their  tails.  The  tails  of  the  horses. 
This,  of  course,  was  something  unusual 
and  remarkable  in  horses,  for  naturally 
they  have  no  power  there.  The  power 
of  a  fish,  or  a  scorpion,  or  a  wasp,  may 
be  said  to  be  in  their  tails,  for  their 
strength  or  their  means  of  defence  or  of 
injury  are  there,  but  we  never  think  of 
speaking  in  this  way  of  horses.  It  is 
not  necessary,  in  the  interpretation  of 
this,  to  suppose  that  the  reference  is 
literally  to  the  tails  of  the  horses,  any 
more  than  it  is  to  suppose  that  the 
smoke  and  fire  and  brimstone  literally 
proceeded  from  their  mouths.  John  de¬ 
scribes  things  as  they  appeared  to  him 
in  looking  at  them  from  a  considerable 
distance.  From  their  mouths  the  horses 
belched  forth  fire,  and  smoke,  and  sul¬ 
phur,  and  even  their  tails  seemed  to  be 
armed  for  the  work  of  death,  For 
their  tails  were  like  unto  serpents.  Not 
like  the  tails  of  serpents,  but  like  ser¬ 
pents  themselves.  And  had  heads. 
That  is,  there  was  something  remarkable 
in  the  position  and  appearance  of  their 
heads.  All  serpents,  of  course,  have 
heads;  but  John  saw  something  unusual 
in  this  —  or  something  so  peculiar  in 
their  heads  as  to  attract  special  atten¬ 
tion.  It  would  seem  most  probable  that 
the  heads  of  these  serpents  appeared  to 
extend  in  every  direction — as  if  the  hairs 
of  the  horses’  tails  had  been  converted 
into  snakes,  presenting  a  most  fearful 
and  destructive  image.  Perhaps  it  may 
illustrate  this  to  suppose  that  there  is 
reference  to  the  Amphisbaena,  or  two- 
headed  snake.  It  is  said  of  this  that  its 
tail  resembles  a  head,  and  that  with  this 
it  throws  out  its  poison.  Lucan,  ix.  179. 
Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.  viii.  35.  It  really  has 
but  one  head,  but  its  tail  has  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  a  head,  and  it  has  tho  power  of 
moving  in  either  direction  to  a  limited 


[A.  D.  96. 

should  not  worship  devils,  c  and 
idols  d  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  brass, 
and  stone,  and  of  wood :  which 
neither  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk. 

21  Neither  repented  they  of  their 
murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries,  *  nor 
of  their  fornication,  nor  of  their 
thefts. 

c  Le.  17.  7.  1.  Co.  10.  20.  d  Ps.  135. 15. 
Is.  40. 19,  20.  e  c.  22. 15. 


degree.  If  we  suppose  these  snakes 
fastened  to  the  tail  of  a  horse,  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  heads  would  be  very  promi¬ 
nent  and  remarkable.  The  image  is 
that  of  the  power  of  destruction.  They 
seemed  like  ugly  and  poisonous  serpents 
instead  of  tails,  And  with  them  they 
do  hurt.  Not  the  main  injury,  but  they 
have  the  power  of  inflicting  some  injury 
by  them. 

20.  And  the  rest  of  the  men  which  were 
not  killed  by  these  jylayues.  One  third 
partis  represented  as  swept  off,  and  it 
might  have  been  expected  that  a  salu¬ 
tary  effect  would  have  been  produced  on 
the  remainder,  in  reforming  them,  and 
restraining  them  from  error  and  sin. 
The  writer  proceeds  to  state,  however, 
that  these  judgments  did  not  have  the 
effect  which  might  reasonably  have  been 
anticipated.  No  reformation  followed; 
there  was  no  abandonment  of  the  pre¬ 
vailing  forms  of  iniquity ;  there  was  no 
change  in  their  idolatry  and  superstition. 
In  regard  to  the  exact  meaning  of  what 
is  here  stated  (vs.  20,  21),  it  will  be  a 
more  convenient  arrangement  to  consider 
it  after  we  have  ascertained  the  proper 
application  of  the  passage  relating  to  the 
sixth  trumpet.  What  is  here  stated  (vs. 
20,  21)  pertains  to  the  state  of  the  world 
after  the  desolations  which  would  occur 
under  this  woe-trumpet,  and  the  expla¬ 
nation  of  the  words  may  be  reserved 
therefore,  with  propriety,  until  the  in¬ 
quiry  shall  have  been  instituted  as  to 
the  general  design  of  the  whole. 

With  respect  to  the  fulfilment  of  this 
symbol  —  tho  sixth  trumpet  —  it  will  be 
necessary  to  inquire  whether  there  has 
been  any  event,  or  class  of  events,  oc¬ 
curring  at  such  a  time,  and  in  such  a 
manner,  as  would  be  properly  denoted 
by  such  a  symbol.  The  examination  of 
this  question  will  make  it  necessary  to 
go  over  the  leading  points  in  the  sym- 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


bol,  and  to  endeavor  to  apply  them.  In 
doing  this,  I  shall  simply  state,  with 
such  illustrations  as  may  occur,  what 
seems  to  me  to  have  been  the  design  of 
the  symbol.  It  would  be  an  endless 
task  to  examine  all  the  explanations 
which  have  been  proposed,  and  it  would 
bo  useless  to  do  so. 

The  reference,  then,  seems  to  me  to 
be  to  the  Turkish  power,  extending  from 
the  time  of  the  first  appearance  of  the 
Turks  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Eu¬ 
phrates,  to  the  final  conquest  of  Con¬ 
stantinople  in  1453.  The  general  reasons 
for  this  opinion  are  such  as  the  follow- 
ino  ■  (a)  If  the  previous  trumpet  re¬ 

ferred  to  the  Saracens,  or  to  the  rise  of 
the  Mohammedan  power  among  the 
Arabs,  then  the  Turkish  dominion,  being 
the  next  in  succession,  would  be  that 
which  would  most  naturally  be  symbol¬ 
ized.  (b)  The  Turkish  power  rose  on 
the  decline  of  the  Arabic,  and  was  the 
next  important  power  in  affecting  the 
destinies  of  the  world,  (c)  This  power, 
like  the  former,  had  its  seat  in  the  East’ 
and  would  be  properly  classified  under 
the  events  occurring  there  as  affecting 
the  destiny  of  the  world,  (d)  The  in¬ 
troduction  of  this  power  was  necessary, 
m  order  to  complete  the  survey  of  the 
downfall  of  the  Roman  empire  —  the 
great  object  kept  in  view  all  along  in 
these  symbols.  In  the  first  four  of  these 
trumpets,  under  the  seventh  seal,  we 
found  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  western 
empire  ;  in  the  first  of  the  remaining 
three — the  fifth  in  order-— we  found  the 
rise  of  the  Saracens,  materially  affecting 
the  condition  of  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  Roman  world;  and  the  notice  of  the 
Turks,  under  whom  the  empire  at  last 
fell  to  rise  no  m6re,  seemed  to  be  de¬ 
manded  in  order  to  the  completion  of  the 
picture.  As  a  leading  design  of  the 
whole  vision  was  to  describe  the  ulti¬ 
mate  destiny  of  that  formidable  power— 
the  Roman — which,  in  the  time  when 
the  Revelation  was  given  to  John,  ruled 
over  the  whole  world;  under  which  the 
church  was  then  oppressed ;  and  which, 
either  as  a  civil  or  ecclesiastical  power, 
was  to  exert  so  important  an  influence 
on  the  destiny  of  the  church,  it  was 
proper  that  its  history  should  be  sketched 
until  it  ceased  —  that  is,  until  the  con¬ 
quest  of  the  capital  of  the  Eastern  em¬ 
pire,  by  the  Turks.  Here  the  termina¬ 
tion  of  the  empire,  as  traced  by  Mr. 


261 


Gibbon,  closes ;  and  these  events  it  was 
important  to  incorporate  in  this  series 
of  visions. 

!  The  rise  and  character  of  the  Turkish 
people  may  be  seen  stated  in  full  in 
Gibbon,  Dec.  and  Fall,  iii.  101,  102,  103, 
j  486,  iv-  41,  42,  87,  90,  91,  93,  100, 
127,  143,  151,  258,  260,  289,  350.  The 
leading  facts  in  regard  to  the  history  of 
the  Turks,  so  far  as  they  are  necessary 
to  be  known  before  we  proceed  to  apply 
j  the  symbols,  are  the  following:  (j)  Tho 
i  Turks,  or  Turkmans,  had  their  origin  in 
the.  vicinity  of  the  Caspian  sea,  and  were 
divided  into  two  branches,  one  on  the 
East,  and  the  other  on  the  West.  The 
latter  colony,  in  the  tenth  century,  could 

muster  forty  thousand  soldiers;  the  other 
numbered  an  hundred  thousand  families. 
Gibbon,  iv.  90.  By  the  latter  of  these, 
j  Persia  was  invaded  and  subdued,  and 
soon  Bagdad  also  came  into  their  pos¬ 
session,  and  the  seat  of  the  caliph  was 
occupied  by  a  Turkish  prince.  The 
various  details  respecting  this,  and  re¬ 
specting  their  conversion  to  the  faith  of 

1  oAenKoran’  may  be  seen  in  Gibbon,  iv. 
90-93.  A  mighty  Turkish  and  Moslem 
power  was  thus  concentrated  under 
Togrul,  who  had  subdued  the  caliph,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Eu¬ 
phrates,  extending  east  over  Persia  and 
the  countries  adjacent  to  the  Caspian 
sea,  but  it  had  not  yet  crossed  the  Eu¬ 
phrates  to  carry  its  conquests  to  the 
West.  The  conquest  of  Bagdad  by 
Togrul,  the  first  prince  of  the  Seljuk 
race,  was  an  important  event,  not  only 
in  itself,  but  as  it  was  by  this  event  that 
the  Turk  was  constituted  temporal  lieu¬ 
tenant  of  the  Prophet’s  vicar,  and  so  the 
head  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  reli¬ 
gion  of  Islam.  “The  conqueror  of  the 
East  kissed  the  ground,  stood  some  time 
in  a  modest  posture,  and  was  led  toward 
the  throne  by  the  vizier  and  an  inter¬ 
preter.  After  Togrul  had  seated  himself 
on  another  throne,  his  commission  was 
publicly  read,  which  declared  him  the 
temporal  lieutenant  of  the  prophet.  He 
was  successively  invested  with  seven 
robes  of  honor,  and  presented  with  seven 
slaves,  the  natives  of  the  seven  climates 
of  the  Arabian  empire,  <fcc.  Their  alli¬ 
ance  [of  the  sultan  and  the  caliph]  was 
cemented  by  the  marriage  of  Togrul’s 
sister  with  the  successor  of  the  prophet,” 

&c.  Gibbon,  iv.  93.  The  conquest  of  Per¬ 
sia,  the  subjugation  of  Bagdad,  the  union 


262 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


of  the  Turkish  power  with  that  of  the 
caliph — the  successor  of  Mohammed,  and 
the  foundation  of  this  powerful  kingdom 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Euphrates,  is 
all  that  is  necessary  to  explain  the  sense 
of  the  phrase  “  which  were  ■prepared  for 
an  hour,”  &c.  ver.  15.  The  arrange¬ 
ments  were  then  made  for  the  important 
series  of  events  which  were  to  occur 
when  that  formidable  power  should  be 
summoned  from  the  East,  to  spread  the 
predicted  desolation  over  so  large  a  part 
of  the  world.  A  mighty  dominion  had 
been  forming  in  the  East,  that  had  sub¬ 
dued  Persia,  and  that,  by  union  with 
the  Caliphs,  by  the  subjugation  of  Bag¬ 
dad,  and  by  embracing  the  Mohamme¬ 
dan  faith,  had  become  “prepared”  to 
play  its  subsequent  important  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  world.  (2)  The  next 
important  event  in  their  history  was  the 
crossing  of  the  Euphrates,  and  the  inva¬ 
sion  of  Asia  Minor.  The  account  of  this 
invasion  can  be  best  given  in  the  words 
of  Mr.  Gibbon. Twenty -five  years  after 
the  death  of  Basil  [the  Greek  emperor] 
his  successors  were  suddenly  assaulted 
by  an  unknown  race  of  barbarians,  who 
united  the  Scythian  valor  with  the  fana¬ 
ticism  of  new  proselytes,  and  the  art  and 
riehes  of  a  powerful  monarchy.  The 
myriads  of  Turkish  horse  overspread  a 
frontier  of  six  hundred  miles  from  Tau¬ 
rus  to  Arzeroum,  and  the  blood  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  Christians 
was  a  grateful  sacrifice  to  the  Arabian 
prophet.  Yet  the  arms  of  Togrul  did 
not  make  any  deep  or  lasting  impression 
on  the  Greek  empire.  The  torrent  rolled 
away  from  the  open  country  ;  the  Sultan 
retired  without  glory  or  success  from  the 
siege  of  an  Armenian  city ;  the  obscure 
hostilities  were  continued  or  suspended 
with  a  vicissitude  of  events ;  and  the 
bravery  of  the  Macedonian  legions  re¬ 
newed  the  fame  of  the  conquerer  of 
Asia.  The  name  of  Alp  Arslan,  the  va¬ 
liant  lion,  is  expressive  of  the  popular 
idea  of  the  perfection  of  man ;  and  the 
successor  of  Togrul  displayed  the  fierce¬ 
ness  and  generosity  of  the  royal  animal. 
[“The  heads  of  the  horses  were  the 
heads  of  lions.”]  He  passed  the  Eu¬ 
phrates  at  the  head  of  the  Turkish 
cavalry,  and  entered  Cesarea,  the  me¬ 
tropolis  of  Cappadocia,  to  which  he  had 
been  attracted  by  the  fame  and  the 
wealth  of  the  temple  of  St.  Basil.”  Vol. 
iv.  93,  94.  Comp,  also  p.  95.  (3)  The 


next  important  event  was  the  establish¬ 
ing  of  the  kingdom  of  Bourn  in  Asia  Mi¬ 
nor.  After  a  succession  of  victories  and 
defeats;  after  being  driven  once  and 
again  from  Asia  Minor,  and  compelled 
to  retire  beyond  its  limits,  and  after 
subjecting  the  East  to  their  arms  (Gib¬ 
bon,  iv.  95-100),  in  the  various  contests 
for  the  crown  of  the  eastern  empire,  the 
aid  of  the  Turks  was  invoked  by  one 
party  or  the  other,  until  they  secured 
for  themselves  a  firm  foothold  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  established  themselves  there 
in  a  permanent  kingdom — evident'.y  with 
the  purpose  of  seizing  upon  Constanti¬ 
nople  itself  when  an  opportunity  should 
be  presented.  Gibbon,  iv.  100, 101.  Of 
this  kingdom  of  Bourn,  Mr.  Gibbon  (iv. 
101)  gives  the  following  description,  and 
speaks  thus  of  the  effect  of  its  establish¬ 
ment,  on  the  destiny  of  the  Eastern  em¬ 
pire  : — “  Since  the  first  conquests  of  the 
Caliphs,  the  establishment  of  the  Turks 
in  Anatolia  or  Asia  Minor,  was  the  most 
deplorable  loss  which  the  church  and 
empire  had  sustained.  By  the  propaga¬ 
tion  of  the  Moslem  faith,  Soliman  de¬ 
served  the  name  of  Gazi,  a  holy  cham¬ 
pion  ;  and  his  new  kingdom  of  the  Ro¬ 
mans,  or  of  Bourn,  was  added  to  the 
table  of  oriental  geography.  It  is  de¬ 
scribed  as  ex  tending /rora  the  Euphrates 
to  Constantinople,  from  the  Black  sea  to 
the  confines  of  Syria;  pregnant  with 
mines  of  silver  and  iron,  of  alum  and 
copper,  fruitful  in  corn  and  wine,  and 
productive  of  cattle  and  excellent  horses. 
The  wealth  of  Lydia,  the  arts  of  the 
Greeks,  the  splendor  of  the  Augustine 
age  existed  only  in  books  and  ruins, 
which  were  equally  obscure  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Scythian  conquerors.  By  the 
choice  of  the  Sultan,  Nice,  the  metropo¬ 
lis  of  Bithynia,  was  preferred  for  his 
palace  and  fortress,  the  seat  of  the  Sel- 
jukian  dynasty  of  Roum  was  planted 
one  hundred  miles  from  Constantinople ; 
and  the  divinity  of  Christ  was  denied 
and  derided  in  the  same  temple  in  which 
it  had  been  pronounced  in  the  first  gene¬ 
ral  synod  of  the  Catholics.  The  unity 
of  God,  and  the  mission  of  Mahomet, 
were  preached  in  the  mosques  ;  the  Ara¬ 
bian  learning  was  taught  in  the  schools  ; 
the  Cadis  judged  according  to  the  law 
of  the  Koran ;  the  Turkish  manners  and 
language  prevailed  in  the  cities ;  and 
Turkman  camps  were  scattered  over  the 
plains  and  mountains  of  Anatolia,”  &c. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


263 


A.  D.  96.] 


(4)  The  next  material  event  in  the 
history  of  the  Turkish  power,  was  the 
conquest  of  Jerusalem.  See  this  de¬ 
scribed  in  Gibbon,  iv.  102-106.  By  this 
the  attention  of  the  Turks  was  turned 
lor  a  time  from  the  conquest  of  Coustan 
tinople  an  event  at  which  the  Turkish 
power  all  along  aimed,  and  in  which  thev 
doubtless  expected  to  be  ultimately  suc¬ 
cessful  Had  they  not  been  diverted 
iroui  it,  by  the  wars  connected  with  the 
Crusades,  Constantinople  would  have 
fallen  long  before  it  did  fall,  for  it  was 
too  feeble  to  defend  itself  if  it  had  been 
attacked.  (5)  The  conquest  of  Jerusa- 
wi^1.6  Turks,  and  the  oppressions 
winch  Christians  experienced  there,  gave 
rise  to  the  Crusades,  by  which  the  des¬ 
tiny  of  Constantinople  was  still  longer 
delayed.  The  war  of  the  Crusades  was 
made  on  the  Turks,  and  as  the  crusaders 
mostly  passed  through  Constantinople 
and  Anatolia,  all  the  power  of  the  Turks 
in  Asia  Minor  was  requisite  to  defend 
themselves,  and  they  were  incapable  of 
making  an  attack  on  Constantinople, 
until  after  the  final  defeat  of  the  cru¬ 
saders,  and  restoration  of  peace.  See 
Gibbon,  iv.  106-210.  (6)  The  next  ma¬ 
terial  event  in  the  history  of  the  Turks 
was  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  in 
A.  D  1453— an  event  which  established 
the  Turkish  power  in  Europe,  and  which 
completed  the  downfall  of  the  Ttoman 
empire.  Gibbon,  iv.  333-359. 

After  this  brief  reference  to  the  gene¬ 
ral  history  of  the  Turkish  power,  we  are 
prepared  to  enquire  more  particularly 
whether  the  symbol  in  the  passage  be¬ 
fore  us  is  applicable  to  this  series  of 
events.  —  This  may  be  considered  in 
several  particulars. 

(1)  The  time.  If  the  first  woe-trum¬ 
pet  referred  to  the  Saracens,  then  it 
would  be  natural  that  the  rise  and  pro¬ 
gress  of  the  Turkish  power  should  be 
symbolized,  as  the  next  great  fact  in 
history ;  and  as  that  under  which  the 
empire  fell.  As  we  have  seen,  the 
Turkish  power  rose  immediately  after 
the  power  of  the  Saracens  had  reached 
its  height,  and  identified  itself  with  the 
Mohammedan  religion,  and  was,  in  fact, 
the  next  great  power  that  affected  the 
Roman  empire,  the  welfare  of  the 
ohurcli,  and  the  history  of  the  world. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that 
the  time  is  such  as  is  demanded  in  the 
proper  interpretation  of  the  symbol. 


(2)  The  place.  We  have  seen  (in  the 
remarks  on  ver.  14)  that  this  was  on  or 
near  the  river  Euphrates,  and  that  this 
power  was  long  forming  and  consoli¬ 
dating  itself  on  the  east  of  that  river 
beiore  it  crossed  it  in  the  invasion  of 
Asia  Minor.  It  had  spread  over  Persia, 
and  had  even  invaded  the  region  of  the 
East  as  far  as  the  Indies ;  it  had  secured, 
under  Togrul,  the  conquest  of  Bagdad, 
and  had  united  itself  with  the  Caliphate 
and  was  in  fact  a  mighty  power  “pre¬ 
pared  for  conquest  before  it  moved  to 
the  west.  Thus,  Mr.  Gibbon  (iv.  92), 
says,  “The  more  rustic,  perhaps  the 
wisest,  portion  of  the  Turkmans,  con¬ 
tinued  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  their  an¬ 
cestors;  and  from  the  Oxus  to  the  Eu¬ 
phrates,  these  military  colonies  were 
protected  and  propagated  by  their  na- 
tiye  princes/’  So  again,  speaking  of 
Alp  Arslan,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Togrul,  he  says  (iv.  94),  “He  passed  the 
Euphrates  at  the  head  of  the  Turkish 
cavalry,  and  entered  Cesarea,  the  me¬ 
tropolis  of  Cappadocia,  to  which  he  was 
attracted  by  the  fame  and  the  wealth  of 
the  temple  of  St.  Basil.”— If  it  be  ad¬ 
mitted  that  it  was  intended  by  John 
to  refer  to  the  Turkish  power,  it  could 
not  have  been  better  represented  than 
as  a  power  that  had  been  forming  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  great  river,  and  that  was 
prepared  to  precipitate  itself  on  the 
Eastern  empire. — To  one  contemplating 

lfc  ln,?,6  time  of  ToSrul  or  Alp  Arslan,  it 
would  have  appeared  as  a  mighty  power 
growing  up  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Euphrates. 

(3)  The  four  angels  :  —  “  Loose  the 
tour  angels  which  are  bound."  That  is 
loose  the  powers  which  are  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Euphrates,  as  if  they  were  under 
the  control  of  four  angels.  The  most 
natural  construction  of  this  would  be 
that  under  the  mighty  power  that  was 
to  sweep  over  the  world,  there  were  four 
subordinate  powers,  or  that  there  were 
such  subdivisions  that  it  might  be  sup¬ 
posed  they  were  ranged  under  four 
angelic  powers  or  leaders.  The  question 
is,  whether  there  was  any  such  division 
or  arrangement  of  the  Turkish  power, 
that  to  one  looking  on  it  at  a  distance, 
there  would  seem  to  be  such  a  division. 

In  the  History  of  the  Decline  and  Eall 
of  the  Roman  Empire  (iv.  100),  we  find 
the  following  statement :  “  The  great¬ 
ness  and  unity  of  the  Persian  empire 


264 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


expired  in  the  person  of  Malek  Shah. 
The  vacant  throne  was  disputed  by  his 
brother  and  his  four  sons ;  and,  after  a 
series  of  civil  wars,  the  treaty  which 
reconciled  the  surviving  candidates  co'n- 
firmed  a  lasting  separation  in  the  Per¬ 
sian  dynasty,  the  oldest  and  principal 
branch  of  the  house  of  Seljuk.  The 
three  younger  dynasties  were  those  of 
Kerman,  of  Syria,  and  of  Bourn ;  the 
first  of  these  commanded  an  extensive, 
though  obscure  dominion,  on  the  shores 
of  the  Indian  ocean  ;  the  second  expelled 
the  Arabian  princes  of  Aleppo  and 
Damascus ;  and  the  third  [our  peculiar 
case],  invaded  the  Roman  provinces  of 
Asia  Minor.  The  generous  policy  of 
Malek  contributed  to  their  elevation  :  he 
allowed  the  princes  of  his  blood,  even 
those  whom  he  had  vanquished  in  the 
field,  to  seek  new  kingdoms  worthy  of 
their  ambition  ;  nor  was  he  displeased 
that  they  should  draw  away  the  more 
ardent  spirits  who  might  have  disturbed 
the  tranquillity  of  his  reign.  As  the 
supreme  head  of  his  family  and  nation, 
.the  great  Sultan  of  Persia  commanded 
the  obedience  and  tribute  of  his  royal 
brethren :  the  thrones  of  Kerman  and 
Nice,  of  Aleppo  and  Damascus ;  the 
Atabeks  and  emirs  of  Syria  and  Meso¬ 
potamia,  erected  their  standards  under 
the  shadow  of  his  sceptre,  and  the 
hordes  of  Turkmans  overspread  the 
plains  of  Western  Asia.  After  the  death 
of  Malek,  the  bands  of  union  and  subor¬ 
dination  were  gradually  relaxed  and  dis¬ 
solved;  the  indulgence  of  the  house  of 
Seljuk  invested  their  slaves  with  the 
inheritance  of  kingdoms;  and,  in  the 
Oriental  style,  a  crowd  of  princes  arose 
from  the  dust  of  their  feet.”  Here  it  is 
observable,  that,  at  the  period  when  the 
Turkman  hordes  were  about  to  precipi¬ 
tate  themselves  on  Europe,  and  to  ad¬ 
vance  to  the  destruction  of  the  Eastern 
empire,  we  have  distinct  mention  of 
four  great  departments  of  the  Turkish 
power:  —  the  original  power  that  had 
established  itself  in  Persia,  under  Malek 
Shah,  and  the  three  subordinate  powers 
that  sprung  out  of  that  of  Kerman,  Syria, 
and  Roum.  It  is  observable  (a)  that  this 
occurs  at  the  period  when  that  power 
would  appear  in  the  East  as  advancing 
in  its  conquests  to  the  West;  (b)  that  it 
was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  river 
Euphrates ;  (c)  that  it  had  never  before 
occurred  —  the  Turkish  power  having 


been  before  united  as  one;  and  (d)  that 
it  never  afterwards  occurred — for,  in  the 
words  of  Mr.  Gibbon,  “  After  the  death  of 
Malek,  the  bands  of  union  and  subordina¬ 
tion  were  relaxed  and  finally  dissolved.” 
It  would  not  be  improper,  then,  to  look 
upon  this  one  mighty  power  as  under 
the  .control  of  four  spirits  that  were  held 
in  check  in  the  East,  and  that  were 
“  prepared”  to  pour  their  energies  on  the 
Roman  empire. 

(4)  The  preparation  : — “  Prepared  for 
an  hour,”  &c.  That  is,  arranged ;  made 
ready — as  if  by  previous  discipline — for 
some  mighty  enterprise.  Applied  to  the 
Turkmans,  this  would  mean  that  the 
preparation  for  the  ultimate  work  which 
they  executed  had  been  making  as  that 
power  increased  and  became  consoli¬ 
dated  under  Togrul,  Alp  Arslan,  and 
Malek  Shah.  In  its  successful  strides, 
Persia  and  the  East  had  been  subdued ; 
the  Caliph  at  Bagdad  had  been  brought 
under  the  control  of  the  Sultan  ;  a  union 
had  been  formed  between  the  Turks  and 
the  Saracens ;  and  the  Sultanies  of  Ker¬ 
man,  Syria,  and  Roum  had  been  esta¬ 
blished —  embracing  together  all  the 
countries  of  the  East,  and  constituting 
this,  by  far,  the  most  mighty  nation  on 
the  globe.  All  this  would  seem  to  be  a 
work  of  preparation  to  do  what  was 
afterwards  done  as  seen  in  the  visions  of 
John. 

(5)  The  fact  that  they  were  bound : — 
“Which  are  bound  in  the  great  river 
Euphrates.”  That  is,  they  were,  as  it 
were,  restrained  and  kept  back  for  a  long 
time  in  that  vicinity.  It  would  have 
been  natural  to  suppose  that  that  vast 
power  would  at  once  move  on  toward  the 
West  to  the  conquest  of  the  capital  of  the 
Eastern  empire.  Such  had  been  the 
case  with  the  Huns,  the  Goths,  and  the 
Vandals.  But  these  Turkish  hordes 
had  been  long  restrained  in  the  East. 
They  had  subdued  Persia.  They  had 
then  achieved  the  conquest  of  India. 
They  had  conquered  Bagdad,  and  the 
entire  East  was  under  their  control. 
Yet  for  a  long  time  they  had  now  been 
inactive,  and  it  would  seem  as  if  they 
had  been  bound  or  restrained  by  some 
mighty  power  from  moving  in  their 
conquests  to  the  West. 

(6)  The  material  that  composed  the 
army  : — “  And  the  number  of  the  army 
of  the  horsemen.”  .  “And  thus  I  saw  the 
horses  in  the  vision.  And  the  heads  of 


A.  D.  96.J 


CHAPTER  IX. 


the  horses  were  as  the  heads  of  lions.” 
irom  this  it  appears  that  this  vast  host 
was  composed  mainly  of  cavalry ;  and  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  this 
description  would  apply  better  to  the 
lurkish  hordes  than  to  any  other  body 
of  invaders  known  in  history.  Thus  Mr 
Gibbon  (iv.  94),  says,  “The  myriads  of 
the  lurkish  horse  overspread  a  frontier  of 
six  hundred  miles  from  Taurus  to  Arze- 
roum.  ’  A.  D.  1050.  So  again,  speaking 
of  Togrul  (iv.  94),  “He  passed  the 
Euphrates  at  the  head  of  the  Turkish 
cavalry.”  Ibid.  So  again  (iii.  95),  “Alp 
Arslan  flew  to  the  scene  of  action  at  the 
head  of  forty  thousand  horse.”  A.D.  1 071. 
So  in  the  attack  of  the  crusaders  on  Nice, 
the  capital  of  the  Turkish  kingdom  of 
Roum,  Mr.  Gibbon  (iv.  127),  says  of  the 
Sultan  Soliman,  “Yielding  to  the  first 
impulse  of  the  torrent,  he  deposited  his 
treasure  and  family  in  Nice;  retired 
to  the  mountains  with  fifty  thousand 
horse,”  Ac.  And  so  again  {ibid.),  speak- 
mg  of  the  Turks  who  rallied  to  oppose 
the  “strange”  invasion  of  “the  Western 
barbarians,”  he  says,  “The  Turkish 
emirs  obeyed  the  call  of  loyalty  or  re¬ 
ligion;  the  Turkish  hordes  encamped 
round  his  standard;  and  his  whole  force 
is  loosely  stated  by  the  Christians  at  two 
hundred,  or  even  three  hundred  thou 
sand  horse.”  A.  D.  1097.  Every  stu¬ 
dent  of  history  knows  that  the  Turks, 
or  Turkmans,  in  the  early  periods  of 
their  history  were  remarkable  for  their 
cavalry. 

(7)  Their  numbers  : — “And  the  num- 
ber  of  the  army  of  the  horsemen  were 
two  hundred  thousand  thousand.”  That 
it  was  vast,  or  it  was  such  as  to  be 


265 


is 


reckoned  by  myriads,  or  by  tens  of 
thousands  —  8vo  nvpidbss  yvpidbinv —  two 
myriads  of  myriads.  Thus  Mr.  Gibbon 
(iv.  94),  says,  “  The  myriads  of  Turkish 
horse  overspread,”  Ac.  It  has  been  sug¬ 
gested  by  Daubez  that  in  this  there  may 
be  probably  an  allusion  to  the  Turkman 
custom  of  numbering  by  tomans,  or 
myriads.  This  custom,  it  is  true,  has 
existed  elsewhere,  but  there  is  probably 
none  with  whom  it  has  been  so  familiar 
as  with  the  Tartars  and  Turks.  In  the 
Seljukian  age,  the  population  of  Samar- 
cand  was  rated  at  seven  tomans  {myriads), 
because  it  could  send  out  70,000  warriors. 
The  dignity  and  rank  of  Tamerlane’s 
father  and  grandfather  was  thus  describ¬ 
ed,  that  “  they  were  the  hereditary  chiefs 
23 


of  a /oman,  or  10,000  horse”-a  myriad 
(Gibbon,  iv.  270),  so  that  it  is  not  without 
his  usual  propriety  of  language  that  Mr. 
Gibbon  speaks  of  the  myriads  of  the 
lurkish  horse,  or  of  the  cavalry  of  the 
earlier  Turks  of  Mount  Altai,  “  being 
both  men  and  horses,  proudly  computed 
by  myriads.”  One  thing  is  clear,  that  to 
no  other  invading  hosts  could  the  lan¬ 
guage  here  used  be  so  well  applied,  and, 
if  it  were  supposed  that  John  was  writing 
after  the  event,  this  would  be  the  lan¬ 
guage  which  he  would  be  likely  to  em¬ 
ploy— for  this  is  nearly  the  identical 
Gibbon^  empl°yed  by  the  bistorian 

Their  personal  appearance:  — 
ihem  that  sat  on  them  having  breast¬ 
plates  of  fire,  and  jacinth,  and  brim¬ 
stone  as  explained  above,  in  a  “uni¬ 
form  of  red,  and  blue,  and  yellow.  This 
might,  undoubtedly,  be  applicable  to 
other  armies  besides  the  Turkish  hordes 
but  the  proper  question  here  is,  whether 
it  would  be  applicable  to  them.  The 
fact  of  the  application  of  the  symbol  to 
the  Turks  in  general  must  be  determined 
from  other  points  in  the  symbol  which 
designate  them  clearly;  the  only  natural 
enquiry  here  is,  whether  this  descrip¬ 
tion  would  apply  to  the  Turkish  hosts, 
for  if  it  would  not,  that  would  be  fatal  to 
the  whole  interpretation.  On  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  this  passage  to  the  Tusks, 
Mr.  Daubez  justly  remarks,  that  *'  from 
their  first  appearance  the  Ottomans  have 
affected  to  wear  warlike  apparel  of 
scarlet,  blue,  and  yellow :  a  descriptive 
trait  the  more  marked  from  its  contrast 
to  the  military  appearance  of  the  Greeks, 
Franks,,  or  Saracens  contemporarily.” 
Mr.  Elliott  adds,  “  it  only  needs  to  have 
seen  the  Turkish  cavalry  (as  they  were 
before  the  late  innovations),  whether  in 
war .  itself,  or  in  the  djerrid  war’s 
mimicry,  to  leave  an  impression  of  the 
absolute  necessity  of  some  such  notice 
of  their  rich  and  varied  colorings,  in 
order  to  give  in  description  at  all  a 
just  impression  of  their  appearance  ” 
i.  481. 

(9)  The  remarkable  appearance  of  the 
cavalry:—**  Having  breastplates  of  fire, 
and  of  jacinth,  and  brimstone:  and  the 
heads  of  the  horses  were  as  the  heads  of 
lions  :  and  out  of  their  mouths  issued  fire, 
and  smoke,  and  brimstone.”  It  was 
remarked  in  the  exposition  of  this  pas¬ 
sage,  that  this  is  just  such  a  description 


266 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


as  would  be  given  of  an  army  to  which 
the  use  of  gunpowder  was  known,  and 
which  made  use  of  it  in  these  wars. 
Looking  now  upon  a  body  of  cavalry  in 
the  Beat  of  an  engagement,  it  would 


seem,  if  the  cause  were  not  known,  that 
the  horses  belched  forth  smoke  and 
sulphurous  flame.  The  annexed  cut 
may  serve  to  show  how  natural  this 
representation  would  be.  The  only 


question  now  is,  whether  in  the  warfare 
of  the  Turks,  there  was  any  thing  which 
would  peculiarly  or  remarkably  justify 
this  description.  And  here  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  not  to  advert  to  the  historical  fact 
that  they  were  among  the  first  to  make 
use  of  gunpowder  in  their  wars,  and  that 
to  the  use  of  this  destructive  element 
they  owed  much  of  their  success,  and 
their  ultimate  triumphs.  The  historical 
truth  of  this  it  is  necessary  now  to  advert 
to,  and  this  will  be^  done  by  a  reference 
to  Mr.  Gibbon,  and  to  the  account  which 
he  has  given  of  the  final  conquest  of 
Constantinople  by  the  Turks.  It  will 
be  seen  how  he  puts  this  new  instru¬ 
mentality  of  war  into  the  foreground  in 
his  account ;  how  prominent  this  seemed 
to  him  to  be  in  describing  the  victories 
of  the  Turks ;  and  how  probable,  there¬ 
fore,  it  is,  that  John  in  describing  an 
invasion  by  them  would  refer  to  the 
“  fire,  and  smoke,  and  brimstone”  that 
seemed  to  be  emitted  from  the  mouths 
of  their  horses.  As  preparatory  to  the 
account  of  the  siege  and  conquest  of 
Constantinople  by  the  Turks,  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon  gives  a  description  of  the  invention 
and  use  of  gunpowder.  “  The  chemists 
of  China  or  Europe  had  found,  by  casual 
or  elaborate  experiments,  that  a  mixture 
of  saltpetre,  sulphur,  and  charcoal,  pro¬ 
duces,  with  a  spark  of  fire,  a  tremendous 
explosion.  It  was  soon  observed  that 
if  the  expansive  force  were  compressed 
in  a  strong  tube,  a  hall  of  stone  or  iron 
might  be  expelled  with  irresistible  and 
destructive  velocity.  The  precise  era  of 
the  invention  and  application  of  gun¬ 
powder  is  involved  in  doubtful  traditions 


and  equivocal  language;  yet  we  may 
clearly  discern  that  it  was  known  before 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century; 
and  that  before  the  end  of  the  same,  the 
use  of  artillery  in  battles  and  sieges,  by 
sea  and  land,  was  familiar  to  the  states 
of  Germany,  Italy,  Spain,  France,  and 
England.  The  priority  of  nations  is  of 
small  account;  none  would  derive  any  ex¬ 
clusive  benefit  from  their  previous  or  su¬ 
perior  knowledge ;  and  on  the  common 
improvement  they  stand  on  the  same  level 
of  relative  power  and  military  science. 
Nor  was  it  possible  to  circumscribe  the 
secret  within  the  pale  of  the  church ;  it 
was  disclosed  to  the  Turks  by  the  treach¬ 
ery  of  apostates  and  the  selfish  policy  of 
rivals ;  and  the  sultans  had  sense  to 
adopt,  and  wealth  to  reward,  the  talents 
of  a  Christian  engineer.  By  the  Vene¬ 
tians,  the  use  of  gunpowder  was  commu¬ 
nicated  without  reproach  to  the  sultans 
of  Egypt  and  Persia,  their  allies  against 
the  Ottoman  power;  the  secret  was  soon 
propagated  to  the  extremities  of  Asia; 
and  the  advantage  of  the  European  was 
confined  to  his  easy  victories  over  the 
savages  of  the  new  world.”  iv.  291.  In 
the  description  of  the  conquest  of  Con¬ 
stantinople,  Mr.  Gibbon  makes  frequent 
mention  of  their  artillery,  and  of  the  use 
of  gunpowder,  and  of  its  important 
agency  in  securing  their  final  conquests, 
and  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Eastern 
empire.  “Among  the  implements  of 
destruction,  he  [the  Turkish  sultan] 
studied  with  peculiar  care  the  recent 
and  tremendous  discovery  of  the  Latins  ; 
and  his  artillery  surpassed  whatever  had 
yet  appeared  in  the  world.  A  founder 


267 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  IX. 


of  cannon,  a  Dane  or  Hungarian,  who 
had  almost  starved  in  the  Greek  service, 
deserted  to  the  Moslems,  and  was  libe¬ 
rally  entertained  by  the  Turkish  sultan. 
Mohammed  was  satisfied  with  the  answer 
to  his  first  question,  which  he  eagerly 
pressed  on  the  artist:  ‘Am  I  able  to 
cast  a  cannon  capablejjf  throwing  a  ball 
or  stone  of  sufficient  size  to  batter  the 
walls  of  Constantinople  ?  I  am  not  ig¬ 
norant  of  their  strength,  but  were  they 
more  solid  than  those  of  Babylon,  I 
could  oppose  an  engine  of  superior 
power;  the  position  and  management 
of  that  engine  must  be  left  to  your  en¬ 
gineers.’  On  this  assurance  a  foundry 
was  established  at  Adrianople ;  the  metal 
was  prepared ;  and  at  the  end  of  three 
months  Urban  produced  a  piece  of  brass 
ordnance  of  stupendous  and  almost  in¬ 
credible  magnitude ;  a  measure  of  twelve 
palms  is  assigned  to  the  bore ;  and  the 
stone  bullet  weighed  above  six  hundred 
pounds.  A  vacant  place  before  the  new 
palace  was  ehosen  for  the  first  experi¬ 
ment;  but  to  prevent  the  sudden  and 
mischievous  effects  of  astonishment  and 
fear,  a  proclamation  was  issued  that  the 
cannon  would  be  discharged  the  ensuing 
day.  The  explosion  was  felt  or  heard 
in  a  circuit  of  a  hundred  furlongs ;  the 
ball,  by  the  force  of  gunpowder,  was 
driven  about  a  mile ;  and  on  the  spot 
where  it  fell,  it  buried  itself  a  fathom 
deep  in  the  ground.  ”  iv.  339.  So  in 
speaking  of  the  siege  of  Constantinople 
by  the  Turks,  Mr.  Gibbon  says  of  the 
defence  by  the  Christians  (iv.  343), 
“The  incessant  volleys  of  lances  and 
arrows  were  accompanied  with  the  smoke, 
the  sound,  and  the  fire  of  their  musketry 
and  cannon.”  “The  same  destructive 
secret,”  he  adds,  “had  been  revealed  to 
the  Moslems,  by  whom  it  was  employed 
with  the  superior  energy  of  zeal,  riches, 
and  despotism.  The  great  cannon  of 
Mohammed  has  been  separately  noticed 
— an  important  and  visible  object  in  the 
history  of  the  times :  but  that  enormous 
engine  was  flanked  by  two  fellows  almost 
of  equal  magnitude;  the  long  order  of 
the  Turkish  artillery  was  pointed  against 
the  walls;  fourteen  batteries  thundered 
at  once  on  the  most  accessible  places; 
and  of  one  of  these  it  was  ambiguously 
expressed  that  it  was  mounted  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty  guns,  and  that  it 
discharged  one  hundred  and  thirty  bul¬ 
lets.”  iv.  343,  344.  Again:  "“The  first 


random  shots  were  productive  of  more 
sound  than  effect;  and  it  was  by  the 
advice  of  a  Christian  that  the  engineers 
were  taught  to  level  their  aim  against 
the  two  opposite  sides  of  the  salient 
angles  of  a  bastion.  However  imperfect, 
the  weight  and  repetition  of  the  fire 
made  some  impression  on  the  walls.” 
iv.  344.  And  again:  “A  circumstance 
that  distinguishes  the  siege  of  Constan¬ 
tinople,  is  the  re-union  of  the  ancient 
and  modern  artillery.  The  cannon  were 
intermingled  with  the  mechanical  en¬ 
gines  for  casting  stones  and  darts; 
the  bullet  and  the  battering-ram  were 
directed  against  the  same  walls ;  nor  had 
the  discovery  of  gunpowder  superseded 
the  use  of  the  liquid  and  inextinguish¬ 
able  fire.”  iv.  344.  So  again, -in  the 
description  of  the  final  conflict  when 
Constantinople  was  taken,  Mr.  Gibbon 
says,  “  From  the  lines,  the  galleys,  and 
the  bridge,  the  Ottoman  artillery  thun¬ 
dered  on  all  sides ;  and  the  camp  and 
city,  the  Greeks  and  the  Turks,  were 
involved  in  a  cloud  of  smoke  which 
could  only  be  dispelled  by  the  final 
deliverance  or  destruction  of  the  Roman 
empire.”  iv.  350.  Assuredly,  if  such 
was  the  fact  in  the  conquests  of  the 
Turks,  it  was  not  unnatural  in  one  who 
was  looking  on  these  warriors  in  vision, 
to  describe  them  as  if  they  seemed  to 
belch  out  ‘  fire,  and  smoke,  and  brim¬ 
stone.’  If  Mr.  Gibbon  had  designed  to 
describe  the  conquests  of  the  Turks  as  a 
fulfilment  of  the  prediction,  could  he 
have  done  it  in  a  style  more  clear  and 
graphic  than  that  which  he  has  em¬ 
ployed?  If  this  had  occurred  in  a 
Christian  writer,  would  it  not  have  been 
charged  on  him  that  he  had  shaped  his 
facts  to  meet  his  notions  of  the  meaning 
of  the  prophecy  ? 

(10)  The  statement  that ‘their  power 
was  in  their  mouth,  and  in  their  tails,’ 
ver.  19.  The  former  part  of  this  has 
been  illustrated.  The  enquiry  now  is, 
what  is  the  meaning  of  the  declaration 
that  ‘their  power  was  in  their  tails.’  In 
ver.  19,  their  tails  are  described  as  re¬ 
sembling  ‘serpents,  having  heads,’  and 
it  is  said  that  ‘  with  them  they  do  hurt.’ 
See  Notes  on  that  verse.  The  allusion 
to  the  ‘serpents’  would  seem  to  imply 
that  there  was  something  in  the  horses’ 
tails  as  compared  with  them,  or  in 
some  use  that  was  made  of  them,  which 
would  make  this  language  proper;  that 


268 


REVELATION, 


is,  that  their  appearance  would  so  sug¬ 
gest  the  idea  of  death  and  destruction, 
that  the  mind  would  easily  imagine  they 
were  a  bundle  of  serpents.  The  follow¬ 
ing  remarks  may  show  how  applicable 
this  was  to  the  Turks :  —  (a)  In  the 
Turkish  hordes  there  was  something, 
whatever  it  was,  that  naturally  suggest¬ 
ed  some  resemblance  to  serpents.  Of  the 
Turkmans  when  they  began  to  spread 
their  conquests  over  Asia,  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  rouse 
the  people  against  them,  Mr.  Gibbon 
makes  the  following  remark  :  —  “  Mas- 
soud,  the  son  and  successor  of  Mahmoud, 
had  too  long  neglected  the  advice  of  his 
wisest  Omrahs.  ‘  Your  enemies,'  [the 
Turkmans]  they  repeatedly  urged,  'were 
in  their  origin  a  swarm  of  ants ;  they 
are  now  little  snakes ;  and  unless  they 
be  instantly  crushed,  they  will  acquire 
the  venom  and  magnitude  of  serpents.'  " 
iv.  91.  ( b )  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 

the  horse’s  tail  is  a  well-known  Turkish 
standard — a  symbol  of  office  and  autho¬ 
rity.  “  The  Pashas  are  distinguished, 
after  a  Tartar  custom,  by  three  horse¬ 
tails  on  the  side  of  their  tents,  and  receive 
by  courtesy  the  title  .of  heyler  beg,  or 
prince  of  princes.  The  next  in  rank  are 
the  pashas  of  two  tails,  the  beys  who  are 
honored  with  one  tail.''  Ed.  Ency. 
Art.  Turkey.  In  the  times  of  their  early 
warlike  career,  the  principal  standard 
was  once  lost  in  battle,  and  the  Turk¬ 
man  commander,  in  default,  cut  off  his 
horse’s  tail,  lifted  it  on  a  pole,  made  it 
the  rallying  ensign,  and  so  gained  the 
victory.  So  Tournefort  in  his  Travels 
states.  The  following  is  Ferrario’s  ac¬ 
count  of  the  origin  of  this  ensign  :  “An 
author  acquainted  with  their  customs 
says,  that  a  general  of  theirs,  not  know¬ 
ing  how  to  rally  his  troops  that  had  lost 
their  standards,  cut  off  a  horse’s  tail,  and 
fixed  it  to  the  end  of  a  spear  ;  and  the 
soldiers  rallying  at  that  signal,  gained 
the  victory.”  He  adds  farther,  that 
whereas  “on  his  appointment  a  Pasha 
of  three  tails  used  to  receive  a  drum  and 
a  standard,  now  for  the  drum  there  have 
been  substituted  three  horses’  tails,  tied 
at  the  end  of  a  spear,  round  a  gilded 
haft.  One  of  the  first  officers  of  the 
palace  presents  him  these  three  tails  as  a 
standard.”  Elliott,  i.  485,  486.  This 
remarkable  standard  or  ensign  is  found 
only  among  the  Turks,  and,  if  there  was 
an  intended  reference  to  them,  '->e  sym¬ 


[A.  D.  96. 

bol  here  would  be  the  proper  one  to  be 
adopted.  The  meaning  of  the  passage 
where  it  is  said  that  ‘  their  power  is  in 
their  tails,’  would  seem  to  be,  that  their 
tails  were  the  symbol  or  emblem  of  their 
authority  —  as  in  fact  the  horse’s  tail  is 
in  the  appointment  of  a  Pasha.  The 
image  before  the  mind  of  John  would 
seem  to  have  been,  that  he  saw  the 
horses  belching  out  fire  and  smoke,  and, 
what  was  equally  strange,  he  saw  that 
their  power  of  spreading  desolation  was 
connected  with  the  tails  of  horses.  Any 
one  looking  on  a  body  of  cavalry  with 
such  banners  or  ensigns,  would  be  struck 
with  this  unusual  and  remarkable  ap¬ 
pearance,  and  would  speak  of  their  ban¬ 
ners  as  concentrating  and  directing  their 
power.  The  following  cut,  representing 
the  standard  of  a  Turkish  Pasha,  will 
illustrate  the  passage  before  us. 


(11)  The  number  slain,  ver.  18.  That 
is  said  to  have  been  “  the  third  part  of 
men.”  No  one  in  reading  the  accounts 
of  the  wars  of  the  Turks,  and  of  the 
ravages  which  they  have  committed, 
would  be  likely  to  feel  that  this  is  an  ex¬ 
aggeration.  It  is  not  necessary  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  it  is  literally  accurate,  but  it  is 
such  a  representation  as  would  strike 
one  in  looking  over  the  world,  and  con¬ 
templating  the  effect  of  their  invasions 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


269 


If  the  other  specifications  in  the  symbol 
are  correct,  there  -would  be  no  hesitation 
in  admitting  the  propriety  of  this. 

(12)  The  time  of  the  continuance  of 
this  power.  This  is  a  material,  and  a 
more  difficult  point.  It  is  said  (ver.  15) 
to  be  “an  hour,  and  a  day,  and  a  month, 
and  a  year;”  that  is,  as  explained,  three 
hundred  and  ninety-one  years,  and  the 
portion  of  a  year  indicated  by  the  ex¬ 
pression  “an  hour:”— to  wit,  an  addi¬ 
tional  twelfth  or  twenty-fourth  part  of  a 
year.  The  question  now  is,  whether, 
supposing  the  time  to  which  this  reaches 
to  be  the  capture  of  Constantinople,  and 
the  consequent  downfall  of  the  Roman 
empire— the.  object  in  view  in  this  series 
of  visions — in  reckoning  back  from  that 
period  for  391  years,  we  should  reach 
an  epoch  that  would  properly  denote  the 
moving  forward  of  this  power  towards 
its  final  conquest;  that  is,  whether  there 
was  any  such  marked  epoch  that  if  the 
391  years  were  added  to  it,  it  would 
reach  the  year  of  the  conquest  of  Con¬ 
stantinople,  A.  D.  1453.  The  period  that 
would  be  indicated  by  taking  the  num¬ 
ber  391  from  1453  would  be  1062  — and 
that  is  the  time  in  which  we  are  to  look 
for  the  event  referred  to.  This  is  on  the 
supposition  that  the  year  consisted  of 
360  days,  or  twelve  months  of  thirty 
days  each.  If,  however,  instead  of  this, 
wo  reckon  365  days,  and  six  hours,  then 
the  length  of  time  would  be  found  to 
amount  to  396  years,  and  106  days.* 
This  would  make  the  time  of  the  “loosen- 
ing  of  the  angels,”  or  the  moving  for¬ 
ward  of  this  power,  to  be  A.  D.  1057.  In 
the  uncertainty  on  this  point,  and  in  the 
unsettled  state  of  ancient  chronology,  it 
would,  perhaps,  be  vain  to  hope  for  mi¬ 
nute  accuracy,  and  it  is  not  reasonable 
to  demand  it  of  an  interpreter.  On  any 
fair  principle  of  interpretation,  it  would 
be  sufficient  if  at  about  one  of  these  pe- 


*  “As  the  Julian  year  equalled  365  days  6 
hours,  the  Apocalyptic  period  would,  on  the 
year-day  principle,  be  in  amount  as  follows : 
A  year  =  365)  days  =  365  years -1-  !  of  a  year. 
A  month  =  30  days  =  30  years. 

A  day  =  =  1  year. 

Years  396. 

i  of  a  prophetic  day  or  year )  ,  , 

(left  out  above)  J  <la3rs. 

An  hour  =  oV  of  a  prophetic) 
day  or  year  / 

Total  =  years  396  -j- 106  days.” 

Elliott,  i.  p.  493. 

23* 


45^  days. 


riods— A.  D.  1062,  or  A.  D.  1057— there 
was  found  such  a  definite  or  strongly 
marked  event  as  would  indicate  a  move¬ 
ment  of  the  hitherto  restrained  power 
toward  the  West.  This  is  the  real  point, 
then,  to  be  determined.  Now,  in  a  com¬ 
mon  work  on  chronology,  I  find  this  re- 
cord: — “A.  D.  1055,  Turks  reduce  Bag¬ 
dad,  and  overturn  tho  empire  of  the  Ca¬ 
liphs.”  In  a  work  still  more  important 
to  our  purpose  (Gibbon,  iv.  92,  93)  under 
the  date  of  A.  D.  1055,  I  find  a  series  of 
statements,  which  will  show  the  pro¬ 
priety  of  referring  to  that  event  as  the 
one  by  which  this  power,  so  long  re¬ 
strained,  was  “let  loose;”  that  is,  was 
placed  in  such  a  state  that  its  final  con¬ 
quest  of  the  eastern  empire  certainly 
followed.  The  event  was  the  union  of 
the  Turkish  power  with  the  Caliphate  in 
such  a  way  that  the  Sultan  was  regarded 
as  the  temporal  lieutenant  of  the  vicar 
of  the  prophet.”  Of  this  event  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon  gives  the  following  account.  After 
mentioning  the  conversion  of  the  Turks 
to  the  Moslem  faith,  and  especially  the 
zeal  with  which  the  son  of  Seljuk  had 
embraced  that  faith,  he  proceeds  to  state 
the  manner  in  which  the  Turkish  Sul¬ 
tan,  Togrul,  came  in  possession  of  Bag¬ 
dad,  and  was  invested  with  the  high 
office  of  the  “  temporal  lieutenant  of  the 
vicar  of  the  prophet.”  There  were  two 
Caliphs  —  those  of  Bagdad  and  Egypt, 
and  “the  sublime  character  of  the  suc¬ 
cessor  of  the  prophet”  was  “disputed” 
by  them.  iv.  93.  Each  of  them  be¬ 
came  “solicitous  to  prove  his  title  in  the 
judgment  of  the  strong  though  illite¬ 
rate  barbarians.”  Mr.  Gibbon  then  says 
“  Mahmoud  the  Gaznevide,  had  declared 
himself  in  favor  of  the  line  of  Abbas  • 
and  had  treated  with  indignity  tho  robe 
of  honor  which  was  presented  by  the 
Fatimite  ambassador.  Yet  the  ungrate¬ 
ful  Hashemite  had  changed  with  the 
change  of  fortune;  he  applauded  the 
victory  of  Zendecan,  and  named  the 
Seljukian  Sultan  his  temporal  vicege¬ 
rent  over  the  Moslem  world. — As  Togrul 
executed  and  enlarged  this  important 
trust,  he  was  called  to  the  delivera.nce  of 
the  Caliph  Cayem,  and  obeyed  the  holy 
summons,  which  gave  a  new  kingdom  to 
his  arms.  In  the  palace  of  Bagdad,  the 
commander  of  the  faithful  still  slum¬ 
bered,  a  venerable  phantom.  His  ser¬ 
vant  or  master,  the  prince  of  the  Bow- 
ides,  could  no  longer  protect  him  from 


270 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


the  insolence  of  meaner  tyrants;  and 
the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  were  op¬ 
pressed  by  the  revolt  of  the  Turkish  and 
Arabian  armies.  The  presence  of  a  con¬ 
queror  was  implored  as  a  blessing;  and 
the  transient  mischiefs  of  fire  and  sword 
were  excused  as  the  sharp  but  salutary 
remedies  which  alone  could  restore  the 
health  of  the  Republic.  At  the  head  of 
an  irresistible  force,  the  Sultan  of  Per¬ 
sia  marched  from  Hamadan ;  the  proud 
were  crushed,  the  prostrate  were  spared; 
the  prince  of  the  Bowides  disappeared ; 
the  heads  of  the  most  obstinate  rebels 
were  at  the  feet  of  Togrul ;  and  he  in¬ 
flicted  a  lesson  of  obedience  on  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  Mosul  and  Bagdad.  After  the 
chastisement  of  the  guilty,  and  the  re¬ 
storation  of  peace,  the  royal  shepherd 
accepted  the  reward  of  his  labors ;  and  a 
solemn  amnesty  represented  the  triumph 
of  religious  prejudice  over  barbarian 
power.  The  Turkish  sultan  embarked 
on  the  Tigris,  landed  at  the  gate  of 
Racca,  and  made  his  public  entry  on 
horseback.  At  the  palace  gate,  he  re¬ 
spectfully  dismounted,  and  walked  on 
foot,  preceded  by  his  emirs  without 
arms.  The  caliph  was  seated  behind 
his  black  veil ;  the  black  garment  of  the 
Abbassides  was  cast  over  his  shoulders, 
and  he  held  in  his  hand  the  staff  of  the 
Apostle  of  God.  The  conqueror  of  the 
east  kissed  the  ground,  stood  some  time 
in  a  modest  posture,  and  was  led  toward 
the  throne  by  the  vizier  and  an  inter¬ 
preter.  After  Togrul  had  seated  him¬ 
self  on  another  throne,  his  commission 
was  publicly  read,  t chick  declared  him 
the  temporal  lieutenant  of  the  vicar  of  the 
prophet.  He  was  successively  invested 
with  seven  robes  of  honor,  and  presented 
with  seven  slaves,  the  natives  of  the 
seven  climates  of  the  Arabian  empire. 
His  mystic  veil  was  perfumed  with 
musk ;  two  crowns  were  placed  on  his 
head  ;  two  scimetars  were  girded  to  his 
side,  as  the  symbols  of  a  double  reign 
over  the  East  and  West.  Their  alliance 
was  cemented  by  the  marriage  of  Tog- 
rul’s  sister  with  the  successor  of  the 
prophet.”  iv.  93,  94.  This  event,  so  de¬ 
scribed,  was  of  sufficient  importance,  as 
constituting  a  union  of  the  Turkish 
power  with  the  Moslem  faith,  as  making 
it  practicable  to  move  in  their  con¬ 
quests  toward  the  west,  and  as  con¬ 
nected  in  its  ultimate  results  with  the 
downfall  of  the  Eastern  empire,  to  make 


it  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  nations. 
In  fact  it  was  the  point  which  one  would 
have  particularly  looked  at,  after  de¬ 
scribing  the  movements  of  the  Saracens, 
(ch.  ix.  1-11),  as  the  next  event  that 
was  to  change  the  condition  of  the 
world. 

Happily  we  have  also  the  means  of 
fixing  the  exact  date  of  this  event,  so 
as  to  make  it  accord  with  singular  accu¬ 
racy  with  the  period  supposed  to  be  re¬ 
ferred  to.  The  general  time  specified 
by  Mr.  Gibbon,  is  A.  D.  1055.  This,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  two  methods  referred  to  of 
determining  the  period  embraced  in  the 
“  hour,  and  day,  and  month,  and  year,” 
would  reach,  if  the  period  wpre  391 
years,  to  A.  D.  1446;  if  the  other  method 
were  referred  to,  making  it  396  years 
and  106  days,  to  A.  D.  1451,  with  106 
days  added — within  less  than  two  years 
of  the  actual  taking  of  Constantinople. 
But  there  is  a  more  accurate  calculation 
as  to  the  time  than  the  general  one  thus 
made.  In  vol.  iv.  93,  Mr.  Gibbon  makes 
this  remark  : — “  Twenty -five  years  after 
the  death  of  Basil,  his  successors  were 
suddenly  attacked  by  an  unknown  race 
of  barbarians,  who  united  the  Scythian 
valor  with  the  fanaticism  of  new  prose¬ 
lytes,  and  the  art  and  riches  of  a  power¬ 
ful  monarchy.”  He  then  proceeds  (pp. 
94,  seq.)  with  an  account  of  the  inva¬ 
sions  of  the  Turks.  In  vol.  iii.  307,  we 
have  an  account  of  the  death  of  Basil. 
“In  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  his 
martial  spirit  urged  hhn  to  embark  in 
person  for  a  holy  war  against  the  Sara¬ 
cens  of  Sicily;  he  was  prevented  by 
death,  and  Basil,  surnamed  the  slayer 
of  the  Bulgarians,  was  dismissed  from 
the  world,  with  the  blessings  of  the 
clergy,  and  the  curses  of  the  people.” 
This  occurred  A.  D.  1025.  “  Twenty- 

five  years”  after  this  would  make  A.  D. 
1050.  To  this  add  the  period  here  re¬ 
ferred  to,  and  we  have  respectively,  as 
above,  the  years  A.  D.  1446,  or  A.  D.  1451, 
and  106  days.  Both  periods  are  near  the 
time  of  the  taking  of  Constantinople,  and 
the  downfall  of  the  Eastern  empire  (A.  D. 
1453),  and  the  latter  strikingly  so;  and, 
considering  the  general  nature  of  the 
statement  of  Mr.  Gibbon,  and  the  great 
indefiniteness  of  the  dates  in  chronology, 
may  be  considered  as  remarkable. — But 
we  have  the  means  of  a  still  more  accu¬ 
rate  calculation.  It  is  by  determining 
the  exact  period  of  the  investiture  of 


CHAPTER  IX. 


271 


A.  1).  96.] 

Togrul  with  the  authority  of  Caliph,  or 
as  the  “temporal  lieutenant  of  the  vicar 
of  the  prophet.”  The  time  of  this  inves¬ 
titure,  or  coronation,  is  mentioned  by 
Abulfeda  as  occurring  on  the  25th  of 
Dzoulcad,  in  the  year  of  the  Hegira 
449 ,-  and  the  date  of  Elmakin’s  narra¬ 
tive,  who  has  given  an  account  of  this, 
perfectly  agrees  with  this.  Of  this  trans¬ 
action,  Elmakin  makes  the  following 
remark :  “  There  was  now  none  left  in 
Irak  or  Chorasmia  who  could  stand 
before  him.”  The  importance  of  this 
investiture,  will  be  seen  from  the  charge 
which  the  caliph  is  reported  by  Abul¬ 
feda  to  have  given  to  Togrul  on  this 
occasion  :  “  The  caliph  commits  to  your 
care  all  that  part  of  the  world  which 
God  has  committed  to  his  care  and  do¬ 
minion  ;  and  entrusts  to  thee,  under 
the  name  of  vice-gerent,  the  guardian¬ 
ship  of  the  pious,  faithful,  and  God¬ 
serving  citizens.”*  The  exact  time  of 
this  investiture  is  stated  by  Abulfeda,  as 
above,  to  be  the  25th  of  Dzoulcad,  A.  H. 
449.  Now,  reckoning  this  as  the  time, 
and  we  have  the  following  result: — The 
twenty-fifth  of  Dzoulcad,  A.  H.  449  would 
answer  to  February  2,  A.  D.  105S.  From 
this  to  May  29,  1453,  the  time  when  Con¬ 
stantinople  was  taken,  would  be  three 
hundred  and  ninety-five  years  and  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  days.  The  pro¬ 
phetic  period,  as  above,  is  396  years  and 
106  days  —  making  a  difference  only  of 
one  year  and  ten  days — a  result  that 
cannot  but  be  considered  as  remarkable, 
considering  the  difficulty  of  fixing  an¬ 
cient  dates.  Or  if,  with  Mr.  Elliott  (i. 
495-499),  we  suppose  that  the  time  is  to 
be  reckoned  from  the  period  when  the 
Turkman  power  went  forth  from  Bag¬ 
dad  on  a  career  of  conquest,  the  reckon¬ 
ing  should  be  from  the  year  of  the  He¬ 
gira,  448,  the  year  before  the  formal 
investiture,  then  this  would  mako  a  dif¬ 
ference  of  only  twenty-four  days.  The 
date  of  that  event  was  the  tenth  of 
Dzoulcad,  A.  H.  448.  That  was  the  day 
on  which  Togrul  with  his  Turkmans, 
now  the  representative,  and  head  of  the 
power  of  Islamism,  quitted  Bagdad  to 
enter  on  a  long  career  of  war  and  con¬ 
quest.  “  The  part  allotted  to  Togrul 
himself  in  the  fearful  drama  soon  to 


*  Maodat  Chalifa  tua^  curas  omne  id  terrarum  quod 
Deus  ejus  curae  et  imperio  comraisit;  tibique  civium 
piorum,  fide!iuw,  Deum  colentiunj,  tu4elam  5ublocato- 
rio  nomina  demandat 


open  against  the  Greeks  was  to  extend 
and  establish  the  Turkman  dominion 
over  the  frontier  countries  of  Irak  and 
Mesopotamia,  that  so  the  requisite 
strength  might  be  attained  for  the  attack 
ordained  of  God’s  counsels  against  the 
Greek  empire.  The  first  step  to  this 
was  the  siege  and  capture  of  Moussul; 
his.  next  of  Singara.  Nisibis,  too,  was 
visited  by  him ;  that  frontier  fortress 
that  ha£  in  other  days  been  so  long  a 
bulwark  to  the  Greeks.  Everywhere 
victory  attended  hi3  banner  j  a  presage 
of  what  was  to  follow.”  Reckoning 
from  that  time,  the  coincidence  between 
the  period  that  elapsed  from  that,  and 
the  conquest  of  Constantinople,  would 
be  396  years  and  130  days  —  a  period 
that  corresponds,  with  only  a  difference 
of  24  days,  with  that  specified  in  the 
prophecy  according  to  the  explanation 
given  above.  It  could  not  be  expected 
that  a  coincidence  more  accurate  than 
this  could  bo  made  out  on  the  supposi¬ 
tion  that  the  prophecy  was  designed  to 
refer  to  these  events,-  and  if  it  did 
refer  to  them,  the  coincidence  could 
have  occurred  only  as  a  prediction  by 
Him  who  sees  with  perfect  accuracy  all 
the  future. 

(13)  The  effect.  This  is  stated,  in  vs. 
20,  21,  to  be  that  those  who  survived 
these  plagues  did  not  repent  of  theit 
wickedness,  but  that  the  abominations 
which  existed  before  still  remained.  In 
endeavoring  to  determine  the  meaning 
of  this,  it  will  be  proper,  first,  to  ascer¬ 
tain  the  exact  sense  of  the  words  used, 
and  then  to  enquire  whether  a  state  of 
things  existed  subsequent  to  the  inva¬ 
sions  of  the  Turks  which  corresponded 
with  the  description  here. 

(A)  The  explanation  of  the  Language 
used  in  vs.  20,  21.  The  rest  of  the 
men.  That  portion  of  the  world  on 
which  these  plagues  did  not  come.  One- 
third  of  the  race,  it  is  said,  would  fall 
under  these  calamities,  and  the  writer 
now  proceeds  to  state  what  would  be  the 
effect  on  the  remainder.  The  language 
used — “  the  rest  of  the  men” — is  not  such 
as  to  designate  with  certainty  any  par¬ 
ticular  portion  of  the  world,  but  it  is 
implied  that  the  things  mentioned  were 
of  very  general  prevalence,  f  Which 
were  not  killed  by  these  plagues.  The 
two- thirds  of  the  race  which  were  spared. 
The  language  here  is  such  as  would  be 
used  on  the  supposition  that  the  crimes 


272 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


here  referred  to  abounded  in  all  those 
regions  which  came  within  the  range  of 
the  vision  of  the  apostle,  Yet  re¬ 
pented  not  of  the  works  of  their  hands. 
To  wit,  of  those  things  which  are  im¬ 
mediately  specified.  That  they  should 
not  icorship  devils.  Implying  that  they 
practised  this  before.  The  word  used 
here — iatyiviov — means  properly,  a  god, 
deity ;  spoken  of  the  heathen  gods, 
Acts  xvii.  18;  then,  a  genius,  or*tutelary 
demon,  e.  g.  that  of  Socrates;  and,  in 
the  New  Testament,  a  demon  in  the 
sense  of  an  evil  spirit.  See  the  word 
fully  explained  in  the  Notes  on  1  Cor. 
x.  20.  The  meaning  of  the  passage  here, 
as  in  1  Cor.  x.  20,  “  they  sacrifice  to 
devils,”  is  not  that  they  literally  wor¬ 
shipped  devils  in  the  usual  sense  of  that 
term  (though  it  is  true  that  such  wor¬ 
ship  does  exist  in  the  world,  as  among 
the  Yezidis  (see  Layard,  Nineveh  and 
its  Remains,  vol.  i.  pp.  225-254,  and 
Rosenmuller,  Morgenland,  iii.  212-216); 
but  that  they  worshipped  beings  which 
were  inferior  to  the  Supreme  God ;  cre¬ 
ated  spirits  of  a  rank  superior  to  men, 
or  the  spirits  of  men  that  had  been 
enrolled  among  the  gods.  This  last  was 
a  common  form  of  worship  among  the 
heathen,  for  a  large  portion  of  the  gods 
whom  they  adored  were  heroes  and 
benefactors  who  had  been  enrolled 
among  the  gods — as  Hercules,  Bacchus, 
Ac.  All  that  is  necessarily  implied  in 
this  word  is,  that  there  prevailed  in  the 
time  referred  to,  the  worship  of  spirits 
inferior  to  God,  or  the  worship  of  the 
spirits  of  departed  men.  This  idea  would 
be  more  naturally  suggested  to  the  mind 
of  a  Greek  by  the  use  of  the  word  than 
the  worship  of  evil  spirits  as  such  —  if 
indeed  it  would  have  conveyed  that  idea 
at  all ;  and  this  word  would  be  properly 
employed  in  the  representation  if  there 
was  any  homage  rendered  to  departed 
human  spirits  which  came  in  the  place 
of  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  Comp, 
a  dissertation  on  the  meaning  of  the 
word  used  here,  in  Elliott  on  theApoca- 
lypse,  Appendix  I.,  vol.  ii.  And  idols 
of  gold,  and  silver,  Ac.,  Ac.  Idols  were 
formerly,  as  they  are  now  in  heathen 
lands,  made  of  all  these  materials.  The 
more  costly  would,  of  course,  denote  a 
higher  degree  of  veneration  for  the  god, 
or  greater  wealth  in  the  worshipper,  and 
all  would  be  employed  as  symbols  or 
representatives  of  the  gods  whom  they 


adored.  The  meaning  of  this  passage  is, 
that  there  would  prevail,  at  that  time, 
what  would  be  properly  called  idolatry, 
and  that  this  would  be  represented  by 
the  worship  paid  to  these  images  or 
idols.  It  is  not  necessary  to  the  proper 
understanding  of  this,  to  suppose  that 
the  images  or  idols  worshipped  were  ac¬ 
knowledged  heathen  idols,  or  were  erected 
in  honor  of  heathen  gods  as  such.  All 
that  is  implied  is,  that  there  would  be 
such  images  (ciSioha),  and  that  a  degree 
of  homage  would  be  paid  to  them  which 
would  be  in  fact  idolatry.  The  word 
here  used  —  hbiuhov,  ci&wXa  —  properly 
means  an  image,  spectre,  shade ;  then  an 
idol-image,  or  that  which  was  a  repre¬ 
sentative  of  a  heathen  god ;  and  then 
the  idol-god  itself — a  heathen  deity.  So 
far  as  the  word  is  concerned,  it  may  be 
applied  to  any  kind  of  image-worship. 

Which  neither  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor 
icalk.  The  common  representation  of 
idol-worship  in  the  Scriptures,  to  denote 
its  folly  and  stupidity,  see  Psalm  cxv. ; 
comp.  Isa.  xliv.  13-19.  Neither  re¬ 
pented  they  of  their  murders.  This  im¬ 
plies  that,  at  the  time  referred  to,  mur¬ 
ders  would  abound;  or  that  the  times 
would  be  characterized  by  that  which 
deserved  to  be  called  murder,  Nor  of 
their  sorceries.  The  word  rendered  sor¬ 
ceries — cpapyaKtla,  whence  our  word  phar¬ 
macy,  means  properly  the  preparing  and 
giving  of  medicine,  Eng.,  pharmacy. 
Hob.  Lex.  Then,  as  the  art  of  medicine 
was  supposed  to  have  a  magical  power, 
or  as  the  persons  who  practised  medi¬ 
cine,  in  order  to  give  themselves  and 
their  art  greater  importance,  practised 
various  .arts  of  incantation,  the  word 
came  to  he  connected  with  the  idea  of 
magic,  sorcery,  or  enchantment.  See 
Schleusner,  Lex.  In  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  the  word  is  never  used  in  a  good 
sense  as  denoting  the  preparation  of 
medicine,  but  always  in  this  secondary 
sense,  as  denoting  sorcery,  magic,  Ac. 
Thus  in  Gal.  v.  20,  “the  works  of  the 
flesh — idolatry,  witchcraft.”  Rev.  ix.  21, 
“  Of  their  sorceries.”  Rev.  xviii.  23, 
“  For  by  thy  sorceries  were  all  nations 
deceived.”  Rev.  xxi.  8,  “  Whoremon¬ 
gers,  and  sorcerers.”  The  word  does 
not  elsewhere  occur  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  and  the  meaning  of  the  word  would 
be  fulfilled  in  anything  that  purposed  to 
accomplish  an  object  by  sorcery,  by 
magical  arts,  by  trick,  by  cunning,  by 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 


sleight  of  hand,  or  by  deceiving  the  senses 
in  any  way.  Thus  it  would  be  applicable 
to  all  jugglery,  and  to  all  pretended 
miracles.  «[  Nor  of  their  fornication. 
Implying  that  this  would  be  a  prevalent 
sin  m  the  times  referred  to,  and  that  the 
dreadful  plagues  which  are  here  pre¬ 
dicted  would  make  no  essential  change 
in  reference  to  its  prevalence,  f  And  of 
their  thefts.  Implying  that  this,  too, 
would  be  a  common  form  of  iniquity. 
The  word  used  here  — — is  the 
common  word  to  denote  theft.  The  true 
idea  in  the  word  is  that  of  privately, 
unlawfully,  and  feloniously  taking  the 
goods  or  moveables  of  another  person. 
In  a  larger,  and  in  the  popular  sense, 
however,  this  word  might  embrace  all 
acts  of  taking  the  property  of  another  by 
dishonest  arts,  or  on  false  pretence,  or 
without  an  equivalent. 

(B)  The  next  point,  then,  is,  the  en- 
qmry  whether  there  was  any  such  state 
of  things  as  is  specified  here,  existing  in 
the  time  of  the  rise  of  the  Turkish  power, 
and  in  the  time  of  the  calamities  which 
that  formidable  power  brought  upon  the 
world.  There  are  two  things  implied  in 
the  statement  here:  — (1)  that  these 
things  had  an  existence  before  the  inva¬ 
sion  and  destruction  of  the  Eastern  em¬ 
pire  by  the  Turkish  power;  and  (2)  that 
they  continued  to  exist  after  that,  or 
were  not  removed  by  these  fearful  cala¬ 
mities.  The  supposition  all  along  in 
this  interpretation  is,  that  the  eye  of  the 
prophet  was  on  the  Homan  world,  and 
that  the  design  was  to  mark  the  various 
events  which  would  characterize  its  fu¬ 
ture  history.  AVe  look,  then,  in  the  ap¬ 
plication  of  this,  to  the  state  of  things 
existing  in  connexion  with  the  Roman 
power,  or  that  portion  of  the  world 
which  was  then  pervaded  by  the  Roman 
religion.  This  will  make  it  necessary  to 
institute  an  enquiry  whether  the  things 
here  specified  prevailed  in  that  part  of 
the  world  before  the  invasions  of  the 
lurks,  and  the  conquest  of  Constanti¬ 
nople,  and  whether  the  judgments  in¬ 
flicted  by  that  formidable  Turkish  in¬ 
vasion  made  any  essential  change  in 
this  respect. 

(1)  The  statement  that  they  wor¬ 
shipped  devils;  that  is,  as  explained, 
demons,  or  the  deified  souls  of  men. 
Homage  rendered  to  the  spirits  of  de¬ 
parted  men,  and  substituted  in  the 
place  of  the  worship  of  the  true  God, 


273 


would  meet  all  that  is  properly  implied 
here.  We  may  refer,  then,  to  the  wor¬ 
ship  of  saints  in  the  Romish  communion 
as  a  complete  fulfilment  of  what  is  here 
^ pll°d  ln  the  language  used  by  John. 
I  he  tact  cannot  be  disputed  that  the 
invocation  of  saints  took  the  place,  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  communion,  of  the 
worship  of  sages  and  heroes  in  heathen 
Rome,  and  that  the  canonization  of 
saints  took  the  place  of  the  ancient 
deification  of  heroes  and  public  bene¬ 
factors.  The  same  kind  of  homage  was 
rendered  to  them ;  their  aid  was  invoked 
in  a  similar  manner,  and  on  similar 
occasions;  the  effect  on  the  popular 
mind  was  substantially  the  same;  and 
the  one  interfered  as  really  as  the  other 
with  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  The 
decrees  of  the  Seventh  General  Council, 
known  as  the  Second  Council  of  Nice, 
A.  D.  787,  authorized  and  established  the 
worshipping  (irpoincvvtw — the  same  word 
used  here— TpvaKvvtiawai  rd  laiydvta)  of 
the  saints  and  their  images.  This  oc¬ 
curred  after  the  exciting  scenes,  the 
debates,  and  the  disorders  produced  by 
the  Iconoclasts,  or  image-breakers,  and 
after  the  most  careful  deliberation  on 
the  subject.  In  that  celebrated  counoil, 
it  was  decreed,  according  to  Mr.  Gibbon 
(iii.  341),  “  unanimously,”  «  that  the 
worship  of  images  is  agreeable  to  Scrip¬ 
ture  and  reason,  to  the  fathers  and 
councils  of  the  church  ;  but  they  hesi¬ 
tate  whether  that  worship  be  relative  or 
direct;  whether  the  Godhead  and  the 
figure  of  Christ  be  entitled  to  the  same 
mode  of  adoration.”  This  worship  of 
the  “saints,”  or  prayer  to  the  saints, 
asking  for  their  intercession,  it  is  well 
known  has  from  that  time  every  where 
prevailed  in  the  Papal  communion.  In¬ 
deed,  a  large  part  of  the  actual  prayers 
offered  in  their  services,  is  addressed  to 
the  Virgin  Mary.  Mr.  Maitland,  “  the 
able  and  learned  advocate  of  the  Dark 
Ages,”  says  “  The  superstition  of  the 
age  supposed  the  glorified  saint  to  know 
what  was  going  on  in  the  world;  and  to 
feel  4  deep  interest,  and  to  possess  a 
considerable  power,  in  the  church  mili¬ 
tant  on  earth.  I  believe  that  they  who 
thought  so  are  altogether  mistaken;  and 
I  lament,  abhor,  and  am  amazed  at,  the 
superstition,  blasphemies  and  idolatries, 
which  have  grown  out  of  that  opinion.” 
Elliott,  ii.  p.  10.  As  to  the  question 
whether  this  continued  after  the  judg- 


274 


REVELATION, 


ments  brought  upon  the  world  by  the 
hordes  “loosed  on  the  Euphrates,”  or 
whether  they  repented  and  reformed  on 
account  of  the  judgments,  we  have  only 
to  look  into  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
everywhere.  Not  only  did  the  old  prac¬ 
tice  of  “  daemonolatry,”  or  the  worship 
of  departed  saints,  continue,  but  new 
“  saints”  have  been  added  to  the  number, 
and  the  list  of  those  who  are  to  receive 
this  homage  has  been  continually  increas¬ 
ing.  Thus  in  the  year  1460  Catharine  of 
Sienna  was  canonized  by  Pope  Pius  II.  ; 
in  1482,  Bonaventura,  the  blasphemer,* 
by  Sixtus  IV.;  in  1494,  Anselm  by 
Alexander  VI.  Alexander’s  Bull,  in 
language  more  heathen  than  Christian, 
avows  it  to  be  the  Pope’s  duty  thus  to 
choose  out,  and  to  hold  up  the  illus¬ 
trious  dead,  as  their  merits  claim,  for 
adoration  and  worship.^ 

(2)  The  statement  that  idolatry  was 
practised,  and  continued  to  be  practised, 
after  this  invasion  : — “  Repented  not  that 
they  should  not  worship  idols  of  gold, 
silver,  and  brass.”  On  this  point,  per¬ 
haps  it  would  be  sufficient  to  refer  to 
what  has  been  already  noticed  in  regard 
to  the  homage  paid  to  the  souls  of  the 
departed;  but  it  may  be  farther  and 
more  clearly  illustrated  by  a  reference 
to  the  worship  of  images  in  the  Romish 
communion.  Any  one  familiar  with 
church  history  will  recollect  the  long 
conflicts  which  prevailed  respecting  the 
y orship  of  images ;  the  establishment  of 
images  in  the  churches ;  the  destruction 
of  images  by  the  “  Iconoclasts ;”  and 
the  debates  on  the  subject  by  the  coun¬ 
cil  at  Hiera;  and  the  final  decision  in 
the  Second  Council  of  Nice,  in  which 
the  propriety  of  image-worship  was 
affirmed  and  established.  See  on  this 
subject,  Bowers’  History  of  the  Popes, 

ii.  98,  seq.  144,  seq. ;  Gibbon,  vol.  iii., 
pp.  322-341.  The  importance  of  the 
question  respecting  image-worship  may 
be  seen  from  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Gibbon, 

iii.  322.  He  speaks  of  it  as  “  a  question 
of  popular  superstition  which  produced 


*  In  the  Hereford  Discussion,  between  the  Rev.  J. 
Venn  and  Rev.  James  Waterworth,  it  was  admitted  by 
the  latter,  an  able  and  learned  Romish  priest,  that 
Bonaventura’s  Psalter  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  turning  the 
addresses  to  God  into  addresses  to  the  Virgin,  was 
blasphemy.  Elliott,  ii.  25. 

t  Romanas  Pontifex  viros  claros,  et  qui  sauctimonid 
floruerunt,  et  eorum  exigentibus  clarissimis  meritis 
aliorum  sanctorum  numero  aggregari  merentur — inter 
sanctos  praedictos  debit  collocare,  et  ut  sanctosab  om¬ 
nibus  Chriiti  fidelibus  coliy  venerari ,  et  ADORARI 
mandare. 


[A.  D.  96. 

the  revolt  of  Italy,  the  temporal  power 
of  the  Popes,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
Roman  empire  in  the  West.”  A  few 
extracts  from  Mr.  Gibbon — who  may  be 
regarded  as  an  impartial  witness  on  this 
subject — will  show  what  was  the  popular 
belief,  and  will  confirm  what  is  said  in 
the  passage  before  us  in  reference  to  the 
prevalence  of  idolatry.  “  The  first  intro¬ 
duction  of  a  symbolic  worship  was  in 
the  veneration  of  the  cross,  and  of  relics. 
The  saints  and  martyrs,  when  interces¬ 
sion  was  implored,  were  seated  on  the 
right  hand  of  God  ;  but  the  gracious,  and 
often  supernatural  favors,  which,  in  the 
popular  belief,  were  showered  round  their 
tombs,  conveyed  an  unquestionable  sanc¬ 
tion  of  the  devout  pilgrims,  who  visited, 
and  touched,  and  kissed,  these  lifeless 
remains,  the  memorials  of  their  merits 
and  suffering.  But  a  memorial,  more 
interesting  than  the  skull  or  the  sandals 
of  a  departed  worthy,  is  a  faithful  copy 
of  his  person  and  features  delineated  by 
the  arts  of  painting  or  sculpture.  In 
every  age,  such  copies,  so  congenial  to 
human  feelings,  have  been  cherished  by 
the  zeal  of  private  friendship,  or  public 
esteem ;  the  images  of  the  Roman  em¬ 
perors  were  adorned  with  civil  and 
almost  religious  honors ;  a  reverence,  less 
ostentatious,  but  more  sincere,  was  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  statues  of  sages  and  patriots; 
and  these  profane  virtues,  these  splendid 
sins,  disappeared  in  the  presence  of  the 
holy  men,  who  had  died  for  their  celes¬ 
tial  and  everlasting  country.  At  first  the 
experiment  was  made  with  caution  and 
scruple,  and  the  venerable  pictures  were 
discreetly  allowed  to  instruct  the  igno¬ 
rant,  to  awaken  the  cold,  and  to  gratify 
the  prejudices  of  the  heathen  proselytes. 
By  a  slow,  though  inevitable  progres¬ 
sion,  the  honors  of  the  original  were 
transferred  to  the  copy ;  the  devout 
Christian  prayed  before  the  image  of  a 
saint;  and  the  Pagan  rites  of  genuflexion, 
luminaries,  and  incense,  again  stole  into 
the  Catholic  church.  The  scruples  of 
reason  or  piety  were  silenced  by  the 
strong  evidence  of  visions  and  miracles; 
and  the  pictures  which  speak,  and  move, 
and  bleed,  must  be  endowed  with  a 
divine  energy,  and  may  be  considered  as 
the  proper  objects  or  religious  adora¬ 
tion.  The  most  audacious  pencil  might 
tremble  in  the  rash  attempt  of  defining, 
by  forms  and  colors,  the  infinite  Spirit, 
the  devout  Father,  who  pervades  and 


275 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  IX. 


sustains  the  universe.  But  the  super¬ 
stitious  mind  was  more  easily  recon¬ 
ciled  to  paint  and  worship  the  angels, 
and  above  all,  the  Son  of  God,  under 
the  human  shape,  which  on  earth  they 
have  condescended  to  assume.  The 
second  person  of  the  Trinity  had  been 
clothed  with  a  real  and  mortal  body ; 
but  that  body  had  ascended  into  heaven; 
and  had  not  some  similitude  been  pre¬ 
sented  to  the  eyes  of  his  disciples,  the 
spiritual  worship  of  Christ  might  have 
been  obliterated  by  the  visible  relics  and 
representatives  of  the  saints.  A  similar 
indulgence  was  requisite,  and  propitious, 
for  the  Virgin  Mary;  the  place  of  her 
burial  was  unknown ;  and  the  assump¬ 
tion  of  her  soul  and  body  into  heaven 
was  adopted  by  the  credulity  of  the 
Greeks  and  Batins.  The  use,  and  even 
the  worship  of  images  was  firmly  esta¬ 
blished  before  the  end  of  the  sixth  cen¬ 
tury ;  they  were  fondly  cherished  by  the 
warm  imagination  of  the  Greeks  and 
Asiatics;  the  Pantheon  and  the  Vatican 
were  adorned  with  the  emblems  of  a  new 
superstition  ;  but  this  semblance  of  idola¬ 
try  was  more  coldly  entertained  by  the 
rude  Barbarians,  and  the  Arian  clergy 
of  the  West”  vol.  iiL  p.  323.  Again  : 
“  Before  the  end  of  the  sixth  century, 
these  images,  made  without  hands  (in 
Greek  it  is  a  single  word — a^tipononjros), 
were  propagated  in  the  camps  and  cities 
of  the  Eastern  empire ;  they  were  the  ob¬ 
jects  of  worship,  and  the  instruments  of 
miracles ;  and  in  the  hour  of  danger  or 
tumult,  their  venerable  presence  could 
revive  the  hope,  rekindle  the  courage,  or 
repress  the  fury  of  the  Roman  legions.” 
vol.  iii.  pp.  324,  325.  So  again  (vol.  iii. 
pp.  340,  seq.) :  “While  the  Popes  esta¬ 
blished  in  Italy  their  freedom  and  do¬ 
minion,  the  images,  the  first  cause  of 
their  revolt,  were  restored  in  the  Eastern 
empire.  Under  the  reign  of  Constantine 
the  Fifth,  the  union  of  civil  and  ecclesi¬ 
astical  power  had  overthrown  the  tree, 
without  extirpating  the  root,  of  supersti¬ 
tion.  The  idols,  for  such  they  were  now 
held,  were  secretly  cherished  by  the 
order  and  the  sect  most  prone  to  devo¬ 
tion  ;  and  the  fond  alliance  of  the  monks 
and  females  obtained  a  final  victory  over 
the  name  and  the  authority  of  man.” 
Under  Irene  a  council  was  convened  — 
the  second  council  of  Nice,  or  the  seventh 
general  council,  in  which,  according  to 
Mr.  Gibbon  (iii.  341j,  it  was  “unani¬ 


mously  pronounced  that  the  worship  of 
images  is  agreeable  to  Scripture  and 
reason,  to  the  fathers  and  councils  of 
the  church.”  The  arguments  which  were 
urged  in  favor  of  the  worship  of  images, 
in  the  council  above  referred  to,  may  be 
seen  in  Bowers’  Lives  of  the  Popes,  vol. 
ii.  pp.  152—158,  Dr.  Cox’s  edition.  The 
answer  of  the  bishops  in  the  council  to 
the  question  of  the  empress  Irene,  whe¬ 
ther  they  agreed  to  the  decision  which 
had  been  adopted  in  the  council,  was  in 
these  words:  “We  all  agree  to  it;  we 
have  all  freely  signed  it;  this  is  the 
faith  of  the  apostles,  of  the  fathers,  and 
of  the  Catholic  church;  we  all  salute, 
honor,  worship,  and  adore  the  holy  and 
venerable  images ;  be  they  accursed  who 
do  not  honor,  worship,  and  adore  the 
adorable  images.”  Bowers’  Lives  of  the 
Popes,  ii.  159.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
therefore,  no  one  can  doubt  that  these 
images  were  worshipped  with  the  honor 
that  was  due  to  God  alone  —  or  that  the 
sin  of  idolatry  prevailed;  and  no  one 
can  doubt  that  that  has  been  continued, 
and  is  still,  in  the  Papal  communion. 

(3)  The  next  point  specified  is  mur¬ 
ders  (ver.  21):  ‘Neither  repented  they 
of  their  murders.’  It  can  hardly  be 
necessary  to  dwell  on  this  to  show  that 
this  was  strictly  applicable  to  the  Roman 
power,  and  extensively  prevailed,  both 
before  and  after  the  Turkish  invasion, 
and  that  that  invasion  had  no  tendency 
to  produce  repentance.  Indeed,  in  no¬ 
thing  has  the  Papacy  been  more  remark¬ 
ably  characterized  than  in  the  number 
of  murders  perpetrated  on  the  innocent 
in  persecution.  In  reference  to  the  ful¬ 
filment  of  this,  we  may  refer  to  the  fol¬ 
lowing  things,  (a)  Persecution.  This 
has  been  particularly  the  characteristic 
of  the  Roman  communion,  it  need  not 
be  said,  in  all  ages.  The  persecutions 
of  the  Waldenses,  if  there  were  nothing 
else,  show  that  the  spirit  here  referred 
to  prevailed  in  the  Roman  communion, 
or  that  the  times  preceding  the  Turkish 
conquest  were  characterized  by  what  is 
here  specified.  In  the  third  Lateran 
council,  A.  D.  1179,  an  anathema  was 
declared  against  certain  dissentients  and 
heretics,  and  then  against  the  Waldenses 
themselves  in  Papal  bulls  of  the  years 
1183,  1207,  1208.  Again,  in  a  decree 
of  the  fourth  Lateran  council,  A.  D.  1215, 
a  crusade,  as  it  was  called,  was  pro¬ 
claimed  against  them,  and  “plenary 


276 


KEYEL  ATION, 


absolution  promised  to  such  as  should 
perish  in  the  holy  war,  from  the  day  of 
their  birth  to  the  day  of  their  death.” 
“  And  never,”  says  Sismondi,  “  had  the 
cross  been  taken  up  with  more  unani¬ 
mous  consent.”  It  is  supposed  that  in 
this  crusade  against  the  Waldenses,  a 
million  of  men  perished.  (6)  That  this 
continued  to  be  the  characteristic  of  the 
Papacy  after  the  judgments  brought 
upon  the  Roman  world  by  the  Turkish 
invasion,  or  that  those  judgments  had 
no  tendency  to  produce  repentance  and 
reformation,  is  well  known,  and  is  mani¬ 
fest  from  the  following  things:  (1)  The 
continuance  of  the  spirit  of  persecution. 

(2)  The  establishment  of  the  Inquisition. 
One  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  persons 
perished  by  the  Inquisition  in  thirty 
years ;  and  from  the  beginning  of  the 
order  of  the  Jesuits  in  1540  to  1580,  it 
is  supposed  that  nine  hundred  thousand 
persons  were  destroyed  by  persecution. 

(3)  The  same  spirit  was  manifested  in 
the  attempts  to  suppress  the  true  religion 
in  England,  in  Bohemia,  and  in  the  Low 
Countries.  Fifty  thousand  persons  were 
hanged,  burned,  beheaded,  or  buried 
alive,  for  the  crime  of  heresy,  in  the 
Low  Countries,  chiefly  under  the  Duke 
of  Alva,  from  the  edict  of  Charles  V. 
against  the  Protestants  to  the  peace  of 
Chateau  Cambrisis,  in  1559.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  24-28.  To  these  are 
to  be  added  all  that  fell  in  France  on 
the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz; 
all  that  perished  by  persecution  in  Eng¬ 
land  in  the  days  of  Mary ;  and  all  that 
have  fallen  in  the  bloody  wars  that  have 
been  waged  in  the  propagation  of  the 
Papal  religion.  The  number  is,  of 
course,  unknown  to  mortals,  though 
efforts  have  been  made  by  historians  to 
form  some  estimate  of  the  amount.  It 
is  supposed  that  fifty  millions  of  persons 
have  perished  in  these  persecutions  of 
the  Waldenses,  Albigenses,  Bohemian 
Brethren,  Wickliffites,  and  Protestants; 
that  some  fifteen  millions  of  Indians 
perished  in  Cuba,  Mexico,  and  South 
America,  in  the  wars  of  the  Spaniards, 
professedly  to  propagate  the  Catholic 
faith ;  that  three  million  and  a  half  of 
Moors  and  Jews  perished,  by  Catholic 
persecution  and  arms,  in  Spain ;  and 
that  thus,  probably,  no  less  than  sixty- 
eight  millions  and  five  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  human  beings  have  been  put  to 
death  by  this  one  persecuting  power. 


[A.D.96. 

See  Dr.  Berg’s  Lectures  on  Romanism, 
pp.  6,  7.  Assuredly,  if  this  be  true,  it 
would  be  proper  to  characterize  the  times 
here  referred  to,  both  before  and  after 
the  Turkish  invasion,  as  a  time  when 
murders  would  prevail. 

(4)  The  fourth  point  specified  is,  sor¬ 
ceries.  It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  go 
into  detail  to  prove  that  this  also  abound¬ 
ed,  and  that  delusive  appeals  to  the 
senses ;  false  and  pretended  miracles  ; 
arts  adapted  to  deceive  through  the  ima¬ 
gination  ;  the  supposed  virtue  and  effi¬ 
cacy  of  relics;  and  frauds  calculated  to 
impose  on  mankind,  have  characterized 
those  portions  of  the  world  where  the 
Roman  religion  has  prevailed,  and  been 
one  of  the  principal  means  of  its  ad¬ 
vancement.  No  Protestant  surely  would 
deny  this,  no  intelligent  Catholic  can 
doubt  it  himself.  All  that  is  necessary 
to  be  said  in  regard  to  this  is,  that  in 
this,  as  in  other  respects,  the  Turkish 
invasion,  and  the  judgments  that  came 
upon  the  world,  made  no  change.  The 
very  recent  imposture  of  the  ‘  holy  coat 
of  Treves,’  is  a  full  proof  that  the  dispo¬ 
sition  to  practise  such  arts  still  exists, 
and  that  the  power  to  impose  on  a  largo 
portion  of  the  world  in  that  denomina¬ 
tion,  has  not  died  away. 

(5)  The  fifth  thing  specified  is  forni¬ 
cation.  This  has  abounded  everywhere 
in  the  world,  but  the  use  of  the  term  in 
this  connexion  implies  that  there  would 
be  something  peculiar  here,  and  perhaps 
that  it  would  be  associated  with  the 
other  things  referred  to.  It  is  as  unne¬ 
cessary,  as  it  would  be  improper,  to  go 
into  any  detail  on  this  point.  Any  one 
who  is  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
the  Middle  Ages — the  period  here  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  referred  to — must  be  aware 
of  the  wide-spread  licentiousness  which 
then  prevailed,  especially  among  the 
clergy.  Historians  and  poets,  ballads 
and  acts  of  councils,  alike  testify  to  this 
fact.®  It  is  to  be  remarked  also,  as 
illustrating  the  subject,  that  the  disso¬ 
luteness  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  closely, 
and  almost  necessarily,  connected  with 
the  worship  of  the  images  and  the  saints 
above  referred  to.  The  character  hf 
many  of  those  who  were  worshipped  as 
saints,  like  the  character  of  many  of  the 
gods  of  the  Pagan  Romans,  was  just 

#  *‘If  you  wish  to  see  the  horrors  of  these  ages/ 
(the  Middle  Ages),  says  Chateaubriand,  Diet.  Hist.  tom. 
iii.  420,  il  read  the  Councils 


CHAPTER  IX 


277 


A.  D.  96.] 


such  as  to  be  an  incentive  to  every  spe¬ 
cies  of  licentiousness  and  impurity.  On 
this  point,  Mr.  Hallam  makes  the  fol¬ 
lowing  remarks:  “That  the  exclusive 
worship  of  saints,  under  the  guidance 
of  an  artful,  though  illiterate  priest¬ 
hood,  degraded  the  understanding,  and 
begat  a  stupid  credulity  and  fanaticism, 
is  sufficiently  evident.  But  it  was  also 
so  managed  as  to  loosen  the  bonds  of  re¬ 
ligion,  and  pervert  the  standard  of  mo¬ 
rality.”  Middle  Ages,  vol.  ii.  pp.  249, 
250.  Edit.  Phil.  1824.  He  then,  in  a 
Note,  refers  to  the  legends  of  the  saints 
as  abundantly  confirming  his  statements. 
See  particularly  the  stories  in  the  “Gold¬ 
en  Legend.”  So,  in  speaking  of  the 
Monastic  orders,  Mr.  Hallam  (Middle 
Ages,  vol.  ii.  253),  says,  “In  vain  new 
rules  of  discipline  were  devised,  or  the 
old  corrected  by  reforms.  Many  of  their 
worst  vices  grew  so  naturally  out  of 
their  mode  of  life  that  a  stricter  disci¬ 
pline  would  have  no  tendency  to  extir¬ 
pate  them.  Their  extreme  licentious¬ 
ness  was  sometimes  hardly  concealed  by 
the  cowl  of  sanctity.”  In  illustration  of 
this  we  may  introduce  here  a  remark  of 
Mr.  Gibbon,  made  in  immediate  con¬ 
nexion  with  his  statement  about  the  de¬ 
crees  respecting  the  worship  of  images. 
“I  shall  only  notice,”  says  he,  “the 
judgment  of  the  bishops  on  the  compa¬ 
rative  merit  of  image  worship  and  mo¬ 
rality.  A  monk  had  concluded  a  truce 
with  the  demon  of  fornication,  on  condi¬ 
tion  of  interrupting  her  daily  prayers  to 
a  picture  that  hung  in  his  cell.  His 
scruples  prompted  him  to  consult  the 
Abbot.  ‘  Rather  than  abstain  from 
adoring  Christ  and  his  mother  in  their 
holy  images,  it  would  be  better  for  you,' 
replied  thecaguist,  ‘to  enter  any  brothel, 
and  visit  every  prostitute  in  the  city.'  ” 
iii.  341.  So  again,  Mr.  Gibbon,  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  Pope,  John  XII.  says,  “  His 
open  simony  might  be  the  consequence 
of  distress ;  and  his  blasphemous  invo¬ 
cation  of  Jupiter  and  Venus,  if  it  be 
true,  could  not  possibly  be  serious.  But 
we  read  with  some  surprise  that  the 
worthy  grandson  of  Marozia  lived  in 
public  adultery  with  the  matrons  of 
Rome;  that  the  Lateran  palace  was 
turned  into  a  place  of  prostitution,  and 
that  his  rapes  of  virgins  and  of  widows 
had  deterred  the  female  pilgrims  from 
visiting  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter,  lest,  in 
the  devout  act  they  should  be  violated 
24 


by  his  successor.”  iii.  353.  Again,  the 
system  of  indulgences  led  directly  to 
licentiousness.  In  the  Pontificate  of 
John  XXII.  about  A.  D.  1320,  there  was 
invented  the  celebrated  Tax  of  In¬ 
dulgences,  of  which  more  than  forty 
editions  are  extant.  According  to  this, 
incest  was  to  cost,  if  not  detected,  Jive 
groschen :  if  known  and  flagrant,  six. 
A  certain  price  was  affixed  in  a  similar 
way  to  adultery,  infanticide,  Ac.  See 
Merle  D’Aubigne’s  Reformation,  vol.  i. 
p.  41.  And  farther,  the  very  pilgrim¬ 
ages  to  the  shrines  of  the  saints,  which 
were  enjoined  as  a  penance  for  sin,  and 
which  were  regarded  as  a  ground  of 
merit,  were  occasions  of  the  grossest 
licentiousness.  So  Hallam,  Middle  Ages, 
says,  “This  licensed  vagrancy  was  natu¬ 
rally  productive  of  dissoluteness,  espe¬ 
cially  among  the  women.  Our  English 
ladies,  in  their  zeal  to  obtain  the  spi¬ 
ritual  treasuries  of  Rome,  are  said  to 
have  relaxed  the  necessary  caution 
about  one  that  was  in  their  own  cus¬ 
tody.”  Vol.  ii.  255.  The  celibacy  of 
the  clergy,  also,  tended  to  licentious¬ 
ness,  and  is  known  to  have  been  every¬ 
where  productive  of  the  very  sin  which 
is  here  mentioned.  The  state  of  th9 
nunneries  in  the  middle  ages  is  well- 
known.  In  the  15th  century,  Gerson, 
the  French  orator  so  celebrated  at  the 
Council  of  Constance,  called  them  Pros- 
tibula  meretricum.  Clemangis,  a  French 
theologian,  also  contemporary,  and  a 
man  of  great  eminence,  thus  speaks  of 
them:  —  Quid  aliud  sunt  hoc  tempore 
puellarum  monasteria,  nisi  qusedam  non 
dico  Dei  sanctuaria,  sed  veneris  exe- 
cranda  prostibula;  ut  idem  sit  hodie  pu- 
ellam  velare,  quod  et  publici  ad  scor- 
tandnm  exponere.  Hallam,  Middle  Ages, 
ii.  253.  To  this  we  may  add  the  fact 
that  it  was  a  habit,  not  unfrequent,  to 
license  the  clergy  to  live  in  concubinage, 
(See  the  proof  in  Elliott,  i.  447,  Note), 
and  that  the  practice  of  auricular  con¬ 
fession  necessarily  made  “the  tainting 
of  the  female  mind  an  integral  part  of 
Roman  priestcraft,  and  gave  consecra¬ 
tion  to  the  communings  of  impurity.'' 
It  hardly  needs  any  proof  that  these 
practices  continued  after  the  invasions 
of  the  Turkish  hordes,  or  that  those  in¬ 
vasions  made  no  changes  in  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  world  in  this  respect.  In 
proof  of  this,  we  need  refer  only  to  Pope 
Innocent  VIII.,  elected  in  1484  to  the 


278 


REVELATION, 


Papacy  ;*  to  Alexander  VI.,  his  suc¬ 
cessor,  who  at  the  close  of  the  15th  cen¬ 
tury  stood  before  the  world  a  monster, 
notorious  to  all,  of  impurity  and  vice;  and 
to  the  general  well-known  character  of 
the  Romish  clergy.  “  Most  of  the  eccle¬ 
siastics,”  says  the  historian  Infessura, 
"  had  their  mistresses ;  and  all  the  con¬ 
vents  of  the  capital  were  houses  of  ill- 
fame.” 

(6)  The  sixth  thing  specified  (ver.  21), 
is  thefts  ;  that  is,  as  explained,  the  taking 
of  the  property  of  others  by  dishonest 
arts ;  on  false  pretences,  or  without  any 
proper  equivalent.  In  the  enquiry  as  to 
the  applicability  of  this  to  the  times 
supposed  to  be  here  referred  to,  we  may 
notice  the  following  things,  as  instances 
in  which  money  was  extorted  from  the 
people,  (a)  The  value  fraudulently  as¬ 
signed  to  relics.  Mosheim,  in  his  histo¬ 
rical  sketch  of  the  twelfth  century,  ob¬ 
serves,  "  The  abbots  and  monks  carried 
about  the  country  the  carcases  and  relics 
of  saints,  in  solemn  procession ;  and  per¬ 
mitted  the  multitude  to  behold,  touch, 
and  embrace  the  sacred  remains,  at  fixed 
prices.”  ( b )  The  exaltation  of  the  mi¬ 
racle-working  merit  of  particular  saints, 
and  the  consecration  of  neto  saints, 
and  dedication  of  new  images,  when  the 
popularity  of  the  former  died  away. 
Thus  Mr.  Hallam  says,  "Every  cathe¬ 
dral  or  monastery  had  its  tutelar  saint, 
and  every  saint  his  legend ;  fabricated 
in  order  to  enrich  the  churches  under 
his  protection  ;  by  exaggerating  his  vir¬ 
tues  and  his  miracles,  and  consequently 
his  power  of  serving  those  who  paid 
liberally  for  his  patronage.”  (c)  The  in¬ 
vention  and  sale  of  indulgences — well- 
known  to  have  been  a  vast  source  of 
revenue  to  the  ehurch.  Wickliffe  de¬ 
clared  that  indulgences  were  mere  forge¬ 
ries  whereby  the  priesthood  “  roh  men 
of  their  money ;  a  subtle  merchandize 
of  Antichrist’s  clerks,  whereby  they  mag¬ 
nify  their  own  fictitious  power,  and  in¬ 
stead  of  causing  men  to  dread  sin,  en¬ 
courage  men  to  wallow  therein  as  hogs.” 
( d )  The  prescription  of  pilgrimages  as 
penances,  was  another  prolific  source  of 
gain  to  the  ehurch,  that  deserves  to  be 
classed  under  the  name  of  thefts.  Those 
who  made  such  pilgrimage  were  ex¬ 
pected  and  required  to  make  an  offering 

#  His  character  is  told  in  the  well-known  epigram, 

Octo  noccns  pueros  genuit,  tolidemque  puellas; 

Hunc  merito  pofcuit  dicere  Roma  patrem. 


[A.  D.  96. 


at  the  shrine  of  the  saint ;  and  as  multi¬ 
tudes  went  on  such  pilgrimages,  espe¬ 
cially  on  the  Jubilee  at  Rome,  the  in¬ 
come  from  this  source  was  enormous. 
An  instance  of  what  was  offered  at  the 
shrine  of  Thomas  il  Becket  will  illus¬ 
trate  this.  Through  his  reputation,  Can¬ 
terbury  became  the  Rome  of  England. 
A  Jubilee  was  celebrated  every  fiftieth 
year  to  his  honor,  with  plenary  indul¬ 
gence  to  all  such  as  visited  his  tomb ; 
of  whom  one  hundred  thousand  were 
registered  at  one  time.  Two  large  vol¬ 
umes  were  filled  with  accounts  of  the 
miracles  wrought  at  his  tomb.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  list  of  the  value.of  offerings  made 
in  two  successive  years  to  his  shrine,  the 
Virgin  Mary’s,  and  Christ’s,  in  the  cathe¬ 
dral  at  Canterbury,  will  illustrate  at  the 
same  time  the  gain  from  these  sources, 
and  the  relative  respect  shown  to  Becket, 
Mary,  and  the  Saviour. 


First  Year.  £  s.  d. 
Christ’s  Altar,  3  2  6 
Virgin  Mary’s,  63  5  6 
Becket’s,  .  .  832  12  9 


Next  Year.  £  s.  d. 
Christ’s  Altar,  0  0  0 
Virgin  Mary’s,  4  1  8 
Becket’s,  .  .  954  6  3 


Of  the  Jubilee  of  A.  D.  1300,  Muratori 
relates  the  result  as  follows  : — "  Papa 
innumerabilem  pecuniam  ab  iisdem  rece- 
pit;  quia  die  et  nocte  duo  clerici  stabant 
ad  altare  Sancti  Pauli,  tenentes  in  eorum 
manibus  rastellos,  rastellantes  pecuniam 
infinitam.” — "The  Pope  received  from 
them  a  countless  amount  of  money ;  for 
two  clerks  stood  at  the  altar  of  St.  Paul 
night  and  day,  holding  in  their  hands 
little  rakes,  collecting  an  infinite  amount 
of  money.”  Hallam.  (e)  Another  source  ' 
of  gain  of  this  kind  was  the  numerous 
testamentary  bequests  with  which  the 
church  was  enriched  —  obtained  by  the 
arts  and  influence  of  the  clergy.  In 
Wickliffe’s  time  there  were  in  England 
53,215  foeda  militum,  of  which  the  re¬ 
ligious  had  28,000 — more  than  one-half. 
Blackstone  says  that,  but  for  the  inter¬ 
vention  of  the  legislature,  and  the  statute 
of  mortmain,  the  church  would  have 
appropriated  in  this  manner  the  whole 
of  the  land  of  England,  iv.  107.  (/)  The 
money  left  by  the  dying  to  pay  for 
masses,  and  that  paid  by  survivors  for 
masses  to  release  the  souls  of  their 
friends  from  Purgatory  —  all  of  which 
deserves  to  be  classed  under  the  word 
thefts  as  above  explained,  was  another 
source  of  vast  wealth  to  the  church  ;  and 
the  practice  was  systematized  on  a  large 
scale,  and,  with  the  other  things  men- 


CHAPTER  IX. 


A.  D.  96.] 

tioned,  deserves  to  be  noticed  as  a  cha¬ 
racteristic  of  the  times.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary,  to  add  that  the  judgments 
which  were  brought  upon  the  world  by 
the  Turkish  invasions  made  no  essential 
change,  and  wrought  no  Repentance  or 
reformation-,  and  hence,  that  the  lan¬ 
guage  here  is  strictly  applicable  to  these 
things  : — “  Neither  repented  they  of  their 
murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries,  nor  of 
their  fornication,  nor  of  their  thefts.” 

CHAPTER  X. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  contains  the  record  of  a 
sublime  vision  of  an  angel  which,  at  this 
juncture,  John  saw  descending  from 
heaven,  disclosing  new  scenes  in  what 
was  yet  to  occur.  The  vision  is  inter¬ 
posed  between  the  sounding  of  the  sixth, 
or  second  woe-trumpet,  and  the  sound¬ 
ing  of  the  seventh,  or  third  woe-trumpet, 
under  which  is  to  be  the  final  consum¬ 
mation,  ch.  xi.  15,  seq.  It  occupies  an 
important  interval  between  the  events 
which  were  to  occur  under  the  sixth 
trumpet,  and  the  last  scene  —  the  final 
overthrow  of  the  formidable  power  which 
had  opposed  the  reign  of  God  on  the 
earth,  and  the  reign  of  righteousness, 
when  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  should 
become  the  kingdom  of  God,  ch.  xi.  15. 
It  is,  in  many  respects,  an  unhappy  cir¬ 
cumstance  that  this  chapter  has  been 
separated  from  the  following.  They  con¬ 
stitute  one  continued  vision,  at  least  to 
ch.  xi.  15,  where  the  sounding  of  the 
seventh  and  last  trumpet  occurs. 

The  tenth  chapter  contains  the  follow¬ 
ing  things : — 

(1)  An  angel  descends  from  heaven, 
and  the  attention  of  the  seer  is  for  a  time 
turned  from  the  contemplation  of  what 
was  passing  in  heaven  to  this  new 
vision  that  appeared  on  the  earth.  This 
angel  is  clothed  with  a  cloud;  he  is 
encircled  by  a  rainbow;  his  face  is  as 
the  sun,  and  his  feet  like  pillars  of  fire : — 
all  indicating  his  exalted  rank,  and  all 
such  accompaniments  as  became  a  hea¬ 
venly  messenger. 

(2)  The  angel  appears  with  a  small 
volume  in  his  hand,  ver.  2.  This  book 
is  not  closed  and  sealed,  like  the  one  in 
ch.  v.,  but  was  “open” — so  that  it  could 
be  read.  Such  a  book  would  indicate 
some  new  message  or  revelation  from 
heaven;  and  the  book  would  be  pro¬ 
perly,  a  symbol  of  something  that  was 


279 

to  be  accomplished  ly  such  an  open 
volume. 

(3)  The  angel  sets  his  feet  upon  tho 
sea  and  the  land,  ver.  2  : — indicating  by 
this,  apparently,  that  what  he  was  to 
communicate  appertained  alike  to  the 
ocean  and  the  land — to  all  the  world. 

(4)  The  angel  makes  a  proclamation — 
the  nature  of  which  is  not  here  stated — 
with  a  loud  voice,  like  the  roaring  of  a 
lion,  as  if  the  nations  were  called  to 
hear,  ver.  3. 

(5)  This  cry  or  roar  is  responded  to 
by  heavy  thunders,  ver.  3.  What  those 
thunders  uttered  is  not  stated,  but 
it  was  evidently  so  distinct  that  John 
heard  it,  for  he  says  (ver.  4),  that  he 
was  about  to  make  a  record  of  what  was 
said. 

(6)  John,  about  to  make  this  record, 
is  forbidden  to  do  so  by  a  voice  from 
heaven,  ver.  4.  For  some  reason,  not 
here  stated,  he  was  commanded  not  to 
disclose  what  was  said,  but  so  to  seal  it 
up  that  it  should  not  be  known.  The 
reason  for  this  silence  is  nowhere  inti¬ 
mated  in  the  chapter. 

(7)  The  angel  lifts  his  hand  to  heaven 
in  a  most  solemn  manner,  and  swears  by 
the  Great  Creator  of  all  things  that  the 
time  should  not  be  yet — in  our  common 
version  “that  there  should  be  time  no 
longer,”  vs.  5-7.  It  would  seem  that 
just  at  this  period  there  would  be  an 
expectation  that  the  reign  of  God  was  to 
begin  upon  the  earth;  but  the  angel,  in 
the  most  solemn  manner,  declares  that 
this  was  not  yet  to  be,  but  that  it  would 
occur  when  the  seventh  angel  should 
begin  to  sound.  Then  the  great  “mys¬ 
tery”  would  be  complete,  as  it  had  been 
declared  to  the  prophets. 

(8)  John  is  then  commanded,  by  tho 
same  voice  which  he  heard  from  heaven, 
to  go  to  the  angel  and  take  the  little 
book  from  him  which  he  held  in  his 
hand,  and  eat  it  —  with  the  assurance 
that  it  would  be  found  to  be  sweet  to  the 
taste,  but  would  be  bitter  afterwards, 
vs.  8-10. 

(9)  The  chapter  concludes  with  a 
declaration  that  he  must  yet  prophesy 
before  many  people  and  nations  (ver. 
11),  and  then  follows  (ch.  xi.)  the  com¬ 
mission  to  measure  the  temple;  the 
command  to  separate  the  pure  from  the 
profane ;  the  account  of  the  prophesying, 
the  death,  and  the  resurrection  to  lifo  of 
the  two  witnesses — all  preliminary  to  the 


280 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  and 
the  introduction  of  the  universal  reign 
of  righteousness. 

The  question  to  what  does  the  chapter 
refer,  is  one  which  it  is  proper  to  notice 
before  we  proceed  to  the  exposition.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  say  that,  on  this  ques¬ 
tion  very  various  opinions  have  been 
entertained,  and  that  very  different  ex¬ 
positions  have  been  given  of  the  chapter. 
Without  going  into  an  examination  of 
these  different  opinions — which  would  be 
a  task  alike  unprofitable  and  endless — it 
will  be  better  to  state  what  seems  to  be 
the  fair  interpretation  and  application 
of  the  symbol,  in  its  connexion  with  what 
precedes.  A  few  remarks  here,  pre¬ 
liminary  to  the  exposition  and  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  chapter,  may  help  us  in 
determining  the  place  which  the  vision 
is  designed  to  occupy. 

(a)  In  the  previous  Apocalyptic  reve¬ 
lations,  if  the  interpretation  proposed  is 
correct,  the  history  had  been  brought 
down,  in  the  regular  course  of  events,  to 
the  capture  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks,  and  the  complete  overthrow  of 
the  Roman  empire  by  that  event,  A.  D. 
1453.  Ch.  ix.  13-19.  This  was  an  im¬ 
portant  era  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
and,  if  the  exposition  which  has  been 
proposed  is  correct,  then  the  sketches  of 
history  pertaining  to  the  Roman  empire 
in  the  book  of  Revelation  have  been 
made  with  surprising  accuracy. 

(b)  A  statement  had  been  made  (ch. 
ix.  20,  21,)  to  the  effect,  that  the  same 
state  of  things  continued  subsequent  to 
the  plagues  brought  on  by  those  inva¬ 
sions,  which  had  existed  before,  or  that 
the  effect  had  not  been  to  produce  any 
general  repentance  and  reformation. 
God  had  scourged  the  nations ;  he  had 
cut  off  multitudes  of  men  ;  he  had  over¬ 
thrown  the  mighty  empire  that  had  so 
long  ruled  over  the  world;  but  the 
same  sins  of  superstition,  idolatry,  sor¬ 
cery,  murder,  fornication  and  theft  pre¬ 
vailed  afterwards  that  had  prevailed 
before.  Instead  of  working  a  change  in 
the  minds  of  men,  the  world  seemed  to  be 
confirmed  in  these  abominations  more 
and  more.  In  the  exposition  of  that 
passage  (ch.  ix.  20,  21),  it  was  shown 
that  those  things  prevailed  ia  the  Ro¬ 
man  church — which  then  embraced  the 
whole  Christian  world — before  the  inva¬ 
sion  of  the  Eastern  empire  by  the  Turks, 
and  that  they  continued  to  prevail  after¬ 


wards  : — that,  in  fact,  the  moral  charac¬ 
ter  of  the  world  was  not  affected  by  those 
“  plagues.” 

(c)  The  next  event,  in  the  order  of 
time,  was  the  Reformation,  and  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  in  the  case  are  such  as  to 
lead  us  to  suppose  that  this  chapter 
refers  to  that.  For  (1)  the  order  of 
time  demands  this.  This  was  the  next 
important  event  in  the  history  of  the 
church  and  the  world  after  the  conquest 
of  Constantinople  producing  the  entire 
downfall  of  the  Roman  empire ;  and  if,  as 
is  supposed  in  the  previous  exposition, 
it  was  the  design  of  the  Spirit  of  inspira¬ 
tion  to  touch  on  the  great  and  material 
events  in  the  history  of  the  church  and 
the  world,  then  it  would  be  natural  to 
suppose  that  the  Reformation  would 
come  next  into  view,  for  no  previous 
event  had  more  deeply  or  permanent¬ 
ly  affected  the  condition  of  mankind. 
(2)  The  state  of  the  world  as  described 
in  ch.  ix.  20,  21,  was  such  as  to  demand 
a  reformation,  or  something  that  should 
be  more  effectual  in  purifying  the  church 
than  the  calamities  described  in  the 
previous  verse  had  been.  The  repre¬ 
sentation  is,  that  God  had  brought 
great  judgments  upon  the  world,  but 
that  they  had  been  ineffectual  in  re¬ 
forming  mankind.  The  same  kind  of 
superstition,  idolatry,  and  corruption 
remained  after  those  judgments  which 
had  existed  before,  and  they  were  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  make  it  every  way 
desirable  that  a  new  influence  should  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  world  to  purify 
it  from  these  abominations.  Some  such 
work  as  the  Reformation  is,  therefore, 
what  we  should  naturally  look  for  as  the 
next  in  order;  or,  at  least,  such  a  work 
is  one  that  well  fits  in  with  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  previous  state  of  things. 

(d)  It  will  be  found,  I  apprehend,  in 
the  exposition  of  the  chapter,  that  the 
symbols  are  such  as  accord  well  with  the 
great  leading  events  of  the  Protestant 
Reformation ;  or,  in  other  words,  that 
they  are  such  that,  on  the  supposition 
that  it  was  intended  to  refer  to  the 
Reformation,  these  are  the  symbols  which 
would  have  been  appropriately  employed. 
Of  course,  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
that  John  understood  distinctly  all  that 
was  meant  by  these  symbols,  nor  is  it 
necessary  to  suppose  that  those  who 
lived  before  the  Reformation  would  be 
able  to  comprehend  them  perfectly,  and 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


281 


CHAPTER  X. 

And  i  saw  another  mighty  an¬ 
gel  come  down  from  heaven, 
clothed  with  a  cloud ;  and  a  rain¬ 


to  apply  them  with  accuracy.  All  that 
is  necessary  to  be  supposed  in  the  inter¬ 
pretation  is,  (1)  that  the  symbol  was  de¬ 
signed  to  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  give 
some  general  idea  of  what  was  to  occur; 
and  (2)  that  we  should  he  able,  now  that 
the  event  has  occurred,  to  show  that  it 
is  fairly  applicable  to  the  event;  that  is, 
that  on  the  supposition  that  this  was 
designed  to  be  referred  to,  the  symbols 
are  such  as  would  properly  he  employed. 
This,  however,  will  be  seen  more  clearly 
after  the  exposition  shall  have  been  gone 
through. 

With  this  general  view  of  what  we 
should  naturally  anticipate  in  this  chap¬ 
ter,  from  tho  course  of  exposition  in  the 
preceding  chapters,  we  are  prepared  for 
a  more  particular  exposition  and  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  symbols  in  this  new  vision. 
It  will  be  the  most  convenient  course, 
keeping  in  mind  the  general  views  pre¬ 
sented  here,  to  explain  the  symbols,  and  to 
consider  their  application  as  we  go  along. 

1.  And  I  saxo.  I  had  a  vision  of.  The 
meaning  is,  that  he  saw  this  subsequently 
to  the  vision  in  the  previous  chapter. 
The  attention  is  now  arrested  by  a  new 
vision  —  as  if  some  new  dispensation  or 
economy  was  about  to  occur  in  the  world. 
If  Another  mighty  angel.  He  had  before 
seen  the  seven  angels  who  were  to  blow 
the  seven  trumpets  (ch.  viii.  2) ;  he  had 
seen  six  of  them  successively  blow  the 
trumpet;  he  now  sees  another  angel, 
different  from  them,  and  apparently 
having  no  connection  with  them,  coming 
from  heaven  to  accomplish  some  im¬ 
portant  purpose  before  the  seventh  angel 
should  give  the  final  blast.  This  angel 
is  here  characterized  as  a  ‘mighty’  angel 
—  icry'vpbv — one  of  strength  and  power; 
implying  that  the  work  to  be  accom¬ 
plished  by  his  mission  demanded  the 
interpositien  of  one  of  the  higher  orders 
of  the  heavenly  inhabitants.  The  coming 
of  an  angel  at  all  was  indicative  of  some 
divine  interposition  in  human  affairs; 
the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  exalted  rank, 
or  endowed  with  vast  power,  indicated 
the  nature  of  the  work  to  be  done — that 
it  was  a  work  to  the  execution  of  which 
great  obstacles  existed,  and  where  great 
24  * 


bow  8  was  upon  his  head,  and  his 
face  b  was  as  it  were  the  sun,  and 
his  feet,  as  pillars  of  fire : 

a  Eze.  1.  28.  b  Mat.  17.  2.  c.  1. 15, 16. 


power  would  be  needed,  f  Clothed  with 
a  cloud.  Encompassed  with  a  cloud,  or 
enveloped  in  a  cloud.  This  was  a  sym¬ 
bol  of  majesty  and  glory,  and  is  often 
represented  as  accompanying  the  divine 
presence.  Ex.  xvi.  9,  10,  xxiv.  16, 
xxxiv.  5;  Num.xi.  25;  1  Kings  viii.  10; 
Ps.  xcvii.  2.  The  Saviour  also  ascended 
in  a  cloud,  Acts  i.  9,  and  he  will  again 
descend  in  clouds  to  judge  the  world, 
Matt,  xxiv.  30,  xxvi.  64;  Mark  xiii.  26; 
Rev.  i.  7.  Nothing  can  be  argued  here 
as  to  the  purpose  for  which  the  angel 
appeared,  from  his  being  encompassed 
with  a  cloud;  nor  can  any  thing  be  ar¬ 
gued  from  it  in  respect  to  the  question 
who  this  angel  was.  The  fair  interpre¬ 
tation  is,  that  this  was  one  of  the  angels 
now  represented  as  sent  forth  on  an 
errand  of  mercy  to  man,  and  coming 
with  appropriate  majesty,  as  the  mes¬ 
senger  of  God.  And  a  rainbow  was 
upon  his  head.  In  ch.  iv.  3,  the  throne 
in  heaven  is  represented  as  encircled 
by  a  rainbow.  See  Notes  on  that  verse. 
The  rainbow  is  properly  an  emblem  of 
peace.  Here  the  symbol  would  mean 
that  the  angel  came  not  for  wrath,  but 
for  purposes  of  peace;  that  he  looked 
with  a  benign  aspect  on  men,  and  that 
the  effect  of  his  coming  would  be  like 
that  of  sunshine  after  a  storm.  And 
his  face  was,  as  it  were,  the  sun.  Bright 
like  the  sun  (Notes,  ch.  i.  16);  that  is, 
he  looked  upon  men  with  (a)  an  intelli¬ 
gent  aspect — as  the  sun  is  the  source  of 
light;  and  (5)  with  benignity  —  not  cov¬ 
ered  with  clouds,  or  darkened  by  wrath. 
The  brightness  is  probably  the  main  idea, 
but  the  appearance  of  the  angel  would, 
as  here  represented,  naturally  suggest 
the  ideas  just  referred  to.  As  an  emblem 
or  symbol,  we  should  regard  his  appear¬ 
ing  as  that  which  was  to  be  followed  by 
knowledge  and  by  prosperity.  And 
hxs  feet  as  pillars  of  fire.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  i.  15.  In  this  symbol,  then,  we  have 
the  following  things  :  (a)  An  angel — as 
the  messenger  of  God,  indicating  that 
some  new  communication  was  to  be 
brought  to  mankind,  or  that  there  would 
be  some  interposition  in  human  affairs 
which  might  be  woll  represented  by  the 


282 


REVELATION.  [A.  D.  96L 


2  And  he  had  in  his  hand  a  little 
book  open:  and  he  set  his  right 

coming  of  an  angel ;  (b)  the  fact  that  he 
was  ‘  mighty’ — indicating  that  the  work 
to  be  done  required  power  beyond  hu¬ 
man  strength}  (c)  the  fact  that  he  came 
in  a  cloud  —  on  an  embassage  so  grand 
and  magnificent  as  to  make  this  symbol 
of  majesty  proper;  ( d )  the  fact  that  he 
was  encircled  by  a  rainbow  —  that  the 
visitation  was  to  be  one  of  peace  to  man¬ 
kind  ;  and  (e)  the  fact  that  his  coming 
was  like  the  sun — or  would  diffuse  light 
and  peace. 

Now,  in  regard  to  the  application  of 
this,  without  adverting  to  any  other 
theory,  no  one  can  fail  to  see  that,  on 
the  supposition  that  it  was  designed  to 
refer  to  the  Reformation,  this  would  be 
the  most  striking  and  appropriate  sym¬ 
bol  that  could  have  been  chosen.  For 
(a)  as  we  have  seen  above,  this  is  the 
place  which  the  vision  naturally  occu¬ 
pies  in  the  series  of  historical  represent¬ 
ations.  (6)  It  was  at  a  period  of  the 
world,  and  the  world  was  in  such  a 
state,  that  an  intervention  of  this  kind 
would  be  properly  represented  by  the 
coming  of  an  angel  from  heaven.  God 
had  visited  the  nations  with  terrible 
judgments,  but  the  effect  had  not  been 
to  produce  reformation,  for  the  same 
forms  of  wickedness  continued  to  prevail 
which  had  existed  before.  Notes  ch. 
ix.  20,  21.  In  this  state  of  things,  any 
new  interposition  of  God  for  reforming 
the  world,  would  be  properly  represented 
by  the  coming  of  an  angel  from  heaven 
as  a  messenger  of  light  and  peace, 
(c)  The  great  and  leading  events  of  the 
Reformation  were  well  represented  by 
the  power  of  this  angel.  It  was  not 
indeed  physical  power;  but  the  work  to 
be  done  in  the  Reformation  was  a  great 
work,  and  was  such  as  would  be  well 
symbolized  by  the  intervention  of  a 
mighty  angel  from  heaven.  The  task 
of  reforming  the  church,  and  of  correct¬ 
ing  the  abuses  which  had  prevailed,  was 
wholly  beyond  any  ability  which  man 
possessed,  and  was  well  represented, 
therefore,  by  the  descent  of  this  messen¬ 
ger  from  the  skies,  (d)  The  saine  thing 
may  be  said  of  the  rainbow  that  was 
upon  his  head.  Nothing  would  better 
symbolize  the  general  aspect  of  the 
Reformation,  as  fitted  to  produce  peace, 
tranquillity,  and  joy  upon  the  earth. 


foot  upon  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot 
on  the  earth, 

And  (e)  the  same  thing  was  indicated 
by  the  splendor — -the  light  and  glory  — 
that  attended  the  angel.  The  symbol' 
would  denote  that  the  new  order  of 
things  would  be  attended  with  light; 
with  knowledge;  with  that  which  would, 
be  benign  in  its  influence  on  human 
affairs.  And  it  need  not  be  said,  to  any 
one  acquainted  with  the  history  of  those 
times,  that  the  Reformation  was  pre¬ 
ceded  and  accompanied  with  a  great 
increase  of  light ;  that  at  just  about  that 
period  of  the  world,  the  study  of  the 
Greek  language  began  to  be  common  in 
Europe;  that  the  sciences  had  made 
remarkable  progress;  that  schools  and 
colleges  had  begun  to  flourish ;  and  that, 
to  a  degree  which  had  not  existed  for 
ages  before,  the  public  mind  had  become 
awake  to  the  importance  of  truth  and 
knowledge.  For  a  full  illustration  of 
this,  from  the  close  of  the  eleventh  cen¬ 
tury  and  onward,  see  Hallam’s  Middle 
Ages,  vol.  ii.  pp.  265-392,  ch.  ix.  Part  II. 
To  go  into  any  satisfactory  detail  on  this 
point,  would  be  wholly  beyond  the  pro¬ 
per  limits  of  these  Notes,  and  the  reader 
must  be  referred  to  the  histories  of  those 
times,  and  especially  to  Hallam,  who 
has  recorded  all  that  is  necessary  to  be 
known  on  the  subject.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that,  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  the 
intention  to  symbolize  those  times,  no 
more  appropriate  emblem  could  have 
been  found  than  that  of  an  angel  whose 
face  shone  like  the  sun,  and  who  was 
covered  with  light  and  splendor.  These 
remarks  will  show  that,  if  it  be  supposed 
it  was  intended  to  symbolize  the  Re¬ 
formation,  no  more  appropriate  emblem 
could  have  been  selected  than  that  of 
such  an  angel  coming  down  from  heaven. 
If,  after  the  events  have  occurred,  we 
should  desire  to  represent  the  same 
things  by  a  striking  and  expressive 
symbol,  we  could  find  none  that  would 
better  represent  those  times. 

2.  And  he  had  in  his  hand  a  little 
book  open.  This  is  the  first  thing  that 
indicated  the  purpose  of  his  appearing, 
or  that  would  give  any  distinct  indica¬ 
tion  of  the  design  of  his  coming  from 
heaven.  The  general  aspect  of  the 
angels,  indeed,  as  represented  in  the 
former  verse,  was  that  of  benignity,  and 
his  purpose,  as  there  indicated,  was  light 


CHAPTER  X. 


283 


A.  D.  96.J 

and  peace.  But  still,  there  was  nothing 
which  would  denote  the  particular  de¬ 
sign  for  which  he  came,  or  which  would 
designate  the  particular  means  which 
he  would  employ.  Here  we  have,  how¬ 
ever,  an  emblem  which  will  furnish  an 
indication  of  what  was  to  occur  as  the 
result  of  his  appearing.  To  be  able  to 
apply  this,  it  will  be  necessary,  as  in  all 
similar  cases,  to  explain  the  natural  sig- 
nificancy  of  the  emblem.  (1)  The  little 
book.  The  word  used  here — / 3i(3\ap(Stov 
■ — occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament  except  in  vs.  2,  8,  9,  10,  of  this 
chapter.  The  word  (3i(]\(ov — book — oc¬ 
curs  frequently,  Matt.  xix.  7 ;  Mark  x.  4, 
— applied  to  a  bill  of  divorcement;  Luke 
iv.  17,  20;  John  xx.  30,  xxi.  25;  Gal. 
iii.  10,  11 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  13 ;  Heb.  ix.  19 ; 
x.  7.  In  the  Apocalypse  this  word  is  of 
common  occurrence — i.  11;  v.  1,  2,  3,4, 
5,  7,  8,  9 ;  vi.  14,  rendered  scroll,  xvii. 
8;  xx.  12  ;  xxi.  27;  xxii.  7,  9, 10, 18, 19. 
The  word  was  evidently  chosen  here  to 
denote  something  that  was  peculiar  in 
the  size  or  form  of  the  book,  or  to  dis¬ 
tinguish  it  from  that  which  would  be 
designated  by  the  ordinary  word  em¬ 
ployed  to  denote  a  book.  The  word 
properly  denotes  a  small  roll  or  volume  ; 
a  little  scroll.  Rob.  Lex.  Pollux.  Ono- 
mast.  7,  210.  It  is  evident  that  something 
was  intended  by  the  diminutive  size  of 
the  book,  or  that  it  was  designed  to  make 
a  distinction  between  this  and  that  which 
is  indicated  by  the  use  of  the  word  book 
in  the  other  parts  of  the  Apocalypse.  It 
was,  at  least,  indicated  by  this  that  it 
was  something  different  from  what  was 
seen  in  the  hand  of  him  that  sat  on  the 
throne  in  ch.  v.  1.  That  was  clearly  a 
large  volume ;  this  was  so  small  that  it 
could  be  taken  in  the  hand,  and  could 
be  represented  as  eaten,  vs.  9,  10.  But, 
of  what  is  a  book  an  emblem  ?  To  this 
question  there  can  be  little  difficulty  in 
furnishing  an  answer.  A  book  seen  in  a 
dream,  according  to  Artemidorus,  signi¬ 
fies  the  life,  or  the  acts  of  him  that  sees 
it.  Wemyss.  According  to  the  Indian 
interpreters,  a  book  is  the  symbol  of 
power  and  dignity.  The  Jewish  kings, 
when  they  were  crowned,  had  the  book 
of  the  law  of  God  put  into  their  hands 
(2  Kings  xi.  12 ;  2  Chron.  xxiii.  11),  de¬ 
noting  that  they  were  to  observe  the  law, 
and  that  their  administration  was  to  be 
one  of  intelligence  and  uprightness. 
The  gift  of  a  Bible  now  to  a  monarch 


when  he  is  crowned,  or  to  the  officer  of 
a  corporation  or  society,  denotes  the 
same  thing.  A  book,  as  such,  thus 
borne  in  the  hand  of  an  angel  coming 
down  to  the  world,  would  be  an  indica¬ 
tion  that  something  of  importance  was 
to  be  communicated  to  men,  or  that 
something  was  to  be  accomplished  by 
the  agency  of  a  book.  It  was  not,  as  in 
ch.  vi.  2,  a  bow — emblem  of  conquest; 
or  ver.  4,  a  sicord — emblem  of  battle;  or 
ver.  5,  a  pair  of  scales — emblem  of  the 
exactness  with  which  things  were  to  be 
determined,  but  it  was  a  book— a  speech 
less,  silent  thing,  yet  mighty;  not  de¬ 
signed  to  carry  desolation  through  the 
earth,  but  to  diffuse  light  and  truth. 
The  natural  interpretation,  then,  would 
be,  that  something  was  to  be  accom¬ 
plished  by  the  agency  of  a  book,  or  that 
a  book  was  to  be  the  prominent  charac¬ 
teristic  of  the  times — as  the  bow,  the 
sword,  and  the  balances  had  been  of  the 
previous  periods.  As  to  the  size  of  the 
book,  perhaps  all  that  can  be  inferred  is, 
that  this  was  to  be  brought  about,  not 
by  extended  tomes,  but  by  a  compara¬ 
tively  small  volume — so  that  it  could  be 
taken  in  the  hand;  so  that  it  could, 
without  impropriety,  be  represented  as 
eaten  by  an  individual.  (2)  The  fact 
that  it  was  open  : — “  a  little  book  open” — . 
avcwynivov.  The  word  here  used  means, 
properly,  to  open  or  unclose  in  respect 
to  that  which  was  before  fastened  or 
sealed,  as  that  which  is  covered  by  a 
door,  Matt.  ii.  11 ;  tombs,  which  were 
closed  by  large  stones.  Matt,  xxvii.  60, 
66 ;  a  gate,  Acts  v.  23  ;  xii.  10 ;  the 
abyss,  (Rev.  ix.  2),  “since  in  the  East 
pits  or  wells  are  closed  with  large  stones, 
comp.  Gen.  xxix.  2.”  Rob.  Lex.  The 
meaning  of  this  word,  as  applied  to  a 
book,  would  be,  that  it  was  now  opened 
so  that  its  contents  could  be  read.  The 
word  would  not  necessarily  imply  that  it 
had  been  sealed  or  closed,  though  that 
would  be  the  most  natural  impression 
from  the  use  of  the  word.  Comp,  for  the 
use  of  the  word  rendered  open,  Rev.  iii. 
8,  20 ;  iv.  1 ;  v.  2,  3,  4,  5,  9 ;  vi.  1,  3,  5, 
7,  9,  12  ;  viii.  1 ;  ix.  2  ;  x.  8  ;  xi.  19 ;  xx. 
12.  This  would  find  a  fulfilment  if 
some  such  facts  as  the  following  should 
occur:  (a)  if  there  had  been  any  custom 
or  arrangement  by  which  knowledge  was 
kept  from  men,  or  access  was  forbidden 
to  books  or  to  some  one  book  in  particu¬ 
lar;  and  (b)  if  something  should  occur 


284 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


by  which,  that  which  had  before  been 
kept  hidden  or  concealed,  or  that  to 
which  access  had  been  denied,  should 
be  made  accessible.  In  other  words, 
this  is  the  proper  symbol  of  a  diffusion 
of  knowledge,  or  of  the  influence  of  a 
book  on  mankind.  (3)  The  fact  that  it 
was  in  the  hand  of  the  angel.  All  that 
seems  to  be  implied  in  this,  is,  that  it 
was  now  offered,  or  was  ready  to  be  put 
in  possession  of  John — or  of  the  church 
— or  of  mankind.  It  was  open,  and  was 
held  out,  as  it  were,  for  perusal. 

In  regard  to  the  application  of  this,  it 
is  plain  that,  if  it  be  admitted  that  it  was 
the  design  of  the  author  of  the  vision  to 
refer  to  the  Reformation,  no  more  ap¬ 
propriate  emblem  could  have  been  cho¬ 
sen.  If  we  were  now  to  endeavor  to 
devise  an  emblem  of  the  Reformation 
that  would  be  striking  and  expressive, 
we  could  not  well  select  one  which  would 
better  represent  the  great  work  than 
that  which  is  here  presented.  This  will 
appear  plain  from  a  few  considerations  : 
(1)  The  great  agent  in  the  Reformation  ; 
the  moving  cause  of  it;  its  suggestor 
and  supporter,  was  a  book — the  Bible. 
Wiclif  had  translated  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  into  the  English  language,  and 
though  this  was  suppressed,  yet  it  had 
done  much  to  prepare  the  people  for  the 
Reformation ;  and  all  that  Luther  did 
can  be  traced  to  the  discovery  of  the 
Bible,  and  to  the  use  which  was  made 
of  it.  Luther  had  grown  up  into  man¬ 
hood  ;  had  passed  from  the  schools  to 
the  University  of  Erfurt,  and  there, 
having  during  the  usual  four  years’ 
course  of  study  displayed  intellectual 
powers  and  an  extent  of  learning  that 
excited  the  admiration  of  the  Univer¬ 
sity,  and  that  seemed  to  open  to  his 
attainment  both  the  honor  and  emolu¬ 
ment  of  the  world,  he  appeared  to  have 
been  prepared  to  play  an  important  part 
on  the  great  drama  of  human  affairs. 
Suddenly,  however,  to  the  astonishment 
and  dismay  of  his  friends,  he  betook  him¬ 
self  to  the  solitude  and  gloom  of  an  Augus- 
tinian  monastery.  There  he  had  found 
a  Bible — a  copy  of  the  Vulgate,  hid  in 
the  shelves  of  the  University  Library. 
Till  then  he  had  supposed  that  there 
existed  no  other  gospels  or  epistles  than 
what  were  given  in  the  Breviary,  or 
quoted  by  the  Preachers.*  To  the  study 


of  that  book  he  now  gave  himself  with  un¬ 
tiring  diligence  and  steady  prayer;  and 
the  effect  was  to  show  to  him  the  way 
of  salvation  by  faith,  and  ultimately  to 
produce  the  Reformation.  No  one  ao* 
quainted  with  the  history  of  the  Re* 
formation  can  doubt  that  it  is  to  be 
traced  to  the  influence  of  the  Bible ; 
that  the  moving  cause,  the  spring  of  all 
that  occurred  in  the  Reformation,  was 
the  impulse  given  to  the  mind  of  Luther 
and  his  fellow-laborers  by  the  study  of 
that  one  book.  It  is  this  well-known 
fact  that  gives  so  much  truth  to  the 
celebrated  declaration  of  Chillingworth, 
that,  “  the  Bible  is  the  religion  of  Pro¬ 
testants.”  If  a  symbol  of  this  had  been 
designed  before  it  occurred,  or  if  one 
should  be  sought  for  now  that  would 
designate  the  actual  nature  and  in¬ 
fluence  of  the  Reformation,  nothing 
better  could  be  selected  than  that  of 
an  angel  descending  from  heaven,  with 
benignant  aspect,  with  a  rainbow  around 
his  head,  and  with  light  beaming  all 
around  him,  holding  forth  to  mankind 
a  book.  (2)  This  book  had  before  been 
hidden,  or  closed ;  that  is,  it  could  not 
till  then  be  regarded  as  an  open  volume, 
(a)  It  was  in  fact  known  by  few  even 
of  the  clergy,  and  it  was  not  in  the 
hands  of  the  mass  of  the  people  at  all. 
There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
great  body  of  the  Romish  clergy  in  the 
time  that  preceded  the  Reformation, 
were  even  more  ignorant  of  the  Bible 
than  Luther  himself  was.  Many  of 
them  were  unable  to  read;  few  had 
access  to  the  Bible  ;  and  those  who  had, 
drew  their  doctrines  rather  from  the 
Fathers  of  the  church  than  from  the 
word  of  God.  Hallam  (Middle  Ages,  ii. 
241),  says,  “  Of  this  prevailing  igno¬ 
rance  [in  the  tenth  century  and  onward] 
it  is  easy  to  produce  abundant  testi¬ 
mony.  In  almost  every  council  the 
ignorance  of  the  clergy  forms  a  subject 
for  reproach.  It  is  asserted  by  one  held 
in  992,  that  scarcely  a  single  person 
could  be  found  in  Rome  itself  who 
knew  the  first  elements  of  letters.  Not 
one  priest  of  a  thousand  in  Spain,  about 
tho  age  of  Charlemagne,  could  address  a 
letter  of  common  salutation  to  another. 
In  England  Alfred  declares  that  he 
could  not  recollect  a  single  priest  south 
of  the  Thames  (the  best  part  of  Eng¬ 
land),  at  the  time  of  his  accession,  who 
understood  the  ordinary  prayers,  or 


*  For  the  proof  of  this,  see  Elliott,  ii.  92. 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  X. 


285 


who  could  translate  the  Latin  into  the 
mother  tongue.”  There  were  few  books 
of  any  kind  in  circulation,  and,  even  if 
there  had  been  an  ability  to  read,  the 
coat  of  books  was  so  great  as  to  exclude 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  from  all 
access  to  the  sacred  Scriptures.  “  Many 
of  the  clergy,”  says  Dr.  Robertson,  (Hist, 
of  Charles  V.,  p.  14.  Harper’s  Ed.),  “did 
not  understand  the  Breviary  which  they 
were  obliged  daily  to  recite;  some  of  them 
could  scarcely  read  it.”  “  Persons  of 
the  highest  rank,  and  in  the  most  emi¬ 
nent  stations,  could  neither  read  nor 
write.”  One  of  the  questions  appointed 
by  the  canons  to  be  put  to  persons  who 
were  candidates  for  orders  was  this, 
“  Whether  they  could  read  the  gospels 
and  epistles,  and  explain  the  sense  of 
them  at  least  literally  ?”  For  the  causes 
of  this  ignorance,  see  Robertson’s  Hist, 
of  Charles  V.,  p.  515.  One  of  those  causes 
was  the  cost  of  books.  “  Private  persons 
seldom  possessed  any  books  whatever. 
Even  monasteries  of  considerable  note 
had  only  one  Missal.  The  price  of 
books  became  so  high  that  persons  of  a 
moderate  fortune  could  not  afford  to 
purchase  them.  The  Countess  of  Anjou 
paid  for  a  copy  of  the  Homilies  of  Hai- 
mon,  bishop  of  Alberstadt,  two  hundred 
sheep,  five  quarters  of  wheat,  and  the 
same  quantity  of  rye  and  millet,”  &c. 
Such  was  the  cost  of  books  that  few 
persons  could  afford  to  own  a  copy  of 
the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  the  conse¬ 
quence  was,  there  were  almost  none  in 
the  hands  of  the  people.  The  few  copies 
that  were  in  existence  were,  mostly,  in  the 
libraries  of  monasteries  and  universities, 
or  in  the  hands  of  some  of  the  higher 
clergy.  ( b )  But  there  was  another  rea¬ 
son  that  was  still  more  efficacious,  per¬ 
haps,  in  keeping  the  people  at  large 
from  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures. 
It  was  found  in  the  prevailing  views  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  communion  respect¬ 
ing  the  private  use  and  interpretation  of 
the  sacred  volume.  Whatever  theory 
may  now  be  advocated  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  communion  on  this  point,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  influence  of  that 
denomination  has  been  to  withhold  the 
Bible  from  a  free  circulation  among  the 
common  people.  No  one  can  deny  that, 
in  the  times  just  preceding  the  Reforma¬ 
tion,  the  whole  influence  of  the  Papal 
denomination  was  opposed  to  a  free  cir¬ 
culation  of  the  Bible,  and  that  one  of 


the  great  and  characteristic  features  of 
the  Reformation  was  the  fact  that  the 
doctrine  was  promulgated  that  the  Bible 
was  to  be  freely  distributed,  and  that 
the  people  everywhere  were  to  have 
access  to  it,  and  were  to  form  their  own 
opinions  of  the  doctrines  which  it  re¬ 
veals.  (3)  The  Bible  became  at  the  Re¬ 
formation,  in  fact  an  “  open”  book.  It 
was  made  accessible.  It  became  the 
popular  book  of  the  world ;  the  book 
that  did  more  than  all  other  things  to 
change  the  aspect  of  affairs,  and  to  give 
character  to  subsequent  times.  This 
occurred  because  (o)  The  art  of  print¬ 
ing  was  discovered,  just  before  the  Re¬ 
formation,  as  if,  in  the  Providence  of 
God,  it  was  designed  then  to  give  this 
precious  volume  to  the  world,  and  the 
Bible  was,  in  fact,  the  first  book  printed, 
and  has  been  since  printed  more  fre¬ 
quently  than  any  other  book  whatever, 
and  will  continue  to  be  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine 
now  a  more  striking  symbol  of  the  art 
of  printing,  or  to  suggest  a  better  device 
for  it,  than  to  represent  an  angel  giving 
an  open  volume  to  mankind,  (b)  The 
leading  doctrine  of  the  Reformers  was, 
that  the  Bible  is  the  source  of  all  au¬ 
thority  in  matters  of  religion,  and,  con¬ 
sequently,  is  to  be  accessible  to  all  the 
people.  And  (c)  the  Bible  was  the  au¬ 
thority  appealed  to  by  the  Reformers. 
It  became  the  subject  of  profound  study; 
was  diffused  abroad;  and  gave  form  to 
all  the  doctrines  that  sprang  out  of  the 
times  of  the  Reformation.  These  re¬ 
marks,  which  might  be  greatly  expand¬ 
ed,  will  show  with  what  propriety,  on  the 
supposition  that  the  chapter  here  refers 
to  the  Reformation,  the  symbol  of  a 
book  was  selected.  Obviously,  no  other 
symbol  would  have  been  so  appropriate  ; 
nothing  else  would  have  given  so  just  a 
view  of  the  leading  characteristics  of 
that  period  of  the  world. 

If  And  he  set-  his  right  foot  upon  the  sea , 
and  h  is  left  foot  upon  the  earth.  This  is 
the  third  characteristic  in  the  symbol. 
As  a  mere  description,  this  is  eminently 
sublime.  I  was  once  (at  Cape  May, 
1849,)  impressively  reminded  of  this 
passage.  My  window  was  in  such  a 
position  that  it  commanded  a  fine  view 
at  the  same  time  of  the  ocean  and  the 
land.  A  storm  arose  such  as  I  had  never 
witnessed — the  clouds  from  the  different 
points  of  the  compass  seeming  to  com* 


286 


REVELATION,  -  [A.  D.  96. 


3  And  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
as  when  a  lion  roareth :  and  when 


together  over  the  place,  and  producing 
incessant  lightning  and  thunder.  As 
the  storm  cleared  away,  the  most  mag¬ 
nificent  rainbow  that  I  ever  saw  ap¬ 
peared,  arching  the  heavens,  one  foot  of 
it  far  off  in  the  sea,  and  the  other  on  the 
land — an  emblem  of  peace  to  both — and 
most  strikingly  suggesting  to  me  the 
angel  in  the  Apocalypse.  The  natural 
meaning  of  such  a  symbol  as  that  repre¬ 
sented  here  would  be,  that  something 
was  to  occur  which  would  pertain  to  the 
whole  world,  as  the  earth  is  made  up  of 
land  and  water. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that,  on 
the  supposition  that  this  refers  to  the 
Reformation,  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
finding  an  ample  fulfilment  of  the  sym¬ 
bol.  That  great  work  was  designed 
manifestly  by  Providence  to  affect  all 
the  world  —  the  sea  and  the  land  —  the 
dwellers  in  the  islands  and  in  the  conti¬ 
nents —  those  who  “go  down  to  the  sea 
in  ships,  and  do  business  in  the  great 
waters,”  and  those  who  have  a  perma¬ 
nent  dwelling  on  shore.  It  may  be 
admitted,  indeed,  that,  in  itself,  this  one 
thing — the  angel  standing  on  the  sea  and 
the  land,  if  it  occurred  alone,  could  not 
suggest  the  Reformation,  and,  if  there 
were  nothing  else,  such  an  application 
might  seem  fanciful  and  unnatural ;  but 
taken  in  connexion  with  the  other  things 
in  the  symbol,  and  assuming  that  the 
whole  vision  was  designed  to  symbolize 
the  Reformation,  it  will  not  be  regarded 
as  unnatural  that  there  should  be  some 
symbol  which  would  intimate  that  the 
blessings  of  a  reformed  religion — a  pure 
gospel — would  be  ultimately  spread  over 
land  and  ocean — over  the  continents  and 
islands  of  the  globe ;  in  all  the  fixed 
habitations  of  men,  and  in  their  float¬ 
ing  habitations  on  the  deep.  The  sym¬ 
bol  of  a  rainbow,  bending  over  the  sea 
and  land,  would  have  expressed  this : — 
the  same  thing  would  be  expressed  by 
an  angel  whose  head  was  encircled  by  a 
rainbow,  and  whose  face  beamed  with 
light,  with  one  foot  on  the  ocean  and  the 
other  on  the  land. 

3.  And  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  as  when 
a  lion  roareth.  The  lion  is  the  monarch 
of  the  woods,  and  his  roar  is  an  image 


he  had  cried,  seven  thunders  °  ut¬ 
tered  their  voices. 

a  c.  8.  5.  14.  2. 


of  terror.  The  point  of  the  comparison 
here  seems  to  be  the  loudness  with  which 
the  angel  cried,  and  the  power  of  what 
he  said  to  awe  the  world  —  as  the  roar 
of  the  lion  keeps  the  dwellers  in  the 
forest  in  awe.  What  he  said,  is  not 
stated;  nor  did  John  attempt  to  record 
it.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes  that  it  was 
“a  loud  note  of  woe,  some  interjection 
uttered  which  would  serve  to  call  atten¬ 
tion,  and  at  the  same  time  be  indicative 
of  the  judgments  which  were  to  follow.” 
But  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that 
this  particular  thing  was  intended.  Any 
loud  utterance — any  solemn  command — ■ 
any  prediction  of  judgment — any  decla¬ 
ration  of  truth  that  would  arrest  the 
attention  of  mankind,  would  be  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  all  that  is  said  here.  As 
there  is  no  application  of  what  is  said, 
and  no  explanation  made  by  John,  it  is 
impossible  to  determine  with  any  cer¬ 
tainty  what  is  referred  to.  But,  sup¬ 
posing  that  the  whole  refers  to  the 
Reformation,  would  not  the  loud  and 
commanding  voice  of  the  angel  properly 
represent  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel 
as  it  began  to  be  preached  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  command  the  attention  of 
the  world,  and  the  reproof  of  the  pre¬ 
vailing  sins  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep 
the  world  in  awe?  The  voice  that 
sounded  forth  at  the  Reformation  among 
the  nations  of  Europe,  breaking  the 
slumbers  of  the  Christian  world,  awaking 
the  church  to  the  evil  of  the  existing 
corruptions  and  abominations,  and  sum¬ 
moning  princes  to  the  defence  of  the 
truth,  might  well  be  symbolized  by  the 
voice  of  an  angel  that  was  heard  afar. 
In  regard  to  the  effect  of  the  ‘  theses’  of 
Luther,  in  which  he  attacked  the  main 
doctrines  of  the  Papacy,  a  contemporary 
writer  says,  “In  the  space  of  a  fortnight 
they  spread  over  Germany,  and  within 
a  month  they  had  run  through  all  Christ¬ 
endom,  as  if  angels  themselves  had  been 
the  bearers  of  them  to  all  men.”  'To  John 
it  might  not  be  known  beforehand — as 
it  probably  would  not  be  —  what  this 
symbolized;  but  could  we  now  find  a  more 
appropriate  symbol  to  denote  the  Re¬ 
formation  than  the  appearance  of  such 
an  angel ;  or  better  describe  the  impre » 


287 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  X. 


sion  made  by  the  first  announcement  of 
the  great  doctrines  of  the  Reformation, 
than  by  the  loud  voice  of  such  an  angel? 

y\u d  when  he  held  cried ,  seven  thunders 
uttered  their  voices.  Prof.  Stuart  renders 
this,  “the  seven  thunders  uttered  their 
voices,”  and  insists  that  the  article 
,  should  be  retained,  which  it  has  not  been 
in  our  common  version.  So  Elliott 
Bishop  Middleton,  and  others.  Bishop 
Middleton-  says,  “Why  the  article  is 
inserted  liere  X  am  unable  to  discover. 
It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  a  few 
manuscripts  and  editions  omit  it  in  both 
places  [vs.  3,  4],  Were  the  seven  thun¬ 
ders  any  thing  well  known  and  pre¬ 
eminent  ?  If  not,  the  omission  must  be 
nght  in  the  former  instance,  but  wrong 
in  the  latter:  if  they  were  pre-eminent, 
then  is  it  wrong  in  both.  Bengcl  omits 
the  article  in  ver.  3,  but  has  it  in  ver.  4.;’ 
He  regards  the  insertion  of  the  article 
as  the  true  reading  in  both  places,  and 
supposes  that  there  may  have  been  a 
reference  to  some  Jewish  opinion,  but 
says  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  find  a 
vestige  of  it  in  Lightfoot,  Schoettgen,  or 
Meuschen.  Storr  supposes  that  we  are 
not  to  seek  here  for  any  Jewish  notion, 
and  that  nothing  is  to  be  inferred  from 
the  article.  Middleton,  on  the  Gr.  Arti¬ 
cle,  p.  358.  The  best  editions  of  the 
New  Testament  retain  the  article  in  both 
places,  and  indeed  there  is  no  authority 
for  omitting  it.  The  use  of  the  article  here 
naturally  implies  either  that  these  seven 
thunders  were  something  which  had  been 
before  referred  to,  either  expressly  or 
impliedly  ;  or  that  there  was  something 
about  them  which  was  so  well  known 
that  it  would  be  at  once  understood  what 
was  referred  to ;  or  that  there  was  some¬ 
thing  in  the  connexion  which  would 
determine  the  meaning.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ch.  viii.  2.  It  is  plain,  however,  that 
there  had  been  no  mention  of  ‘seven 
thunders’  before,  nor  had  anything  been 
referred  to  which  would  at  once  suggest 
them.  The  reason  for  the  insertion  of 
the  article  here  must,  therefore,  be  found 
in  some  pre-eminence  which  these  seven 
thunders  had  ;  in  some  well-known  facts 
about  them  ;  in  something  which  would 
at  once  suggest  them  when  they  were 
mentioned  —  as  when  we  mention  the 
sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  though  they 
might  not  have  been  distinctly  re¬ 
ferred  to  before.  The  number  ‘seven’ 
is  used  here  either  (a)  as  a  general  or 


perfect  number,  as  it  is  frequently  in 
this  book,  where  we  have  it  so  often 
repeated  — seven  spirits;  seven  angels- 
seven  seals;  seven  trumpets;  or  (6)°with 
some  specific  reference  to  the  matter  in 
hand  —  the  case  actually  in  view  of  the 
writer.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  it 
might  be  used  in  the  former  sense  here, 
and  that  no  law  of  language  would  be 
violated  if  it  were  so  understood,  as  de¬ 
noting  many  thunders;  but  still  it  is 
equally  true  that  it  may  be  used  in  a 
specific  sense  as  denoting  something 
that  would  be  well  understood  by  ap¬ 
plying  the  number  seven  to  it.  Now 
let  it  be  supposed,  in  regard  to  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  this  symbol,  that  the  reference 
is  to  Rome,  the  seven-hilled  city,  and  to 
the  thunders  of  excommunication,  ana¬ 
thema,  and  wrath  that  were  uttered  from 
that  city  against  the  Reformers;  and 
would  there  not  be  all  that  is  fairly  im¬ 
plied  in  this  language,  and  is  not  this 
such  a  symbol  as  woidd  he  appropriately 
used  on  such  a  supposition?  The  fol¬ 
lowing  circumstances  may  be  referred  to 
as  worthy  of  notice  on  this  point:  — 
(a)  The  place  which  this  occupies  in  the 
series  of  symbols  — being  just  after  tho 
angel  had  uttered  his  voice  as  symbolical 
of  the  proclamation  of  the  great  truths 
of  the  gospel  in  the  Reformation,  if  the 
interpretation  above  given  is  correct. 
The  next  event,  in  the  order  of  nature 
and  of  fact,  was  the  voice  of  excommu¬ 
nication  uttered  at  Rome.  (6)  The  word 
thunder  would  appropriately  denote  the 
bulls  of  excommunication  uttered  at 
Rome,  for  the  name  most  frequently 
given  to  the  decrees  of  the  Papacy,  when 
condemnatory,  was  that  of  Papal  thun¬ 
ders.  So  Le  Bas,  in  his  Life  of  Wiclif 
p.  198,  says,  “  The  thunders  which  shook 
the  world  when  they  issued  from  the 
seven  hills,  sent  forth  an  uncertain  sound, 
comparatively  faint  and  powerless,  when 
launched  from  a  region  of  less  devoted 
sanctity.  (c)  The  number  seven  would, 
on  such  a  supposition,  be  used  here  with 
equal  propriety.  Rome  was  built  on 
seven  hills;  was  known  as  the  ‘seven- 
hilled  city,  and  the  thunders  from  that 
city  would  seem  to  echo  and  re-echo 
/jwt  .  ' 036  hills.  Comp.  ch.  xvii.  9. 
(a)  This  supposition,  also,  will  accord 
with  the  use  of  the  article  here,  as  if 
those  thunders  were  something  well- 
known—  ‘the  seven  thunders;’  that  is, 
the  thunders  which  the  nations  were 


288 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


4  And  when  the-  seven  thunders 
had  uttered  their  voices,  I  was 
about  to  write:  and  I  heard  a 
voice  from  heaven  saying  unto 


accustomed  to  hear,  (e)  This  will  also 
accord  with  the  passage  before  us,  inas¬ 
much  as  the  thunders  would  seem  to 
have  been  of  the  nature  of  a  response  to 
what  the  angel  said,  or  to  have  been  sent 
forth  because  he  had  uttered  his  loud 
cry.  In  like  manner,  the  anathemas 
were  hurled  from  Rome  because  the  na¬ 
tions  had  been  aroused  by  the  loud  cry 
for  Reformation,  as  if  an  angel  had 
uttered  that  cry.  For  these  reasons, 
there  is  a  propriety  in  applying  this  lan¬ 
guage  to  the  thunders  which  issued  from 
Rome  condemning  the  doctrines  of  the 
Reformation,  and  in  defence  of  the  an¬ 
cient  faith,  and  excommunicating  those 
who  embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Re¬ 
formers.  If  we  were  now  to  attempt  to 
devise  a  symbol  which  would  be  appro¬ 
priate  to  express  what  actually  occurred 
in  the  Reformation,  we  could  not  think 
of  one  which  would  be  better  fitted  to  that 
purpose  than  to  speak  of  seven  thunders 
bellowing  forth  from  the  seven-hilled 
city. 

4.  And  when  the  seven  thunders  had 
uttered  their  voices.  After  he  had  list¬ 
ened  to  those  thunders;  or  when  they 
had  passed  by.  I  was  about  to  write. 
That  is,  he  was  about  to  record  what  was 
uttered,  supposing  that  that  was  the  de¬ 
sign  for  which  he  had  been  made  to  hear 
them.  From  this  it  would  seem  that  it 
was  not  mere  thunder  —  brutum  fulmen 
— but  that  the  utterance  had  a  distinct 
and  intelligible  enunciation,  or  that 
words  were  employed  that  could  be  re¬ 
corded.  It  may  be  observed,  by  the 
way,  as  Prof.  Stuart  has  remarked,  that 
this  proves  that  John  wrote  down  what 
he  saw  and  heard  as  soon  as  practicable, 
and  in  the  place  where  he  was,  and  that 
the  supposition  of  many  modern  critics 
that  the  Apocalyptic  visions  were  written 
at  Ephesus  a  considerable  time  after 
the  visions  took  place,  has  no  good 
foundation.  And  I  heard  a  voice  from 
heaven  saying  unto  me.  Evidently  the 
voice  of  God ;  at  all  events  it  came  with 
the  clear  force  of  command.  Seal  up 
those  things.  On  the  word  seal,  see 
Notes  on  ch.  v.  1.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  he  was  not  to  record  those  things. 


me,  Seal  “  up  those  things  which 
the  seven  thunders  uttered,  and 
write  them  not. 

a  Da.  8.  26 ;  12.  4,  9. 

but  what  he  heard  he  was  to  keep  to 
himself  as  if  it  was  placed  under  a  seal 
which  was  not  to  be  broken.  And 
write  them  not.  Make  no  record  of  them. 
No  reason  is  mentioned  why  this  was  not 
to  be  done,  and  none  can  now  be  given 
that  can  be  proved  to  be  the  true  reason. 
Vitringa,  who  regards  the  seven  thunders 
as  referring  to  the  Crusades,  supposes 
the  reason  to  have  been  that  a  more  full 
statement  would  have  diverted  the  mind 
from  the  course  of  the  prophetic  narra¬ 
tive,  and  from  more  important  events 
which  pertained  to  the  church,  and  that 
nothing  occurred  in  the  Crusades  which 
was  worthy  to  be  recorded  at  length  : — 
Nec  dignm  erant  quae  prolixius  expone- 
rentur  —  “  for/'  he  adds,  “  these  expe¬ 
ditions  were  undertaken  with  a  foolish 
purpose,  and  resulted  in  real  detriment  to 
the  church,”  pp.  431,  432.  Prof.  Stuart, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  204-206,  supposes  that  these 
“  thunders”  refer  to  the  destruction  of 
the  city  and  temple  of  God,  and  that 
they  were  a  sublime  introduction  to  the 
last  catastrophe,  and  that  the  meaning 
is  not  that  he  should  keep  “  entire 
silence,”  but  only  that  he  should  state 
the  circumstances  in  a  general  manner 
without  going  into  detail.  Mede  sup¬ 
poses  that  John  was  commanded  to  keep 
silence  because  it  was  designed  that  the 
meaning  should  not  then  be  known,  but 
should  be  disclosed  in  future  times ; 
Forerius,  because  it  was  the  design  that 
the  wise  should  be  able  to  understand 
them,  but  that  they  were  not  to  be  dis¬ 
closed  to  the  wicked  and  profane.  With¬ 
out  attempting  to  examine  these  and 
other  solutions  which  have  been  pro¬ 
posed,  the  question  which,  from  the 
course  of  the  exposition,  is  properly 
before  us,  is,  whether,  on  the  sup¬ 
position  that  the  voice  of  the  seven 
thunders  referred  to  the  Papal  anathe¬ 
mas,  a  rational  and  satisfactory  solution 
of  the  reasons  of  this  silence  can  be 
given.  Without  pretending  to  knoio 
the  reasons  which  existed,  the  follow¬ 
ing  may  be  referred  to  as  not  im¬ 
probable,  and  as  those  which  would 
meet  the  case:  —  (1)  In  these  Papal 
anathemas  there  was  nothing  that  was 


CHAPTER  X. 


289 


A.  D.  96.] 

worthy  of  record;  there  was  nothing 
that  was  important  as  history;  there 
was  nothing  that  communicated  truth ; 
there  was  nothing  that  really  indicated 
progress  in  human  affairs.  In  them¬ 
selves  there  was  nothing  more  that 
deserved  record  than  the  acts  and  doings 
of  wicked  men  at  any  time ;  nothing  that 
fell  in  with  the  main  design  of  this  book. 
(2)  Such  a  record  would  have  retarded 
the  progress  of  the  main  statements  of 
what  was  to  occur,  and  would  have 
turned  off  the  attention  from  these  to 
less  important  matters.  (3)  All  that 
was  necessary  in  the  case  was  simply  to 
state  that  such  thunders  were  heard: — 
that  is,  on  the  supposition  that  this 
refers  to  the  Reformation,  that  that  great 
change  in  human  affairs  would  not  be 
permitted  to  occur  without  opposition 
and  noise — as  if  the  thunders  of  wrath 
should  follow  those  who  were  engaged 
in  it.  (4)  John  evidently  mistook  this 
for  a  real  revelation,  or  for  something 
that  was  to  be  recorded  as  connected 
with  the  divine  will  in  reference  to  the 
progress  of  human  affairs.  He  was 
naturally  about  to  record  this  as  he  did 
what  was  uttered  by  the  other  voices 
which  he  heard,  and  if  he  had  made  the 
record,  it  would  have  been  with  this  mis¬ 
taken  view.  There  was  nothing  in  the 
voices,  or  in  what  was  uttered,  that 
would  manifestly  mark  it  as  distinct 
from  what  had  been  uttered  as  coming 
from  God,  and  he  was  about  to  record 
it  under  this  impression.  If  this  was  a 
mistake,  and  if  the  record  would  do  any 
thing,  as  it  clearly  would,  to  perpetuate 
the  error,  it  is  easy  to  see  a  sufficient  rea¬ 
son  why  the  record  should  not  be  made. 
(5)  It  is  remarkable  that  there  was  an 
entire  correspondence  with  this  in  what 
occurred  in  the  Reformation ;  in  the  fact 
that  Luther  and  his  fellow-laborers  were, 
at  first,  and  for  a  long  time  —  such  was 
the  force  of  education,  and  of  the  habits 
of  reverence  for  the  Papal  authority  in 
which  they  had  been  reared  —  disposed 
to  receive  the  announcements  of  the 
Papacy  as  the  oracles  of  God,  and  to 
show  to  them  the  deference  which  was 
due  to  divine  communications.  The 
language  of  Luther  himself,  if  the  general 
view  here  taken  is  correct,  will  be  tho 
best  commentatory  on  the  expressions 
here  used.  “When  I  began  the  affairs 
of  the  Indulgences,”  says  he,  “I  was 
a  monk  and  a  most  mad  Papist.  So 
25 


intoxicated  was  I,  and  drenched  in 
Papal  dogmas,  that  I  would  have  been 
most  ready  to  murder,  or  assist  others  in 
murdering,  any  person  who  should  have 
uttered  a  syllable  against  the  duty  of 
obedience  to  the  Pope.”  And  again : 
“  Certainly  at  that  time  I  adored  him  in 
earnest.”  He  adds,  “How  distressed 
my  heart  was  in  that  year  1517,  how 
submissive  to  the  hierarchy,  not  feign- 
edly  but  really  —  those  little  know  who 
at  this  day  insult  the  majesty  of  the 
Pope  with  so  much  pride  and  arrogance. 
I  was  ignorant  of  many  things  which 
now,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  understand. 
I  disputed;  I  was  open  to  conviction ;  not 
finding  satisfaction  in  the  works  of  theo¬ 
logians,  I  wished  to  consult  the  living 
members  of  the  church  itself.  There 
were  some  godly  souls  that  entirely  ap¬ 
proved  my  propositions.  But  I  did  not 
consider  their  authority  of  weight  with 
me  in  spiritual  concerns.  The  popes, 
bishops,  cardinals,  monks,  priests,  were 
the  objects  of  my  confidence.  After 
being  enabled  to  answer  every  objection 
that  could  be  brought  against  me  from 
sacred  Scripture,  one  difficulty  alone 
remained,  that  the  Church  ought  to  he 
obeyed.  If  I  had  then  braved  the  Pope 
as  I  now  do,  I  should  have  expected 
every  hour  that  the  earth  would  have 
opened  to  swallow  me  up  alive,  like 
Korah  and  Abiram.”  It  was  in  this 
frame  of  mind  that,  in  the  summer  of 
1518,  a  few  months  after  the  affair  with 
Tetzel,  he  wrote  that  memorable  letter 
to  the  Pope,  the  tenor  of  which  can  be 
judged  of  by  the  following  sentences : — 
and  what  could  more  admirably  illus¬ 
trate  the  passage  before  us,  on  the  inter¬ 
pretation  suggested,  than  this  language? 
“  Most  blessed  Father !  Prostrate  at  the 
feet  of  thy  blessedness,  I  offer  myself  to 
thee,  with  all  that  I  am,  and  that  I  have. 
Kill  me,  or  make  me  live ;  call,  or  recall; 
approve,  or  reprove,  as  shall  please  thee. 
I  will  acknowledge  thy  voice  as  the  voice 
of  Christ  presiding  and  speaking  in  thee.” 
See  the  authorities  for  these  quotations, 
in  Elliott,  ii.  pp.  116,  117.  (6)  The  ccfin- 
mand  not  to  record  what  the  seven 
thunders  uttered  was  of  the  nature  of  a 
caution  not  to  regard  what  was  said  in 
this  manner;  that  is,  not  to  be  deceived 
by  these  utterances  as  if  they  were  the 
voice  of  God.  Thus  understood,  if  this 
is  the  proper  explanation  and  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  passage,  it  should  be  re- 


290 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


5  And  the  angel  which  I  saw 
stand  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the 
earth  °  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven, 

6  And  sware  by  him b  that  liveth 
for  ever  and  ever,  who  created  hea- 

a  Ex.  6.8;  De.  32.  40.  6  Ne.  9. 6;  c.  14.  7. 


garded  as  an  injunction  not  to  regard 
the  decrees  and  decisions  of  the  Papacy 
as  containing  any  intimation  of  the 
divine  will,  or  as  of  authority  in  the 
church.  That  this  is  to  he  so  regarded, 
is  the  opinion  of  all  Protestants ;  and  if 
this  is  so,  it  is  not  a  forced  supposition 
that  this  might  have  been  intimated  by 
such  a  symbol  as  that  before  us. 

5.  And  the  angel  i vhich  1  saw  stand, 
Ac.  ver.  2.  That  is,  John  saw  him  stand¬ 
ing  in  this  posture  when  he  made  the 
oath  which  he  proceeds  to  record. 

Lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven.  The 
usual  attitude  in  taking  an  oath,  as  if 
one  called  heaven  to  witness.  See  Gen. 
xiv.  22 ;  Deut.  xxxii.  40  ;  Ezek.  xx.  5,  6. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Daniel  xii.  7. 

6.  And  sware  by  him  that  liveth  for¬ 
ever  and  ever.  By  the  ever-living  God : — 
a  form  of  an  oath  in  extensive  use  now. 
The  essential  idea  in  such  an  oath  is  an 
appeal  to  God;  a  solemn  reference  to 
Him  as  a  witness ;  an  utterance  in  the 
presence  of  Him  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  truth  or  falsehood  of  what  is  said, 
and  who  will  punish  him  who  appeals  to 
Him  falsely.  It  is  usual,  in  such  an 
oath,  in  order  to  give  to  it  greater  so¬ 
lemnity,  to  refer  to  some  attribute  of 
God,  or  something  in  the  divine  charac¬ 
ter  in  which  the  mind  would  rest  at  the 
time,  as  tending  to  make  it  more  im¬ 
pressive.  Thus,  in  the  passage  before 
us,  the  reference  is  to  God  as  “ever- 
living;”  that  is,  he  is  now  a  witness,  and 
he  ever  will  be;  he  has  now  the  power 
to  detect  and  punish,  and  he  ever  will 
have  the  same  power,  Who  created 
heaven,  and  the  things  that  therein  are, 
&c.  Who  is  the  Maker  of  all  things  in 
heaven,  on  the  earth,  and  in  the  sea; 
that  is,  throughout  the  universe.  The 
design  of  referring  to  these  things  here 
is  that  which  is  just  specified — to  give 
increased  solemnity  to  the  oath  by  a 
particular  reference  to  some  one  of  the 
attributes  of  God.  With  this  view  no¬ 
thing  could  he  more  appropriate  than  to 
refer  to  him  as  the  Creator  of  the  universe 


ven,  and  the  things  that  therein 
are,  and  the  earth,  and  the  things 
that  therein  are,  and  the  sea,  and 
the  things  which  are  therein, e  That 
there  should  be  time  no  longer  : 

c  Da.  12.  7. 


—  denoting  his  infinite  power,  his  right 
to  rule  and  control  all  things,  That 
there  should  be  time  no  longer.  This  is  a 
very  important  expression,  as  it  is  the 
substance  of  what  the  angel  affirmed  in 
so  solemn  a  manner ;  and  as  the  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  whole  passage  depends 
on  it.  It  seems  now  to  be  generally 
agreed  among  critics  that  our  transla¬ 
tion  does  not  give  the  true  sense,  inas¬ 
much  (a)  as  that  was  not  the  close  of 
human  affairs,  and  (b)  as  he  proceeds  to 
state  what  would  occur  after  that.  Ac¬ 
cordingly,  different  versions  of  the  pas¬ 
sage  have  been  proposed.  Prof.  Stuart 
renders  it,  “that  delay  shall  be  no 
longer.”  Mr.  Elliott,  “that  the  time 
shall  not  yet  be ;  but  in  the  days  of  the 
voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  whensover 
he  may  be  about  to  sound,  then  the 
mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished.”  Mr. 
Lord,  “that  the  time  shall  not  be  yet, 
but  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the 
seventh  angel,”  Ac.  Andrew  Fuller 
(Works,  vol.  vi.  113),  “there  should  be 
no  delay.”  So  Dr.  Gill.  Mr.  Daubuz, 
“the  time  shall  not  be  yet.”  Vitringa 
(p.  432),  tempus  non  fore  amplius,  “time 
shall  be  no  more.”  He  explains  it  (p. 
433),  as  meaning,  “not  that  this  is  to  be 
taken  absolutely,  as  if  at  the  sounding  of 
the  seventh  trumpet  all  things  were 
then  to  terminate,  and  the  glorious 
epiphany— £7T<0av£ia —  (or  manifestation 
of  Jesus  Christ)  was  then  to  occur  who 
would  put  an  end  to  all  the  afflictions  of 
his  church;  but  in  a  limited  sense — re¬ 
stricts — as  meaning  that  there  would  be 
no  delay  between  the  sounding  of  the 
seventh  trumpet,  and  the  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecies.”  The  sense  of  this  pass¬ 
age  is  to  be  determined  by  the  meaning 
of  the  words  and  the  connexion,  (a)  The 
word  time  —  %(>6vos  —  is  the  common 
Greek  word  to  denote  time,  and  may  be 
applied  to  time  in  general,  or  to  any 
specified  time  or  period.  See  Kobinson, 
Lex.  s.  voce  (a,  b).  In  the  word  itself 
there  is  nothing  to  determine  its  particu¬ 
lar  signification  here.  It  might  refer 


CHAPTER  X. 


291 


A.  D.  96.] 

either  to  time  in  general,  or  to  the  time 
under  consideration,  and  which  was  the 
subject  of  the  prophecy.  Which  of  these 
is  the  true  idea  is  to  be  ascertained  by 
the  other  circumstances  referred  to.  It 
should  be  added,  however,  that  the  word 
does  not  of  itself  denote  delay,  and  is 
never  used  to  denote  that  directly.  It 
can  only  denote  that  because  delay  occu¬ 
pies  or  consumes  time,  but  this  sense  of 
the  noun  is  not  found  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  It  is  found,  however,  in  the  verb 
Xpovi^u),  to  linger,  to  delay,  to  be  long 
in  coming,  Matt.  xxv.  5;  Luke  i.  21. 
( b )  The  absence  of  the  article — "time,” 
not  “the  time,”  would  naturally  give  it 
a  general  signification,  unless  there  was 
something  in  the  connexion  to  limit  it 
to  some  well-known  period  under  con¬ 
sideration.  See  Notes  on  ch.  viii.  2;  x.  3. 
In  this  latter  view,  if  the  time  referred 
to  would  be  sufficiently  definite  without 
the  article,  the  article  need  not  be  in¬ 
serted.  This  is  such  a  case,  and  comes 
under  the  rule  for  the  omission  of  the 
article  as  laid  down  by  Bishop  Middle- 
ton,  Parti,  ch.  iii.  The  principle  is,  that 
when  the  copula.,  or  verb  connecting  the 
subject  and  predicate  is  the  verb  sub¬ 
stantive,  then  the  article  is  omitted. 
“  To  affirm  the  existence,”  says  he,  “  of 
that  of  which  the  existence  is  already 
assumed,  would  be  superfluous ;  to  deny 
it,  would  be  contradictory  and  absurd.” 
As  applicable  to  the  case  before  us,  the 
meaning  of  this  rule  would  be,  that  the 
nature  of  the  time  here  referred  to  is 
implied  in  the  use  of  the  substantive 
verb  ( earai ),  and  that  consequently  it  is 
not  necessary  to  specify  it.  All  that 
needs  to  be  said  on  this  point  is,  that, 
on  the  supposition  that  John  referred  to 
a  specified  time,  instead  of  time  in  gene¬ 
ral,  it  would  not  be  necessary,  under  this 
rule,  to  insert  the  article.  The  reference 
would  be  understood  without  it,  and  the 
insertion  would  be  unnecessary.  This 
is,  substantially,  the  reasoning  of  Mr. 
Elliott,  (ii.  123),  and  it  is  submitted  for 
what  it  is  worth.  My  own  knowledge 
of  the  usages  of  the  Greek  article  is  too 
limited  to  justify  mo  in  pronouncing  an 
opinion  on  the  subject,  but  the  authori¬ 
ties  are  such  as  to  authorize  the  assertion 
that,  on  the  supposition  that  a  particu¬ 
lar  well-known  period  were  here  referred 
to,  the  insertion  of  the  article  would  not 
be  necessary,  (c)  The  particle  render¬ 
ed  “longer” — in — “time  shall  be  no 


longer”' — means  properly,  according  to 
Robinson  {Lex.)  yet,  still;  implying  (1) 
duration — as  spoken  of  the  present  time; 
of  the  present  in  allusion  to  the  past, 
and,  with  a  negative,  no  more,  no 
longer,  (2)  implying  accession,  addition, 
yet,  more,  farther,  besides.  According  to 
Buttmann,  Gram.  $149,  i.  p.  430,  it  means, 
when  alone,  “yet,  still,  yet  farther;  and 
with  a  negative,  no  more,  no  farther.” 
The  particle  occurs  often  in  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  Concord¬ 
ance.  It  is  more  frequently  rendered 
‘yet  than  by  any  other  word  (comp. 
Matt.  xii.  46,  xvii.  5,  xix.  20,  xxvi.  47, 
xxvii.  63;  Mark  v.  35,  Viii.  17,  xii.  6, 
xiv.  43,  —  and  so  in  the  other  Gospels, 
the  Acts,  and  the  Epistles) ;  in  all  fifty 
times.  In  the  Book  of  Revelation  it  is 
only  once  rendered  ‘yet,’  ch.  vi.  11,  but 
is  rendered  ‘more’  in  ch.  iii.  12,  vii.  16, 
ix.  12,  xii.  8,  xviii.  21,  22,  three  times, 
23,  twice,  xx.  3,  xxi.  1,  4,  twice ;  ‘  longer •’ 
in  ch.  x.  6;  ‘still’  in  ch.  xxii.  11,  four 
times.  The  usage,  therefore,  will  justify 
the  rendering  of  the  word  by  ‘yet,’  and 
in  connexion  with  the  negative,  ‘not 
yet’ — meaning  that  the  thing  referred  to 
would  not  occur  immediately,  but  would 
be  hereafter.  In  regard  to  the  general 
meaning,  then,  of  this  passage  in  its 
connexion,  we  may  remark  (a)  that  it 
cannot  mean,  literally,  that  there  would 
be  time  no  longer,  or  that  the  world 
would  then  come  to  an  end  absolutely, 
for  the  speaker  proceeds  to  disclose  events 
that  would  occur  after  that,  extending 
far  into  the  future,  ch.  x.  11,  and  the 
detail  that  follows  (ch.  xi.)  before  the 
sounding  of  the  seventh  trumpet  is  such 
as  to  occupy  a  considerable  period,  and 
the  seventh  trumpet  is  also  yet  to  sound. 
No  fair  construction  of  the  language, 
therefore,  would  require  us  to  understand 
this  as  meaning  that  the  affairs  of  the 
world  were  then  to  terminate.  (6)  The 
connexion,  then,  apart  from  the  question 
of  grammatical  usage,  will  require  some 
such  construction  as  that  above  suggest¬ 
ed — ‘  that  the  time,’  to  wit,  some  certain, 
known,  or  designated  time,  ‘  would  not 
be  yet,’  but  would  be  in  some  future 
period;  that  is,  as  specified  ver.  7,  ‘in 
the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  an¬ 
gel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound.’  Then 
‘  the  mystery  of  God  would  be  finished,’ 
and  the  affairs  of  the  world  would  be 
put  on  their  permanent  footing,  (c)  This 

would  imply  that,  at  the  time  when  the 


292 


REVELATION, 


angel  appeared,  or  in  the  time  to  which 
he  refers,  there  would  be  some  expecta¬ 
tion  or  general  belief  that  the  ‘  mystery 
was  then  to  be  finished,’  and  that  the 
affairs  of  the  world  were  to  come  to  an 
end.  The  proper  interpretation  would 
lead  us  to  suppose  that  there  would  be 
so  general  an  expectation  of  this,  as  to 
make  the  solemn  affirmation  of  the  angel 
proper  to  correct  a  prevailing  opinion, 
and  to  show  that  the  right  interpretation 
was  not  put  on  what  seemed  to  be  the 
tendency  of  things.  ( d )  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  we  find  that  this  expectation  did 
actually  exist  at  the  time  of  the  Reform¬ 
ation  ,•  that  such  an  interpretation  was 
put  on  the  prophecies,  and  on  the  events 
that  occurred ;  and  that  the  impression 
that  the  Messiah  was  about  to  come,  and 
the  reign  of  saints  about  to  commence, 
was  so  strong  as  to  justify  some  inter¬ 
ference,  like  the  solemn  oath  of  the 
angel,  to  correct  the  misapprehension. 
It  is  true  that  this  impression  had  exist¬ 
ed  in  former  times,  and  even  in  the  early 
ages  of  the  church ;  but,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  was  true,  and  eminently  true,  in 
the  time  of  the  Reformation,  and  there 
was,  on  many  accounts,  a  strong  ten¬ 
dency  to  that  form  of  belief.  The  Re¬ 
formers,  in  interpreting  the  prophecies, 
learned  to  connect  the  downfall  of  the  Pa¬ 
pacy  with  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  with 
his  universal  reign  upon  the  earth ;  and 
as  they  saw  the  evidences  of  the  approach 
of  the  former,  they  naturally  anticipated 
the  latter  as  about  to  occur.  Comp.  Dan. 
xii.  11;  2  Thess.  ii.  3;  Dan.  ii.  34;  2 
Thess.  ii.  8.  The  anticipation  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  was  about  to  come ;  that  the 
affairs  of  the  world,  in  the  present  form, 
were  to  be  wound  up ;  that  the  reign  of 
the  saints  would  soon  commence;  and 
that  the  permanent  kingdom  of  righte¬ 
ousness  would  be  established,  became 
almost  the  current  belief  of  the  Reform¬ 
ers,  and  was  frequently  expressed  in 
their  writings.  Thus  Luther,  in  the 
year  1520,  in  his  answer  to  the  Pope’s 
bull  of  excommunication,  expresses  his 
anticipations:  “Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
yet  liveth  and  reigneth;  who,  I  firmly 
trust,  will  shortly  come,  and  slay  with 
the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  destroy  with 
the  brightness  of  his  coming,  that  man 
of  sin.”  Merle  D’Aubig.  ii.  166.  After 
being  summoned  before  the  Diet  at 
"Worms,  and  aftey  condemnation  had 
been  pronounced  on  him  by  the  Empe¬ 


[A.  D.  96. 

ror,  he  fell  back  for  comfort  on  the  same 
joyous  expectation:  “For  this  once,” 
he  said,  “  the  Jews,  as  on  the  crucifixion- 
day,  may  sing  their  Paean ;  but  Easter 
will  come  for  us,  and  then  we  shall  sing 
Hallelujah.”  D’Aubig.  ii.  275.  The 
next  year,  writing  to  Staupitz,  he  made 
a  solemn  appeal  against  his  abandon¬ 
ing  the  Reformation,  by  reference  to 
the  sure  and  advancing  fulfilment  of 
Daniel’s  prophecy:  “My  father,”  said 
he,  “  the  abominations  of  the  pope,  with 
his  whole  kingdom,  must  be  destroyed ; 
and  the  Lord  does  this  without  hand,  by 
the  word  alone.  The  subject  exceeds  all 
human  comprehension.  I  cherish  the 
best  hopes.”  Milner,  p.  692.  In  1523  he 
thus,  in  a  similar  strain,  expresses  his 
hopes :  “  The  kingdom  of  Antichrist, 
according  to  the  prophet  Daniel,  must 
be  broken  without  hand;  that  is,  the 
Scriptures  will  be  understood  by  and 
by ;  and  every  one  will  preach  against 
Papal  tyranny,  from  the  word  of  God, 
until  the  Man  of  Sin  is  deserted  of  all, 
and  dies  of  himself.”  Milner,  p.  796.  The 
same  sentiments  respecting  the  approach 
of  the  end  of  the  world  were  entertained 
by  Melancthon.  In  commenting  on  the 
passage  in  Daniel  relating  to  the  ‘  little 
horn,’  he  thus  refers  to  an  argument 
which  has  been  prevalent :  “  The  words 
of  the  prophet  Elias  should  be  marked 
by  every  one,  and  inscribed  upon  our 
walls,  and  on  the  entrances  of  our  houses. 
Six  thousand  years  shall  the  world 
stand,  and  after  that  be  destroyed ;  two 
thousand  years  without  the  law;  two 
thousand  years  under  the  law  of  Moses ; 
two  thousand  years  under  the  Messiah  ; 
and  if  any  of  these  years  are  not  ful¬ 
filled,  they  will  be  shortened  (a  shorten¬ 
ing  intimated  by  Christ  also,  on  account 
of  our  sins).”  The  following  manuscript 
addition  to  this  argument  has  been  found 
in  Melancthon’s  hand,  in  Luther’s  own 
copy  of  the  German  Bible:  —  “Written 
A.  D.  1557,  and  from  the  creation  of  the 
world,  5519 ;  from  which  number  we 
may  see  that  this  aged  world  is  not  far 
from  its  end.”  So  also  the  British  Re¬ 
formers  believed.  Thus  Bishop  Latimer : 
“  Let  us  cry  to  God  day  and  night, 
Most  Merciful  Father,  let  thy  kingdom 
come !  St.  Paul  saith,  The  Lord  will 
not  come  till  the  swerving  from  the 
faith  cometh,  2  Thess.  ii.  3,  which  thing 
is  already  done  and  past.  Antichrist  is 
already  known  throughout  all  the  world. 


293 


A-D.  96.]  CHAPTER  X. 


7  But  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of 
the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall 
begin  to  sound,  the  mystery  °  of 
a  Ro.  11.  25 ;  Ep.  3.  5-9. 


Wherefore  the  day  is  not  far  off.”  Then, 
reverting  to  the  consideration  of  the  age 
of  the  world,  as  Melancthon  had  done, 
he  says,  “  The  world  was  ordained  to 
endure,  as  all  learned  ones  affirm,  6000 
years.  Now  of  that  number  there  be 
past  5552  years,  so  that  there  is  no  more 
left  but  448  years.  Furthermore,  those 
days  shall  be  shortened  for  the  elect’s 
sake.  Therefore,  all  those  excellent  and 
learned  men,  whom  without  doubt  God 
hath  sent  into  the  world  in  these  last 
days  to  give  the  world  warning,'  do 
gather  out  of  sacred  Scripture  that  the 
last  day  cannot  be  far  off.”  So  again, 
in  a  sermon  on  the  nearness  of  the 
Second  Advent,  he  says,  “  So  that  per- 
adventure  it  may  come  in  my  days,  old 
as  I  am,  or  in  my  children’s  days.” 
Indeed,  it  is  well  known  that  this  was  a 
prevalent  opinion  among  the  Reformers, 
and  this  fact  will  show  with  what  pro¬ 
priety,  if  the  passage  before  us  was 
designed  to  refer  to  the  Reformation, 
this  solemn  declaration  of  the  angel  was 
made,  that  the  ‘time  would  not  be  yet’ 
—  that  those  anticipations  which  would 
spring  up  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
and  from  the  interpretations  which  would 
be  put  on  what  seemed  to  be  the  obvious 
sense  of  the  prophecies,  were  unfounded, 
and  that  a  considerable  time  must  yet 
intervene  before  the  events  would  be 
consummated,  (e)  The  proper  sense 
of  this  passage,  then,  according  to  the 
above  interpretation,  would  be,  —  ‘And 
the  angel  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven, 
and  sware  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever 
and  ever,  That  the  time  should  not  yet 
be;  but,  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the 
seventh  angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to 
sound,  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  fin¬ 
ished.’  Appearances,  indeed,  would 
then  indicate  that  the  affairs  of  the 
world  were  to  be  wound  up,  and  that 
the  prophecies  respecting  the  end  of  the 
world  were  about  to  be  fulfilled ;  but  the 
angel  solemnly  swears  ‘by  him  who  lives 
for  ever  and  ever,’  and  whose  reign 
therefore  extends  through  all  the  changes 
on  the  earth ;  ‘  by  him  who  is  the  Cre¬ 
ator  of  all  things,’  and  whose  purpose 
alone  can  determine  when  the  end  shall 
25* 


God  should  be  finished,  as  he 
hath  declared  to  his  servants  the 
prophets. 


be,  that  the  time  would  not  be  yet. 
Those  cherished  expectations  would  not 
yet  be  realized,  but  there  wai  a  series 
of  important  events  to  intervene  before 
the  end  would  come.  Then  —  at  the 
time  when  the  seventh  angel  should 
sound' — would  be  the  consummation  of 
all  things. 

7.  But  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the 
seventh  angel.  The  days  in  the  period 
of  time  embraced  by  the  sounding  of 
the  seventh  trumpet.  That  is,  the  affairs 
of  this  world  would  not  be  consum¬ 
mated  in  that  period  embraced  in  the 
sounding  of  the  sixth  trumpet,  but  in 
that  embraced  in  the  sounding  of  tho 
seventh  and  last  of  the  trumpets.  Comp, 
ch.  xi.  15—19.  When  he  shall  begin  to 
sound.  That  is,  the  events  referred  to 
will  commence  at  the  period  when  the 
angel  shall  begin  to  sound.  It  will  not 
be  merely  during  or  in  that  period,  but 
the  sounding  of  the  trumpet,  and  the 
beginning  of  those  events,  will  be  con¬ 
temporaneous.  In  other  words,  then 
would  commence  the  reign  of  righteous¬ 
ness — the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah — the 
dominion  of  the  saints  on  the  earth. 

The  mystery  of  God  should  be  finished. 
On  the  meaning  of  the  word  mystery,  see 
Notes  on  Eph.  i.  9.  It  means  here,  as 
elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament,  the 
purpose  or  truth  of  God  which  had  been 
concealed,  and  which  had  not  before 
been  communicated  to  man.  Here,  the 
particular  reference  is  to  the  divine  pur¬ 
pose  which  had  been  long  concealed 
respecting  the  destiny  of  the  world,  or 
respecting  the  setting  up  of  his  kingdom, 
but  which  had  been  progressively  un¬ 
folded  by  the  prophets.  That  purpose 
would  be  “  finished,”  or  consummated, 
in  the  time  when  the  seventh  angel 
should  begin  to  sound.  Then  all  the 
“ mystery”  would  be  revealed;  the  plan 
would  be  unfolded ;  the  divine  purpose, 
so  long  concealed,  would  be  manifested, 
and  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  and  of 
the  saints  would  be  set  up  on  the  earth. 
Under  that  period,  the  affairs  of  the 
world  would  be  ultimately  wound  up, 
and  the  whole  work  of  redemption  com¬ 
pleted.  As  he  hath  declared  to  his 


294 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


8  And  the  voice  °  which  I  heard 
from  heaven  spake  unto  me  again, 
and  said,  Go,  and  take  the  little 

a  ver.  4. 


servants  the  prophets.  As  lie  has  from 
time  to  time  disclosed  his  purposes  to 
mankind  through  the  prophets.  The 
reference  here  is,  doubtless,  to  the  pro¬ 
phets  of  the  Old  Testament,  though  the 
language  would  include  all  who  at  any¬ 
time  had  uttered  any  predictions  re¬ 
specting  the  final  condition  of  the  world. 
These  prophecies  had  been  scattered 
along  through  many  ages ;  hut  the  angel 
says  that  at  that  time  all  that  had  been 
said  respecting  the  setting  up  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  the  reign  of  the  saints, 
and  the  dominion  of  the  Redeemer  on 
the  earth,  would  be  accomplished.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xi.  15.  From  the  passage 
thus  explained,  if  the  interpretation  is 
correct,  it  will  follow  that  the  sounding 
of  the  seventh  trumpet  (ch.xi.  15— IS)  is 
properly  the  conclusion  of  this  series  of 
visions,  and  denotes  a  “  catastrophe”  in 
the  action,  and  that  what  follows  is  the 
commencement  of  a  new  series  of  visions. 
This  is  clear,  because  (a)  the  whole 
seven  seals,  comprising  the  seven  trum¬ 
pets  of  the  seventh  seal,  must  embrace 
one  view  of  all  coming  events — since  this 
embraced  all  that  there  was  in  the 
volume  seen  in  the  hand  of  him  that  sat 
on  the  throne ;  (5)  this  is  properly  im¬ 
plied  in  the  word  here  rendered  “  should 
be  finished” — reXeaSrj, — the  fair  meaning 
of  which  is,  that  the  “mystery”  here 
referred  to — the  hitherto  unrevealed  pur¬ 
pose  or  plan  of  God — would,  under  that 
trumpet,  be  consummated  or  complete 
(see  the  conclusive  reasoning  of  Prof. 
Stuart  on  the  meaning  of  the  word,  vol. 
ii.  p.  210,  foot-note) ;  and  (c)  it  will  be 
found  in  the  course  of  the  exposition 
that,  at  ch.  xi.  19,  there  commences  a 
new  series  of  visions,  embracing  a  view 
of  the  world  in  its  religious  aspect,  or 
ecclesiastical  characteristics,  reaching 
down  to  the  same  consummation,  and 
stating  at  the  close  of  that  (ch.  xx.) 
more  fully  what  is  here  (ch.  xi.  15-18) 
designated  in  a  more  summary  way — the 
final  triumph  of  religion,  and  the  esta¬ 
blishment  of  the  kingdom  of  the  saints. 
The  present  series  of  visions  (chs.  v.- 
xi.  1-18),  relates  rather  to  the  outward 
)r  secular  changes  which  would  occur 


book  which  is  open  in  the  hand  of 
the  angel  which  standeth  upon  the 
sea  and  upon  the  earth. 


on  the  earth,  which  were  to  affect  the 
welfare  of  the  church,  to  the  final  con¬ 
summation  ;  the  next  series  (ch.  xi.  19, 
xii.-xx.)  relates  to  the  church  internally, 
the  rise  of  Antichrist,  and  the  effect  of 
the  rise  of  that  formidable  power  on  the 
internal  history  of  the  church,  to  the 
time  of  the  overthrow  of  that  power,  and 
the  triumphant  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  See  the  Analysis- of 
the  work,  Intro.  §  5.  In  other  words, 
this  series  of  visions  terminating  at 
ch.  xi.  18,  refers,  as  the  leading  thing, 
to  what  would  occur  in  relation  to  the 
Roman  empire  considered  as  a  secular 
power,  in  which  the  church  would  be 
interested;  that  which  follows  (ch.  xi. 
19.  xii.-xx.)  to  the  Roman  power  con¬ 
sidered  as  a  great  apostasy,  and  setting 
up  a  mighty  and  most  oppressive 
domination  over  the  true  church,  mani¬ 
fested  in  deep  corruption  and  bloody 
persecutions,  running  on  in  its  disas¬ 
trous  influence  on  the  world,  until  that 
power  should  be  destroyed — Babylon 
fall  —  and  the  reign  of  the  saints  be 
introduced. 

8.  And  the  voice  which  I  heard  from 
heaven.  Ver.  4.  This  is  not  the  voice 
of  the  angel,  but  a  direct  divine  com¬ 
mand."  Said,  Go  and  take  the  little 
■book  that  is  open,  &a.  That  is,  take  it 
out  of  his  hand,  and  do  with  it  as  you 
shall  be  commanded.  There  is  a  very 
strong  resemblance  between  this  passage 
and  the  account  contained  in  Ezekiel, 
ch.  ii.  9,  10,  iii.  1-3.  Ezekiel  was  di¬ 
rected  to  go  to  the  house  of  Israel  and 
deliver  a  divine  message,  whether  they 
would  hear  or  forbear,  and  in  order  that 
he  might  understand  what  message  to 
deliver,  there  was  shown  to  him  a  roll 
of  a  book,  written  within  and  without. 
That  roll  he  was  commanded  to  eat, 
and  he  found  it  to  be  ‘in  his  mouth  as 
honey  for  sweetness.’  John  has  added 
to  this  the  circumstance  that,  though 
‘  sweet  in  the  mouth/  it  made  ‘  the  belly 
bitter.’  The  additional  command  (ver. 
11),  that  he  must  yet  ‘prophesy  before 
many  people/  leads  us  to  suppose  that 
he  had  the  narrative  in  Ezekiel  in  his 
eye,  for,  as  the  result  of  his  eating  the 


CHAPTER  X. 


295 


A.  D.  96.] 

9  And  I  went  unto  the  angel, 
and  said  unto  him,  Give  me  the 
little  hook.  And  he  said  unto  me, 
Take  it,  °  and  eat  it  up;  and  it 


roll,  he  was  commanded  to  go  and 
prophesy  to  the  people  of  Israel.  The 
passage  here  (ver.  8),  introduces  a  new 
symbol,  that  of  ‘  eating  the  book,’  and 
evidently  refers  to  something  that  was 
to  occur  before  the  ‘  mystery  should 
be  finished ;’  that  is,  before  the  seventh 
trumpet  should  sound.  Which  is  open 
in  the  hand,  &c.  On  the  symbolical 
meaning  of  the  word  ‘  open,’  as  applied 
to  the  book,  see  Notes  on  ver.  2. 

9.  And  I  went  unto  the  angel.  This  is 
symbolic  action,  and  is  not  to  be  under¬ 
stood  literally.  As  it  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  that  an  angel  literally  de¬ 
scended,  and  stood  upon  the  sea  and 
the  land,  so  it  is  not  necessary  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  there  was  a  literal  act  of  going 
to  him,  and  taking  the  book  from  his 
hand,  and  eating  it.  Give  me  the  little 
book.  In  accordance  with  the  command 
in  ver.  8.  We  may  suppose,  in  regard 
to  this,  (a)  that  the  symbol  was  designed 
to  represent  that  the  book  was  to  be 
used  in  the  purpose  here  referred  to,  or 
was  to  be  an  important  agent  -or  instru¬ 
mentality  in  accomplishing  the  purpose. 
The  book  is  held  forth  in  the  hand  of 
the  angel  as  a  striking  emblem.  There 
is  a  command  to  go  and  take  it  from  his 
hand  for  some  purpose  not  yet  disclosed. 
All  this  seems  to  imply  that  the  book — 
or  that  which  is  represented  by  it  — 
would  be  an  important  instrument  in 
accomplishing  the  purpose  here  referred 
to.  ( b )  The  application  for  the  book 
might  intimate  that,  on  the  part  of  him 
who  made  it,  there  would  be  some  strong 
desire  to  possess  it.  He  goes,  indeed, 
in  obedience  to  the  command;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  there  would  naturally  be 
a  desire  to  be  in  possession  of  the  vol¬ 
ume,  or  to  know  the  contents  (comp.  ch. 
v.  4),  and  his  approach  to  the  angel  for 
the  book  would  be  most  naturally  inter¬ 
preted  as  expressive  of  such  a  wish. 

And  he  said,  unto  me,  Take  it.  As  if 
he  had  expected  this  application ;  or  had 
come  down  to  furnish  him  with  this 
little  volume,  and  had  anticipated  that 
the  request  would  be  made.  There  was 
no  reluctance  in  giving  it  up ;  there  was 
no  attempt  to  withhold  it ;  there  was  no 


shall  make  thy  belly  bitter,  but  it 
shall  be  in  thy  mouth  sweet  as 
honey. 

a  Eze.  3. 1-3, 14. 


prohibition  of  its  use.  The  angel  had 
no  commission,  and  no  desire,  to  retain 
it  for  himself,  and  no  hesitation  in 
placing  it  in  the  hands  of  the  seer  on 
the  first  application.  Would  not  the 
readiness  with  which  God  gives  his 
Bible  into  the  hands  of  men,  in  contra¬ 
distinction  from  all  human  efforts  to 
restrain  its  use,  and  to  prevent  its  free 
circulation,  be  well  symbolized  by  this 
act  ?  And  eat  it  up.  There  is  a  simi¬ 
lar  command  in  Ezekiel,  iii.  1.  Of  course, 
this  is  to  be  understood  figuratively,  for 
no  one  would  interpret  literally  a  com¬ 
mand  to  eat  a  manuscript  or  volume.  W e 
have  in  common  use  a  somewhat  similar 
phrase,  when  we  speak  of  devouring  a 
book,  which  may  illustrate  this,  and 
which  is  not  liable  to  be  misunderstood. 
In  Jer.  xv.  16,  we  have  similar  lan¬ 
guage  :  “  Thy  words  were  found,  and  I 
did  eat  them ;  and  thy  word  was  unto 
me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my  heart.” 
Thus  in  Latin,  the  words  propinare, 
imbibere,  devorare,  deglutire,  &c.,  are 
used  to  denote  the  greediness  with  which 
knowledge  is  acquired.  Comp,  in  the 
Apocrypha,  2  Esdras  xiv.  38—40.  The 
meaning  here,  then,  is  plain.  He  was 
to  possess  himself  of  the  contents  of  the 
book;  to  receive  it  into  his  mind;  to 
apply  it,  as  we  do  food,  for  spiritual 
nourishment  —  truth  having,  in  this  re¬ 
spect,  the  same  relation  to  the  mind 
which  food  has  to  the  body.  If  the 
little  book  was  a  symbol  of  the  Bible, 
it  would  refer  to  the  fact  that  the  truths 
of  that  book  became  the  nourisher  and 
supporter  of  the  public  mind.  And  it 
shall  make  thy  belly  bitter.  This  is  a 
circumstance  which  does  not  occur  in 
the  corresponding  place  in  Ezekiel  (iii. 
1-3).  The  expression  here  must  refer 
to  something  that  would  occur  after  the 
symbolical  action  of  ‘eating’  the  little 
book,  or  to  some  consequence  of  eating 
it — for  the  act  of  eating  it  is  represented 
as  pleasant:  ‘in  my  mouth  sweet  as 
honey.’  The  meaning  here  is,  that  the 
effect  which  followed  from  eating  the 
book  was  painful  or  disagreeable  as 
food  would  be  that  was  pleasant  to 
the  taste,  but  that  produced  bitter  pain 


296 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


10  And  I  took  the  little  book 
out  of  the  angel’s  hand,  and  ate 
it  up;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth 


when  eaten.  The  fulfilment  of  this  would 
he  found  in  one  of  two  things,  (a)  It 
might  mean  that  the  message  to  be  de¬ 
livered  in  consequence  of  devouring  the 
book,  or  the  message  which  it  contained, 
would  be  of  a  painful  or  distressing  cha¬ 
racter  : — that  with  whatever  pleasure  the 
book  might  be  received  and  devoured,  it 
would  be  found  to  contain  a  communi¬ 
cation  that  would  be  indicative  of  woe  or 
sorrow.  This  was  the  case  with  the 
little  book  that  Ezekiel  was  commanded 
to  eat  up.  Thus,  in  speaking  of  this 
book,  it  is  said,  “And  it  was  written 
within  and  without;  and  there  was  writ¬ 
ten  therein  lamentations,  and  mourning, 
and  woe.”  Ezek.  ii.  10.  Comp.  ch.  iii. 
4-9,  where  the  contents  of  the  book,  and 
the  effect  of  proclaiming  the  message 
which  it  contained,  are  more  fully 
stated.  So  here,  the  meaning  may  be, 
that,  however  gladly  John  may  have 
taken  the  book,  and  with  whatever 
pleasure  he  may  have  devoured  its  con¬ 
tents,  yet  that  it  would  be  found  to  be 
charged  with  the  threatening  of  wrath, 
and  with  denunciations  of  a  judgment 
to  come,  the  delivery  of  which  would  be 
well  represented  by  the  “  bitterness” 
which  is  said  to  have  followed  from 
“  eating”  the  volume.  Or  ( b )  it  may 
mean,  that  the  consequence  of  devour¬ 
ing  the  book ; — that  is,  of  embracing  its 
doctrines,  would  be  persecutions  and 
trouble  —  well  represented  by  the  “  bit¬ 
terness”  that  followed  the  “  eating”  of 
the  volume.  Either  of  these  ideas  would 
be  a  fulfilment  of  the  proper  meaning  of 
the  symbol ;  for,  on  the  supposition  that 
either  of  these  occurred  in  fact,  it  would 
properly  be  symbolized  by  the  eating  of 
a  volume  that  was  sweet  to  the  taste, 
but  that  made  the  belly  bitter.  But 
it  shall  be  in  thy  mouth  siceet  as  honey. 
So  in  Ezekiel  iii.  3.  The  proper  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  this,  it  i3  not  difficult  to  under¬ 
stand.  It  would  well  represent  the  plea¬ 
sure  derived  from  divine  truth  —  the 
sweetness  of  the  word  of  God — the 
relish  with  which  it  is  embraced  by 
those  that  love  it.  On  the  supposition 
that  the  “little  book”  hero  refers  to  the 
Bible,  and  to  the  use  which  would  be 
made  of  it  in  the  times  referred  to,  it 


sweet  as  honey:  and  as  soon  as 
I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly  was 
hitter. 


would  properly  denote  the  relish  which 
would  exist  for  the  sacred  volume,  and 
the  happiness  which  would  be  found  in 
its  perusal : — for  this  very  image  is  fre¬ 
quently  employed  to  denote  this.  Thus 
in  Ps.  xix.  10:  —  “More  to  be  desired 
are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine 
gold;  sweeter  also  than  honey,  and  the 
honey-comb.”  Ps.  cxix.  103  :  —  “  How 
sweet  are  thy  words  unto  my  taste ;  yea 
sweeter  than  honey  to  my  mouth.”  We 
are  then  to  look  for  the  fulfilment  of  this 
in  some  prevailing  delight  or  satisfac¬ 
tion,  in  the  times  referred  to,  in  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  or  in  the  truths  of 
revelation. 

10.  And  as  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it,  my 
belly  was  made  bitter.  The  effect  imme¬ 
diately  followed : — that  is,  as  soon  as  he 
was  made  acquainted  with  the  contents 
of  the  book,  either,  as  above  explained, 
requiring  him  to  deliver  some  message 
of  woe  and  wrath  which  it  would  be 
painful  to  deliver;  or,  that  the  conse¬ 
quence  of  receiving  it  was  to  bring  on 
bitter  persecutions  and  trials. 

11.  And  he  said  unto  me.  The  angel 
then  said.  T hou  must  prophesy .  The 
word  “prophesy”  here  is  evidently  used 
in  the  large  sense  of  making  known 
divine  truth  in  general ;  not  in  the  com¬ 
paratively  narrow  and  limited  sense  in 
which  it  is  commonly  used,  as  referring 
merely  to  the  foretelling  of  future  events. 
See  the  word  explained,  in  the  Notes  on 
Rom.  xii.  6 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  1.  The  mean¬ 
ing  is,  that,  a:  a  consequence  of  be¬ 
coming  possessed  of  the  little  volume 
and  its  contents,  he  would  be  called  to 
proclaim  divine  truth,  or  to  make  the 
message  of  God  known  to  mankind. 
The  direct  address  is  to  John  himself; 
but  it  is  evidently  not  to  be  understood 
of  him  personally.  He  is  represented  as 
seeing  the  angel ;  as  hearkening  to  his 
voice;  as  listening  to  the  solemn  oath 
which  he  took ;  as  receiving  and  eating 
the  volume;  and  then  as  prophesying 
to  many  people:  but  the  reference  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  to  the  far-distant  future.  If  the 
allusion  is  to  the  times  of  the  Reforma¬ 
tion,  the  meaning  is,  that  the  end  of  the 
world  was  not,  as  would  be  expected, about 
to  occur,  but  that  there  was  to  be  an  inter- 


CHAPTER  X. 


A.  D.  96.] 

11  And  he  said  unto  me,  Thou 
must  prophesy  again  before  many 


val  long  enough  to  permit  the  gospel  to 
he  proclaimed  before  “nations,  and 
tongues,  and  kings that  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  coming  into  possession  of  the 
“little  book,”  the  word  of  God,  the 
truth  was  yet  to  be  proclaimed  far  and 
wide  on  the  earth.  Again  —  nd\iv. 
This  had  been  done  before.  That  is, 
supposing  this  to  refer  to  the  time  of  the 
Reformation,  it  could  be  said  (a)  that 
this  had  been  done  before  —  that  the 
gospel  had  been  in  former  times  proclaim¬ 
ed  in  its  purity  before  “  many  peoples, 
and  nations,  and  tongues,  and  kings,” 
and  ( b )  that  it  would  be  done  “again  :” — 
that  is,  though  the  word  of  God  had 
been  hidden,  and  a  mass  of  corrupt  tra¬ 
ditions  had  taken  its  place,  yet  the  time 
would  come  when  those  pure  truths 
would  be  made  known  again  to  all  lands. 
This  will  explain  the  word  “  again”  in 
this  place — not  meaning  that  John 
would  do  this  personally,  but  that  this 
would  be  in  fact  the  result  of  the  restora¬ 
tion  of  the  Bible  to  the  church.  1 \  Be¬ 
fore  many  peoples.  This  word  denotes 
people  considered  as  masses,  or  as  group¬ 
ed  together  in  masses,  without  reference 
to  the  manner  in  which  it  is  done.  It  is 
used  when  we  look  on  a  mass  of  men, 
without  taking  into  account  the  ques¬ 
tion  whether  they  are  of  the  same  na¬ 
tion,  or  language,  or  rank.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  vii.  9.  The  plural  is.  used  here-^- 
“ peoples” — perhaps  to  denote  that  those 
to  whom  the  truth  would  be  made 
known  would  be  very  numerous.  They 
would  not  only  be  numerous  in  regard 
to  the  individuals  to  whom  it  would  be 
communicated,  but  numerous  considered 
as  communities  or  nations.  ^  And  na¬ 
tions.  The  word  nations  here  denotes 
•  people  considered  as  separated,  by  na¬ 
tional  boundaries,  constitutions,  laws, 
customs.  See  Notes  on  ch.  vii.  9.  And 
tongues.  People  considered  as  divided 
by  languages:  —  a  division  not  always, 
or  necessarily,  the  same  as  that  denoted 
by  the  word  “people”  or  “nations”  as 
used  in  this  passage.  And  Icings. 
Rulers  of  the  people.  The  meaning  is, 
that  the  gospel  would  not  only  be  borne 
before  the  masses  of  mahkind,  but  in  a 
special  manner  before  kings  and  rulers. 
The  effect  of  thus  possessing  the  “little 


297 

peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues, 
and  kings. 


volume” — or  of  the  “open  book”  of  re¬ 
vealed  truth  would  ultimately  be  that 
the  message  of  life  would  be  carried 
with  power  before  princes  and  rulers, 
and  would  influence  them  as  well  as  the 
common  people. 

In  enquiring  now  for  the  proper  ap¬ 
plication  of  this  symbol  as  thus  ex¬ 
plained,  we  naturally  turn  to  the  Re¬ 
formation,  and  ask  whether  there  was 
any  thing  in  that  of  which  this  would 
be  the  proper  emblem.  The  following 
things,  then,  are  found  in  fact  as  occur¬ 
ring  at  that  time,  of  which  the  symbol 
before  us  may  be  regarded  as  the  proper 
representation. 

(1)  The  reception  of  the  Bible  as  from 
the  hand  of  an  angel  —  or  its  recovery 
from  obscurity  and  forgetfulness,  as  if 
it  were  now  restored  to  the  church  by  a 
heavenly  interposition.  The  influence 
of  the  Bible  on  the  Reformation ;  the 
fact  that  it  was  now  recovered  from  its 
obscurity,  and  that  it  was  made  the 
grand  instrument  in  the  Reformation, 
has  already  been  illustrated.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  2.  The  symbolical  action  of 
taking  it  from  the  hand  of  an  angel,  was 
not  an  improper  representation  of  its 
reception  again  by  the  church,  and  of 
its  restoration  to  its  true  place  in  the 
church.  It  became,  as  it  is  proper  that 
it  should  always  be,  the  grand  means  of 
the  defence  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  pro¬ 
pagation  of  truth  in  the  world. 

(2)  The  statement  that  the  little 
book  when  eaten  was  “in  the  mouth 
sweet  as  honey,”  is  a  striking  and  proper 
representation  of  the  relish  felt  for  the 
sacred  Scriptures  by  those  who  love  the 
truth  (comp.  Notes  on  ver.  9),  and  is 
especially  appropriate  to  describe  the 
interest  which  was  felt  in  the  volume  of 
revealed  truth  at  the  time  of  the  Reforma¬ 
tion.  For  the  Bible  was  to  the  reformers 
emphatically  a  new  book.  It  had  been 
driven  from  common  use  to  make  way  for 
the  legends  of  the  saints,  and  the  tra¬ 
ditions  of  the  church.  It  had,  therefore, 
when  translated  into  the  vernacular 
tongue,  and  when  circulated  and  read, 
the  freshness  of  novelty — the  interest 
which  a  volume  of  revealed  truth  would 
have  if  just  given  from  heaven.  Accord¬ 
ingly  it  is  well  known  with  what  avidity 


298 


REVELATION, 


and  relish  the  sacred  volume  was  studied 
by  Luther  and  his  fellow-laborers  in  the 
Reformation ;  how  they  devoured  its 
doctrines ;  how  they  looked  to  it  for 
comfort  in  their  times  of  trial,-  how 
sweet  and  sustaining  were  its  promises 
in  the  troubles  that  came  upon  them, 
and  in  the  labors  which  they  were  called 
to  perform. 

(3)  The  representation  that,  after  it 
was  eaten,  it  was  “  bitter,”  would  not 
improperly  describe  the  effect,  in  some 
respects,  of  thus  receiving  the  Bible,  and 
making  it  the  groundwork  of  faith.  It 
brought  the  Reformers  at  once  into  con¬ 
flict  with  all  the  power  of  the  Papacy 
and  the  priesthood;  exposed  them  to 
persecution ;  aroused  against  them  a  host 
of  enemies  among  the  princes  and  rulers 
of  the  earth ;  and  was  the  cause  for  which 
many  of  them  were  put  to  death.  Such 
effects  followed  substantially  when  Wic- 
lif  translated  the  Bible ;  when  John 
Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague  published 
the  pure  doctrines  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment;  and  when  Luther  gave  to  the 
people  the  word  of  God  in  their  own 
language.  To  a  great  extent  this  is 
always  so  —  that,  however  sweet  and 
precious  the  truths  of  the  Bible  may  be 
to  the  preacher  himself,  one  of  the  effects 
of  his  attempting  to  preach  those  truths 
may  be  such  opposition  on  the  part  of 
men,  such  cold  indifference,  or  such 
fierce  persecution,  that  it  would  be  well 
illustrated  by  what  is  said  here,  “  it 
shall  make  thy  belly  bitter.” 

(4)  The  representation  that,  as  a  con¬ 
sequence  of  receiving  that  book,  he 
would  prophesy  again  before  many  peo¬ 
ple,  is  a  fit  representation  of  the  effect 
of  the  reception  of  the  Bible  again  by 
the  church,  and  of  allowing  it  its  proper 
place  there.  For  (a)  it  led  to  preaching, 
or,  in  the  language  of  this  passage, 
“  prophesying” — a  thing  comparatively 
little  known  before  for  many  ages.  The 
grand  business  in  the  Papal  communion 
was  not,  and  is  not,  preaching,  but  the 
performance  of  rites  and  ceremonies. 
Genuflexions,  crossings,  burping  of  in¬ 
cense,  processions,  music,  constitute 
the  characteristic  features  of  all  Papal 
churches;  the  grand  thing  that  dis¬ 
tinguishes  the  Protestant  churches  all 
over  the  world,  just  in  proportion  as 
they  are  Protestant,  is  preaching.  The 
Protestant  religion  —  the  pure  form  of 
religion  as  it  is  revealed  in  the  New 


[A.  D.  96. 

Testament  —  has  few  ceremonies;  its 
rites  are  simple ;  it  depends  for  success 
on  the  promulgation  and  defence  of  the 
truth,  with  the  attending  influence  of  the 
Holy  Ghost;  and  for  this  view  of  the 
nature  and  degree  of  religion,  the  world 
is  indebted  to  the  fact  that  the  Bible 
was  again  restored  to  its  true  place  in 
the  chuch.  (6)  The  Bible  is  the  basis  of 
all  genuine  preaching.  Preaching  will 
not  be  kept  up  in  its  purity,  except  in 
the  places  where  the  Bible  is  freely 
circulated,  and  where  it  is  studied ;  and 
where  it  is  studied,  there  will  be,  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  term,  preachers. 
Just  in  proportion  as  the  Bible  is  studied 
in  the  world,  we  may  expect  that  preach¬ 
ing  will  be  better  understood,  and  that 
the  number  of  preachers  will  be  in¬ 
creased.  (c)  The  study  of  the  Bible  is 
the  foundation  of  all  the  efforts  to  spread 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  to  “  peoples, 
and  nations,  and  tongues,  and  kings,”  in 
our  own  times.  All  these  efforts  have 
been  originated  by  the  restoration  of  the 
Bible  to  its  proper  place  in  the  church, 
and  to  its  more  profound  and  accurate 
study  in  this  age;  for  these  efforts  are 
but  carrying  out  the  injunction  of  the 
Saviour  as  recorded  in  this  book — to  “  go 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature.”  ( d )  The  same  thing 
will  be  true  to  the  end  of  the  world  : — 
or,  in  the  language  of  the  portion  of  the 
book  of  Revelation  before  us,  till  “  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ, 
and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever,” 
ch.  xi.  15.  The  fact  of  the  restoration 
of  the  Bible  to  its  proper  place  in  the 
church,  will,  therefore,  ultimately  be  the 
means  of  the  conversion  of  the  whole 
world  to  God ;  and  this  fact,  so  mo¬ 
mentous  in  its  nature  and  its  conse¬ 
quences,  was  worthy  to  be  symbolized 
by  the  appearance  of  the  “  angel  descend¬ 
ing  from  heaven  clothed  with  a  cloud ;” 
was  properly  represented  by  the  man¬ 
ner  in  which  he  appeared  —  ‘  his  face 
radiant  as  the  sun,  and  his  feet  pillars  of 
fire;’  was  worthy  to  be  expressed  by 
the  position  which  he  assumed,  as 
“standing  on  the  sea  and  the  earth”  — 
as  if  all  the  world  were  interested  in  the 
purpose  of  his  mission ;  and  was  worthy 
of  the  loud  proclamation  which  he  made 
—  as  if  a  new  order  of  things  were  to 
commence.  Beautiful  and  sublime,  then, 
as  this  chapter  is,  and  always  has  been 


CHAPTER  XI. 


299 


A.  D.  96.] 


esteemed,  as  a  composition,  it  becomes 
still  more  beautiful  and  sublime  if  it  be 
regarded  as  a  symbol  of  the  Reforma¬ 
tion —  an  event  the  most  glorious,  and 
the  most  important  in  its  issues,  of  any 
that  has  occurred  since  the  Saviour  ap¬ 
peared  on  the  earth. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter,  which  is  very  impro¬ 
perly  separated  from  the  preceding,  and 
improperly  ended  —  for  it  shonld  have 
been  closed  at  ver.  18,  —  consists  (ex¬ 
cluding  the  last  verse,  which  properly 
belongs  to  the  succeeding  chapter,)  es¬ 
sentially  of  three  parts  : 

I.  The  measuring  of  the  temple,  vs. 
1,  2.  A  reed,  or  measuring  stick,  is 
given  to  John,  and  he  is  directed  to 
arise  and  measure  the  temple.  This 
direction  embraces  two  parts  :  (a)  he  was 
to  measure,  that  is,  to  take  an  exact 
estimate  of  the  temple,  of  the  altar,  and 
of  the  true  worshippers ;  (6)  he  was  care¬ 
fully  to  separate  this,  in  his  estimate, 
from  the  outward  court,  which  was  to 
be  left  out  and  to  be  given  to  the  Gen¬ 
tiles,  to  be  trodden  under  foot  forty-two 
months  ;  that  is,  three  years  and  a  half, 
or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days  —  a 
period  celebrated  in  the  book  of  Daniel 
as  well  as  in  this  book. 

II.  The  two  witnesses,  vs.  3-13.  This 
is,  in  some  respects,  the  most  difficult 
portion  of  the  book  of  Revelation,  and 
its  meaning  can  be  stated  only  after  a 
careful  examination  of  the  signification 
of  the  words  and  phrases  used.  The 
general  statement  in  regard  to  these 
witnesses  is,  that  they  should  have 
power,  and  should  prophesy  for  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  days ;  that  if  any  one 
should  attempt  to  injure  them,  they  had 
power,  by  fire  that  proceeded  out  of 
their  mouths,  to  devour  and  kill  their 
enemies;  that  they  had  power  to  shut 
heaven  so  that  it  should  not  rain,  and 
power  to  turn  the  waters  of  the  earth 
into  blood,  and  power  to  smite  the  earth 
with  plagues  as  often  as  they  chose ;  that 
when  they  had  completed  their  testi¬ 
mony,  the  beast  that  ascends  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit  would  make  war  with 
them,  and  overcome  them,  and  kill  them; 
that  their  dead  bodies  would  lie  un¬ 
buried  in  that  great  city  where  the  Lord 
was  crucified  three  days  and  a  half;  that 


they  that  dwelt  upon  the  earth  would 
exult  in  their  death,  and  send  gifts  to 
one  another  in  token  of  their  joy;  that 
after  the  three  days  and  a  half  the  spirit 
of  life  from  God  would  enter  into  them 
again,  and  they  would  stand  up  on  their 
feet ;  that  they  would  then  be  taken  up 
into  heaven,  in  the  sight  of  their  ene¬ 
mies;  and  that,  at  the  time  of  their 
ascension,  there  would  be  a  great  earth¬ 
quake,  and  a  tenth  part  of  the  city 
would  fall,  and  many  (seven  thousand) 
would  he  killed,  and  that  the  remainder 
would  be  affrighted,  and  would  give 
glory  to  the  God  of  heaven. 

III.  The  sounding  of  the  seventh 
trumpet,  vs.  14-18.  This  is  the  grand 
consummation  of  the  whole ;  the  end  of 
this  series  of  visions ;  the  end  of  the 
world.  A  rapid  glance  only  is  given  of 
it  here,  for  under  another  series  of 
visions  a  more  detailed  account  of  the 
state  of  the  world  is  given  under  the  final 
triumph  of  truth.  Here,  as  a  proper  close 
of  the  first  series  of  visions,  the  result  is 
merely  glanced  at  or  adverted  to  —  that 
then  the  period  would  have  arrived 
when  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  were 
to  become  the  kingdoms  of  the  Lord  and 
of  his  Christ,  and  when  he  should  com¬ 
mence  that  reign  which  was  to  continue 
for  ever.  Then  universal  peace  and 
happiness  would  reign,  and  the  long- 
promised  and  expected  kingdom  of  God 
on  the  earth  would  be  established.  The 
“  nations”  had  been  “  angry,”  but  the 
time  had  now  come  when  a  judgment 
was  to  be  pronounced  on  the  dead,  and 
when  the  due  reward  was  to  be  given  to 
the  servants  of  God  —  the  prophets,  and 
the  saints,  and  those  who  feared  his 
name,  small  and  great,  in  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  a  permanent  kingdom,  and  the 
complete  triumph  of  the  true  religion  in 
the  world. 

I  regard  this  chapter,  therefore,  to 
ver.  18,  as  extending  down  to  the  con¬ 
summation  of  all  things,  and  as  dis¬ 
closing  the  last  of  the  visions  seen  in 
the  scroll  or  volume  “  sealed  with  the 
seven  seals,”  ch.  v.  1.  For  a  reason 
above  suggested,  and  which  will  appear 
more  fully  hereafter,  the  detail  is  here 
much  less  minute  than  in  the  earlier 
portions  of  the  historic  visions,  but  still 
it  embraces  the  whole  period,  and  states 
in  few  words  what  will  be  the  condition 
of  things  in  the  end.  This  was  all  that 
was  necessary ;  this  was,  in  faot,  the 


300 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ND  there  was  given  me  a  reed  “ 
like  unto  a  rod :  and  the  angel 
a  Zee.  2. 1.  c.  21. 15. 


leading  design  of  the  whole  hook.  The 
end  towards  which  all  tended  —  that 
which  John  needed  most  to  know  —  and 
which  the  church  needed  most  to  know, 
was  that  religion  would  ultimately  tri¬ 
umph,  and  that  the  period  icould  arrive 
when  it  could  be  announced  that  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  had  become  the 
kingdoms  of  God  and  of  his  Christ. 
That  is  here  announced;  and  that  is 
properly  the  close  of  one  of  the  divisions 
of  the  whole  book, 

1.  And  there  was  given  me.  He  does 
not  say  by  whom,  but  the  connexion 
would  seem  to  imply  that  it  was  by  the 
angel.  All  this  is  of  course  to  be  regard¬ 
ed  as  symbolical.  The  representation 
undoubtedly  pertains  to  a  future  age,  but 
the  language  is  such  as  would  be  pro¬ 
perly  addressed  to  one  who  had  been  a 
Jew,  and  the  imagery  employed  is  such 
as  he  would  be  more  likely  to  understand 
than  any  other.  The  language  and  the 
imagery  are,  therefore,  taken  from  the 
temple,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  it  had  any  literal  reference  to  the 
temple,  or  even  that  John  would  so  un¬ 
derstand  it.  Nor  does  the  language 
here  used  prove  that  the  temple  was 
standing  at  the  time  when  the  book  was 
written;  for  as  it  is  symbolical,  it  is  what 
would  be  employed  whether  the  temple 
were  standing  or  not,  and  would  be  as 
likely  to  be  used  in  the  one  case  as  in 
the  other.  It  is  such  language  as  John, 
educated  as  a  Jew,  and  familiar  with  the 
temple  worship,  would  be  likely  to  em¬ 
ploy  if  he  designed  to  make  a  represent¬ 
ation  pertaining  to  the  church.  A 
reed. — icdXafios.  This  word  properly  de¬ 
notes  a  plant  with  a  jointed  hollow  stalk, 
growing  in  wet  grounds.  Then  it  refers 
to  the  stalk  as  cut  for  use,  as  a  mea¬ 
suring-stick,  as  in  this  place ;  or  a  mock 
sceptre,  Matt,  xxvii.  29,  30  ;  or  a  pen  for 
writing,  3  John  13.  Here  it  means 
merely  a  stick  that  could  be  used  for 
measuring,  Like  unto  a  rod.  This 
word — fiafiSos —  means  properly  a  rod, 
wand,  staff,  used  either  for  scourging, 
1  Cor.  iv.  21,  or  for  leaning  upon  in 
walking,  Matt.  x.  10,  or  for  a  sceptre, 
Heb.  i.  8.  Here  the  meaning  is,  that 


stood,  saying,  Rise,  and  measure 
the  temple  of  God,  and  the  altar, 
and  them  that  worship  therein. 
b  Eze.  40.  48. 


the  reed  that  was  put  into  his  hands  was 
like  such  a  rod  or  staff  in  respect  to  size, 
and  was  therefore  convenient  for  han¬ 
dling.  The  word  rod  also  is  used  to 
denote  a  measuring  pole,  Ps.  lxxiv.  2, 
Jer.  x.  16,  li.  19.  And  the  angel  stood, 
saying.  The  phrase  “the  angel  stood,” 
is  wanting  in  many  Mss.  and  editions  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  is  rejected  by 
Prof.  Stuart  as  spurious.  It  is  also 
rejected  in  the  critical  editions  of  Gries- 
bach  and  Hahn,  and  marked  as  doubtful 
by  Tittmann.  The  best  critical  authority 
is  against  it,  and  it  appears  to  have  been 
introduced  from  Zeeh.  iii.  5.  The  con¬ 
nexion  does  not  demand  it,  and  we  may, 
therefore,  regard  the  meaning  to  be,  that 
the  one  who  gave  him  the  reed,  whoever 
he  was,  at  the  same  time  addressed  him, 
and  commanded  him  to  take  a  measure 
of  the  temple  and  the  altar.  Rise,  and 
measure  the  temple  of  God.  That  is,  as¬ 
certain  its  true  dimensions  with  the  reed 
in  your  hand.  Of  course,  this  could  not 
be  understood  of  the  literal  temple  — 
whether  standing  or  not — for  the  exact 
measure  of  that  was  sufficiently  well- 
known.  The  word,  then,  must  be  used 
of  something  which  the  temple  would 
denote  or  represent,  and  this  would 
properly  be  the  church,  considered  as 
the  abode  of  God  on  the  earth.  Un¬ 
der  the  Old  dispensation,  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  was  that  abode;  under  the 
New,  that  peculiar  residence  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to-  the  church,  and  God  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  dwelling  in  it.  See  Notes  on 
1  Cor.  iii.  16.  Thus  the  word  is  undoubt¬ 
edly  used  here,  and  the  simple  meaning 
is,  that  he  who  is  thus  addressed  is 
directed  to  take  an  accurate  estimate  of 
the  true  church  of  God  ;  as  accurate  as 
if  he  were  to  apply  a  measuring-reed  to 
ascertain  the  dimensions  of  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem.  In  doing  that,  if  the  di¬ 
rection  had  been  literally  to  measure  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem,  he  would  ascertain 
its  length,  and  breadth,  and  height;  he 
would  measure  its  rooms,  its  doorways, 
its  porticoes;  he  would  take  such  a 
measurement  of  it  that,  in  a  description 
or  drawing,  it  could  be  distinguished 
from  other  edifices,  or  that  one  could  be 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XI.  301 


2  But  the  court  °  which  is  with- 

a  Eze.  40. 17-20. 


constructed  like  it,  or  that  a  just  idea 
could  be  obtained  of  it  if  it  should  be 
destroyed.  If  the  direction  be  under¬ 
stood  figuratively,  as  applicable  to  the 
Christian  church,  the  work  to  he  done 
would  be  to  obtain  an  exact  estimate  or 
measurement  of  what  the  true  church 
was  —  as  distinguished  from  all  other 
bodies  of  men,  and  as  constituted,  and 
appointed,  by  the  direction  of  God; 
such  a  measurement  that  its  character¬ 
istics  could  be  made  known ;  that  a 
church  could  be  organized,  according  to 
this,  and  that  the  accurate  description 
could  be  transmitted  to  future  times. 
John  has  not,  indeed,  preserved  the 
measurement;  for  the  main  idea  here  is 
not  that  he  was  to  preserve  such  a 
model,  but  that,  in  the  circumstances, 
and  at  the  time  referred  to,  the  proper 
business  would  be  to  engage  in  such  a 
measurement  of  the  church  that  its  true 
dimensions  or  character  might  be  known. 
There  would  be,  therefore,  a  fulfilment 
of  this,  if  at  the  time  here  referred  to 
there  should  be  occasion,  from  any  cause, 
to  inquire  what  constituted  the  true 
church ;  if  it  was  necessary  to  separate 
and  distinguish  it  from  all  other  bodies; 
and  if  there  should  be  any  such  prevail¬ 
ing  uncertainty  as  to  make  an  accurate 
investigation  necessary,  And  the  al¬ 
tar.  On  the  form,  situation,  and  uses 
of  the  altar,  see  Notes  on  Matt.  v.  23,  24, 
xxi.  12.  The  altar  here  referred  to  was, 
undoubtedly,  the  altar  situated  in  front 
of  the  temple,  where  the  daily  sacrifice 
was  offered.  To  measure  that  literally, 
would  be  to  take  its  dimensions  of 
length,  breadth,  and  height;  but  it  is 
plain  that  that  cannot  be  intended  here, 
for  there  was  no  such  altar  where  John 
was,  and,  if  the  reference  were  to  the 
altar  at  Jerusalem,  its  dimensions  were 
sufficiently  known.  This  language,  then, 
like  the  former,  must  be  understood 
metaphorically,  and  then  it  must  mean — 
as  the  altar  was  the  place  of  sacrifice — to 
take  an  estimate  of  the  church  consi¬ 
dered  with  reference  to  its  notions  of 
sacrifice,  or  of  the  prevailing  views 
respecting  the  sacrifice  to  be  made  for 
sin,  and  the  method  of  reconciliation 
with  God.  It  is  by  sacrifice  that  a 
method  is  provided  for  reconciliation 
with  God;  by  sacrifice  that  sin  is  par- 
26 


out  the  temple  b  leave  out,  and 

b  cast  out. 

doned ;  by  sacrifice  that  man  is  justified; 
and  the  direction  here  is  equivalent, 
therefore,  to  a  command  to  make  an 
investigation  on  these  subjects,  and 
all  that  is  implied  would  be  fulfilled  if  a 
state  of  things  should  exist  where  it 
would  be  necessary  to  institute  an  ex¬ 
amination  into  the  prevailing  views  in 
the  church  on  the  subject  of  the  atono- 
ment,  and  the  true  method  of  justifica¬ 
tion  before  God.  f  And  them  that  wor¬ 
ship  therein.  In  the  temple ;  or,  as  the 
temple  is  the  representation  here  of  the 
church,  of  those  who  are  in  the  church 
as  professed  worshippers  of  God.  There 
is  some  apparent  incongruity  in  direct¬ 
ing  him  to  “  measure”  those  who  were 
engaged  in  worship;  but  the  obvious 
meaning  is,  that  he  was  to  take  a  correct 
estimate  of  their  character;  of  what  they 
professed;  of  the  reality  of  their  piety; 
of  their  lives,  and  of  the  general  state 
of  the  church  considered  as  professedly 
worshipping  God.  This  would  receive 
its  fulfilment,  if  a  state  of  things  should 
arise  in  the  church  which  would  make 
it  necessary  to  go  into  a  close  and  search¬ 
ing  examination  on  all  these  points,  in 
order  to  ascertain  what  was  the  true 
church,  and  what  was  necessary  to  con¬ 
stitute  true  membership  in  it.  There 
were,  therefore,  three  things,  as  indi¬ 
cated  by  this  verse,  which  John  was 
directed  to  do,  so  far  as  the  use  of  the 
measuring-rod  was  concerned:  (a)  to 
take  a  just  estimate  of  what  constitutes 
the  true  church,  as  distinguished  from 
all  other  associations  of  men;  (b)  to  in¬ 
stitute  a  careful  examination  into  the 
opinions  in  the  church  on  the  subject 
of  sacrifice  or  atonement — involving  the 
whole  question  about  the  method  of 
justification  before  God;  and  (c)  to  take 
a  correct  estimate  of  what  constitutes 
true  membership  in  the  church;  or  to 
investigate  with  care  the  prevailing 
opinions  about  the  qualifications  for 
membership. 

2.  But  the  court  which  is  without  the 
temple.  Which  is  outside  of  the  temple 
proper,  and,  therefore,  which  does  not 
strictly  appertain  to  it.  There  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  reference  here  to  the  “  court 
of  the  Gentiles,”  as  it  was  called  among 
the  Jews — the  outer  court  of  the  temple 
to  which  the  Gentiles  had  access,  and 


302 


REVELATION,  [A.D.%. 


measure  it  not;  for  a  it  is  given 
unto  the  Gentiles:  and  the  holy 

a  Lu.  21,  24. 


within  which  they  were  not  permitted  to 
go.  For  a  description  of  this,  see  Notes 
on  Matt.  xxi.  12.  To  an  observer  this 
would  seem  to  be  a  part  of  the  temple, 
and  the  persons  there  assembled  a  por¬ 
tion  of  the  true  worshippers  of  God;  but 
it  was  necessarily  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other.  In  forming  an  estimate  of  those 
who,  according  to  the  Hebrew  notions, 
were  true  worshippers  of  God,  only  those 
would  be  regarded  as  such  who  had  the 
privilege  of  access  to  the  inner  court, 
and  to  the  altar.  In  making  such  an 
estimate,  therefore,  those  who  had  no 
nearer  access  than  that  court,  would  be 
omitted;  that  is,  they  would  not  be 
reckoned  as  necessarily  any  part  of  those 
who  were  regarded  as  the  people  of 
God.  Leave  out  and  measure  it  not. 
Marg.,  cast  out.  So  the  Greek.  The 
meaning  is,  that  he  was  not  to  reckon  it 
as  appertaining  to  the  true  temple  of 
worshippers.  There  is,  indeed,  a  degree 
of  force  in  the  words  rendered  “  leave 
out,”  or,  in  the  margin,  “cast  out”  — 
fKjSaXXs  —  which  implies  more  than 
a  mere  passing  by,  or  omission.  The 
word  (w^dXXu)  usually  has  the  idea  of 
force  or  impulse  (Matt.  xv.  17 ;  Acts 
xxvii.  38 ;  Matt.  viii.  12,  xxv.  30 ;  Mark 
xvi.  9,  et  al.),  and  the  word  here  would 
denote  some  decisive  or  positive  act  by 
which  it  would  be  indicated  that  this 
was  not  any  part  of  the  true  temple,  but 
was  to  be  regarded  as  appertaining  to 
something  else.  He  was  not  merely  not 
to  mention  it,  or  not  to  include  it  in  the 
measurement,  but  he  was  to  do  this  by 
some  act  which  would  indicate  that  it 
was  the  result  of  design  in  the  case,  and 
not  by  accidentally  passing  it  by.  f  For 
it  is  given  unto  the  Gentiles.  It  properly 
appertains  to  them  as  their  own.  Though 
sear  the  temple,  and  included  in  the 
general  range  of  building,  yet  it  does 
not  pertain  to  those  who  worship  there, 
but  to  those  who  are  regarded  as 
heathen  and  strangers.  It  is  not  said 
that  it  was  then  given  to  the  Gentiles ; 
nor  is  it  said  that  it  was  given  to  them 
to  be  overrun  and  trodden  down  by 
them,  but  that  it  appertained  to  them, 
and  was  to  be  regarded  as  belonging  to 
them.  They  occupied  it,  not  as  the 


city  shall  they  tread  under  *  foot 
forty  and  two  months. 

b  Da.  7.  25. 


people  of  God,  but  as  those  who  were 
without  the  true  church,  and  who  did 
not  appertain  to  its  real  communion. 
This  would  find  a  fulfilment  if  there 
should  arise  a  state  of  things  in  the 
ohureh  in  which  it  would  be  necessary 
to  draw  a  line  between  those  who  pro¬ 
perly  constituted  the  church  and  those 
who  did  not ;  if  there  should  be  such  a 
condition  of  things  that  any  consider¬ 
able  portion  of  those  who  professedly 
appertained  to  the  church  ought  to  be 
divided  off  as  not  belonging  to  it,  or 
would  have  such  characteristic  marks 
that  it  could  be  seen  that  they  were 
strangers  and  aliens.  The  interpretation 
would  demand  that  they  should  sustain 
some  relation  to  the  church,  or  that  they 
would  seem  to  belong  to  it — as  the  court 
did  to  the  temple ;  but  still  that  this  was 
in  appearance  only,  and  that  in  esti¬ 
mating  the  true  church  it  was  necessary 
to  leave  them  out  altogether.  Of  course 
this  would  not  imply  that  there  might 
not  be  some  sincere  worshippers  among 
them  as  individuals  —  as  there  would  be 
found  usually,  in  the  court  of  the  Gen¬ 
tiles  in  the  literal  temple,  some  who  were 
proselytes  and  devout  worshippers,  but 
what  is  here  said  relates  to  them  as  a 
mass  or  body — that  they  did  not  belong 
to  the  true  church  but  to  the  Gentiles. 

And  the  holy  city.  The  whole  holy 
city  — not  merely  the  outer  court  of  the 
Gentiles  which  it  is  said  was  given  to 
them,  nor  the  temple  as  such,  but  the 
entire  holy  city.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  words  “  the  holy  city”  literally 
refer  to  Jerusalem  —  a  city  so  called 
because  it  was  the  peculiar  place  of  the 
worship  of  God.  See  Notes  on  Matt, 
iv.  5;  comp.  Neh.  xi.  1,  18;  Isa.  lii.  1; 
Dan.  ix.  24  ;  Matt,  xxvii.  53.  But  it  is 
not  necessary  to  suppose  that  this  is  its 
meaning  here.  The  “holy  city”  Jeru¬ 
salem  was  regarded  as  sacred  to  God ;  as 
his  dwelling-place  on  earth,  and  as  the 
abode  of  his  people,  and  nothing  was 
more  natural  than  to  use  the  term  as 
representing  the  Church.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Gal.  iv.  26;  Heb.  xii.  22.  In  this 
sense  it  is  undoubtedly  used  here,  as  the 
whole  representation  is  emblematical. 
John,  if  ho  were  about  to  speak  of  any 


CHAPTER  XI. 


303 


A.  D.  96.] 


thing  that  was  to  occur  to  the  church, 
would,  as  a  native  Jew,  he  likely  to 
employ  such  language  as  this  to  denote 
it.  Shall  they  tread  under  foot.  That 
is,  the  Gentiles  above  referred  to ;  or 
those  who,  in  the  measurement  of  the 
city,  were  set  off  as  Gentiles,  and  re¬ 
garded  as  not  belonging  to  the  people 
of  God.  This  is  not  spoken  of  the 
Gentiles  in  general,  but  only  of  that 
portion  of  the  multitudes  that  seemed  to 
constitute  the  worshippers  of  God,  who, 
in  measuring  the  temple,  were  set  off 
or  separated  as  not  properly  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  true  church.  The  phrase 
“  shall  tread  under  foot,”  is  derived 
from  warriors  and  conquerors  who  tread 
down  their  enemies,  or  trample  on  the 
fields  of  grain.  It  is  rendered  in  this 
passage  by  Dr.  Robinson  {Lex.)  ‘to 
profane  and  lay  waste.’  As  applied  lite¬ 
rally  to  a  city,  this  would  be  the  true 
idea :  as  applied  to  the  church,  it 
would  mean  that  they  would  have  it 
under  their  control  or  in  subjection  for 
the  specified  time,  and  that  the  practical 
effect  of  that  would  be  to  corrupt  and 
prostrate  it.  Forty  and  tioo  months. 
Literally  this  would  be  three  years  and 
a  half;  but  if  the  time  here  is  prophetic 
time — a  day  for  a  year — then  the  period 
would  be  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years — reckoning  the  year  at  360  days. 
For  a  full  illustration  of  this  usage,  and 
for  the  reasons  for  supposing  that  this  is 
prophetic  time,  see  Notes  on  Dan.  vii. 
25.  In  addition  to  what  is  there  said, 
it  may  be  remarked  in  reference  to  this 
passage,  that  it  is  impossible  to  show, 
with  any  degree  of  probability,  that  the 
city  of  Jerusalem  was  “  trampled  under 
foot”  by  the  Romans  for  the  exact  space 
of  three  years  and  a  half.  Prof.  Stuart, 
who  adopts  the  opinion  that  it  refers  to 
the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Ro¬ 
mans,  says,  indeed,  “  It  is  certain  that 
the  invasion  of  the  Romans  lasted  just 
about  the  length  of  the  period  named, 
until  Jerusalem  was  taken.  And  al¬ 
though  the  city  itself  was  not  besieged 
so  long,  yet  the  metropolis  in  this  case, 
as  in  innumerable  others  in  both  Testa¬ 
ments,  appears  to  stand  for  the  country 
of  Judea.”  But,  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  the  affirmation  here  is  that  “  the 
holy  city”  was  thus  to  be  trodden  under 
foot;  and  even  taking  the  former  suppo¬ 
sition,  in  what  sense  is  it  true  that 
the  “  whole  country”  was  “  trodden 


under  foot”  by  the  Romans  only  three 
years  and  a  half?  Even  the  wars  of  the 
Romans  were  not  of  that  exact  duration, 
and,  besides,  the  fact  was  that  Judea 
was  held  in  subjection,  and  trodden  down 
by  the  Romans,  for  centuries,  and  never, 
in  fact,  regained  its  independence.  If 
this  is  to  be  literally  applied  to  J erusa- 
lem,  it  has  been  “  trodden  down  by  the 
Gentiles,”  with  brief  intervals,  since  the 
conquest  by  tho  Romans,  to  the  present 
time.  There  has  been  no  precise  period 
of  three  years  and  a  half,  in  respect  to 
which  the  language  here  used  would  be 
applicable  to  the  literal  city  of  Jeru¬ 
salem. 

In  regard  then  to  the  proper  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  language  which  has  thus 
been  explained  (vs.  1,  2),  it  may  be 
remarked,  in  general,  that,  for  the  rea¬ 
sons  just  stated,  it  is  not  to  be  taken 
literally.  John  could  not  have  been 
directed  literally  to  measure  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem,  and  the  altar,  and  the 
worshippers;  nor  could  he  have  been 
requested  literally  to  leave  out,  or  ‘  cast 
out’  the  court  that  was  without;  nor 
could  it  be  meant  that  the  holy  city 
literally  was  to  be  trodden  under  foot  for 
three  years  and  a  half.  The  language 
clearly  is  symbolical,  and  the  reference 
must  have  been  to  something  pertaining 
to  the  church.  And,  if  the  preceding 
exposition  of  the  tenth  chapter  is  correct, 
then  it  may  be  presumed  that  this  would 
refer  to  something  that  was  to  occur  at 
about  the  period  there  referred  to.  Re¬ 
garding  it,  then,  as  applicable  to  the 
time  of  the  Reformation,  and  as  being 
a  continuation  of  the  vision  in  chapter 
tenth,  we  shall  find,  in  the  events  of  that 
period,  what  would  be  properly  symbol¬ 
ized  by  the  language  here  used.  This 
will  appear  by  reviewing  the  particulars 
which  have  been  explained  in  these 
verses :  — 

(1)  The  command  to  “measure  the 
temple  of  God,”  ver.  1.  This,  we  have 
seen,  was  a  direction  to  take  an  estimate 
of  what  constituted  the  true  church; 
the  very  work  which  it  was  necessary  to 
do  in  the  Reformation,  for  this  was  the 
first  point  which  was  to  be  settled,  whe¬ 
ther  the  Papacy  was  the  true  church  or 
was  the  Antichrist.  This  involved,  of 
course,  the  whole  inquiry  as  to  what 
constitutes  the  church,  alike  in  reference 
to  its  organization,  its  ministry,  its  sa¬ 
craments,  and  its  membership.  It  was 


304 


REVELATION, 


long  before  the  Reformers  made  up  their 
minds  that  the  Papacy  was  not  the  true 
church;  for  the  veneration  which  they 
had  been  taught  to  cherish  for  that 
lingered  long  in  their  bosoms.  And  even 
when  they  were  constrained  to  admit 
that  that  corrupt  communion  was  the 
predicted  form  of  the  great  apostasy  — 
Antichrist  —  and  had  acquired  boldness 
enough  to  break  away  from  it  for  ever, 
it  was  long  before  they  settled  down  in 
a  uniform  belief  as  to  what  ioas  essential 
to  the  true  church.  Indeed,  the  differ¬ 
ences  of  opinion  which  prevailed;  the 
warm  discussions  which  ensued,  and  the 
diversities  of  sect  which  sprang  up  in 
the  Protestant  world,  showed  with  what 
intense  interest  the  mind  was  fixed  on 
this  question,  and  how  important  it  was 
to  take  an  exact  measurement  of  the  real 
church  of  God. 

(2)  The  direction  to  ‘measure  the 
altar.’  This,  as  we  have  seen,  would 
relate  to  the  prevailing  opinions  on  the 
subject  of  sacrifice  and  atonement;  on 
the  true  method  of  a  sinner’s  acceptance 
with  God;  and,  consequently,  on  the 
whole  subject  of  justification.  As  a  mat¬ 
ter  of  fact,  it  need  not  be  said  that  this 
was  one  of  the  first  questions  which 
came  before  the  Reformers,  and  was  one 
which  it  was  indispensable  to  settle,  in 
order  to  a  just  notion  of  the  church  and 
of  the  way  of  salvation.  The  Papacy 
had  exalted  the  Lord’s  Supper  into  a 
real  sacrifice ;  had  made  it  a  grand  and 
essential  point  that  the  bread  and  wine 
were  changed  into  the  real  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord,  and  that  a  real  offer¬ 
ing  of  that  sacrifice  was  made  every  time 
that  ordinance  was  celebrated ;  had 
changed  the  office  of  the  ministers  of  the 
New  Testament  from  jweachers  to  that 
of  priests  ;  had  become  familiar  with  the 
terms  altar,  and  sacrifice,  and  priesthood, 
as  founded  on  the  notion  that  a  real 
sacrifice  was  made  in  the  ‘  mass ;’  and 
had  fundamentally  changed  the  whole 
doctrine  respecting  the  justification  of  a 
sinner  before  God.  The  altar  in  the 
Romish  communion  had  almost  displaced 
the  pulpit;  and  the  doctrine  of  justifica¬ 
tion  by  the  merits  of  the  great  sacrifice 
made  by  the  death  of  our  Lord,  had  been 
superseded  by  the  doctrine  of  justifica¬ 
tion  by  good  works,  and  by  the  merits 
of  the  saints.  It  became  necessary, 
therefore,  to  restore  the  true  doctrine 
respecting  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  the  way 


[A.  D.  96. 

of  justification  before  God;  and  this 
would  be  appropriately  represented  by 
a  direction  to  ‘measure  the  altar.’ 

(3)  The  direction  to  take  an  estimate 
of  those  ‘  who  worshipped  in  the  temple.’ 
This,  as  we  have  seen,  would  properly 
mean  that  there  was  to  be  a  true  esti¬ 
mate  taken  of  what  constituted  member¬ 
ship  in  the  church,  or  of  the  qualifications 
of  those  who  should  be  regarded  as  true 
worshippers  of  God.  This,  also,  was  one 
of  the  first  works  necessary  to  be  done 
in  the  Reformation.  Before  that,  for 
ages,  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regene¬ 
ration  had  been  the  established  doctrine 
of  the  church ;  the  opinion  that  all  that 
was  necessary  to  membership  was  bap¬ 
tism  and  confirmation,  was  the  common 
opinion ;  the  necessity  of  regeneration 
by  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
a  condition  of  church  membership,  was 
little  understood,  if  not  almost  wholly 
unknown  ;  and  the  grand  requisition  in 
membership  was  not  holy  living,  but -the 
observance  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
of  the  church.  One  of  the  first  things 
necessary  in  the  Reformation,  was  to 
restore  to  its  true  place  the  doctrine 
laid  down  by  the  Saviour,  that  a  change 
of  heart — that  regeneration  by  the  Holy 
Ghost — was  necessary  to  membership  in 
the  church,  and  that  the  true  church 
was  composed  of  those  who  had  been 
thus  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  their  mind. 
This  great  work  would  be  appropriately 
symbolized  by  a  direction  to  take  an 
estimate  of  those  who  ‘worshipped  in 
the  temple  of  God;’  that  is,  to  settle  the 
question  who  should  be  regarded  as  true 
worshippers  of  God,  and  what  should 
be  required  of  those  who  professed  to  be 
such  worshippers.  No  more  important 
point  was  settled  in  the  Reformation 
than  this. 

(4)  The  direction  to  leave  out,  or  to 
‘  cast  out’  the  court  without  the  temple. 
This,  as  we  have  seen,  would  properly 
mean  that  a  separation  was  to  be  made 
between  that  which  was  the  true  church, 
and  that  which  was  not,  though  it  might 
seem  to  belong  to  it.  The  one  was  to 
be  measured  or  estimated ;  the  other  was 
to  be  left  out,  as  not  appertaining  to 
that,  or  as  belonging  to  the  Gentiles,  or 
to  heathenism.  The  idea  would  be,  that 
though  it  professedly  appertained  to  the 
true  church,  and  to  the  worship  of  God, 
yet  that  it  deserved  to  be  characterized 
as  heathenism.  Now  this  will  apply 


CHAPTER  XI. 


305 


A.  D.  96.] 

with  great  propriety,  according  to  all 
Protestant  notions,  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  Papacy  was  regarded  by  the 
R-eformers,  and  should  be  regarded  at 
all  times.  It  claimed  to  be  the  true 
church,  and  to  the  eye  of  an  observer 
would  seem  to  belong  to  it,  as  much  as 
the  outer  court  seemed  to  pertain  to  the 
temple.  But  it  had  the  essential  char¬ 
acteristics  of  heathenism,  and  was,  there¬ 
fore,  properly  to  be  left  out,  or  cast  out, 
as  not  pertaining  to  the  true  church. 
Can  any  one  doubt  the  truth  of  this 
representation  as  applicable  to  the  Pa¬ 
pacy?  Almost  every  thing  that  was 
peculiar  in  the  ancient  heathen  systems 
of  religion,  had  been  introduced  into  the 
Homan  communion,  and  a  stranger  at 
Rome  would  see  more  that  would  lead 
him  to  feel  that  he  was  in  a  heathen 
land,  than  he  would  that  he  was  in  a 
land  where  the  pure  doctrines  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  prevailed,  and  where  the  worship 
was  celebrated  which  the  Redeemer  had 
designed  to  set  up  on  the  earth.  This 
was  true  not  only  in  the  pomp  and 
splendor  of  worship,  and  in  the  proces¬ 
sions  and  imposing  ceremonials;  but  in 
the  worship  of  images,  in  the  homage  ren¬ 
dered  to  the  dead,  in  the  number  of  fes¬ 
tival-days,  in  the  fact  that  the  statues 
reared  in  heathen  Rome  to  the  honor  of 
the  gods  had  been  re-consecrated  in  the 
services  of  Christian  devotion  to  the 
apostles,  saints,  and  martyrs  ;  and  in  the 
robes  of  the  Christian  priesthood,  derived 
from  those  in  use  in  the  ancient  heathen 
worship.  The  direction  was,  that,  in 
estimating  the  true  church,  this  was  to 
be  ‘  left  out’  or  ‘  cast  out and,  if  this 
interpretation  is  correct,  the  meaning  is, 
that  the  Roman  Catholic  communion, 
as  an  organized  body,  is  to  be  regarded 
as  no  part  of  the  true  church :  a  conclu¬ 
sion  which  is  inevitable,  if  the  passages 
of  Scripture  which  are  commonly  sup¬ 
posed  by  Protestants  to  apply  to  it,  are 
correctly  applied.  To  determine  this, 
and  to  separate  the  true  church  from  it, 
was  no  small  part  of  the  work  of  the 
Reformation. 

(5)  The  statement  that  the  holy  city 
was  to  be  trodden  under  foot,  ver.  2. 
This,  as  we  have  seen,  must  mean  that 
the  true  church  would  thus  be  trodden 
down  by  those  who  are  described  as 
‘  Gentiles.’  So  far  as  pure  religion  was 
concerned ;  so  far  as  appertained  to  the 
real  condition  of  the  church  and  the 
26* 


pure  worship  of  God,  it  would  be  os  if 
the  whole  holy  city  where  God  was  wor¬ 
shipped  were  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  they  should  tread  it  down, 
and  desecrate  all  that  was  sacred  for  the 
time  here  referred  to.  Every  thing  in 
Rome  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation, 
would  sustain  this  description.  “  It  is 
incredible,”  says  Luther,  on  his  visit  to 
Rome,  “what  sins  and  atrocities  are 
committed  in  Rome ;  they  must  be  seen 
and  heard  to  be  believed.  So  that  it  is 
usual  to  say,  ‘If  there  be  a  hell,  Rome 
is  built  above  it;  it  is  an  abyss  from 
which  all  sins  proceed.’  ”  So  again  he 
says:  “It  is  commonly  observed  that 
he  who  goes  to  Rome  for  the  first  time, 
goes  to  seek  a  knave  there ;  the  second 
time  he  finds  him ;  and  the  third  time 
he  brings  him  away  with  him  under  his 
cloak.  But  now,  people  are  become  so 
clever,  that  they  make  the  three  journeys 
in  one.”  So  Machiavelli,  one  of  the 
most  profound  geniuses  in  Italy,  and 
himself  a  Roman  Catholic,  said,  “  The 
greatest  symptom  of  the  approaching 
ruin  of  Christianity  is,  that  the  nearer 
we  approach  the  capital  of  Christendom, 
the  less  do  we  find  of  the  Christian  spirit 
of  the  people.  The  scandalous  example 
and  crimes  of  the  court  of  Rome,  have 
caused  Italy  to  lose  every  principle  of 
piety  and  every  religious  sentiment.  We 
Italians  are  principally  indebted  to  the 
church  and  to  the  priests  for  having  be¬ 
come  impious  and  profane.”  See  D’Au- 
bigne’s  History  of  the  Reformation ,  p.  54. 
Ed.  Phila.  1843.  In  full  illustration  of 
the  sentiment  that  the  church  seemed 
to  be  trodden  down  and  polluted  by  hea¬ 
thenism,  or  by  abominations  and  prac¬ 
tices  that  came  out  of  heathenism,  we 
may  refer  to  the  general  history  of  the 
Romish  communion  from  the  rise  of  the 
Papacy  to  the  Reformation.  For  a  suf¬ 
ficient  illustration  to  justify  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  passage  before  us  which  I 
am  now  making,  the  reader  may  bo 
referred  to  the  Notes  on  eh.  ix.  20,  21. 
Nothing  would  better  describe  the  con¬ 
dition  of  Rome  previous  to,  and  at  the 
time  of  the  Reformation  —  and  the  re¬ 
mark  may  be  applied  to  subsequent 
periods  also — than  to  say  that  it  was  a 
city  which  once  seemed  to  be  a  Christian 
city,  and  was  not  improperly  regarded 
as  the  centre  of  the  Christian  world 
and  the  seat  of  the  church,  and  that 
it  had  been,  as  it  were,  overrun  a»d 


306 


REVEL 

3  And  I  will  °  give  power  unto 

a  Or,  give  unto  my  two  witnesses  that  they 
may  prophesy. 

trodden  down  by  heathen  rites,  and 
customs,  and  ceremonies,  so  that,  to  a 
stranger  looking  on  it,  it  would  seem  to 
be  in  the  possession  of  the  ‘  Gentiles’  or 
the  heathens. 

(6)  The  time  during  which  this  was  to 
continue  —  ‘forty-two  months;’  that  is, 
according  to  the  explanation  above  given, 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years.  This 
would  embrace  the  whole  period  of  the 
ascendency  and  prevalence  of  the  Pa¬ 
pacy;  or  the  whole  time  of  the  continu¬ 
ance  of  that  corrupt  domination  in  which 
Christendom  was  to  be  trodden  down 
and  corrupted  by  it.  The  prophet  of 
Patmos  saw  it  in  vision  thus  extending 
its  dreary  and  corrupting  reign,  and 
during  that  time  the  proper  influence 
of  Christianity  was  trampled  down,  and 
the  domination  of  practical  heathenism 
was  set  up  where  the  church  should  have 
reigned  in  its  purity.  Thus  regarded, 
this  would  properly  express  the  time  of 
the  ascendency  of  the  Papal  power,  and 
the  end  of  the  ‘forty-two  months,'  or 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  would 
denote  the  time  when  the  influence  of 
that  power  would  cease.  If,  therefore, 
the  time  of  the  rise  of  the  Papacy  can 
be  determined,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to 
determine  the  time  when  it  will  come  to 
an  end.  But  for  a  full  consideration  of 
these  points,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  extended  discussion  on  Daniel  vii. 
25.  As  the  point  is  there  fully  exam¬ 
ined,  it  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  an 
investigation  of  it  here. 

The  general  remark,  therefore,  in 
regard  to  this  passage  (vs.  1,  2),  is,  that 
it  refers  to  what  would  be  necessary  to 
be  done  at  the  Reformation  in  order  to 
determine  what  is  the  true  church,  and 
what  are  the  doctrines  on  which  it  is 
based;  and  to  the  fact  that  the  Romish 
communion  to  which  the  church  had 
been  given  over  for  a  definite  time,  was 
to  be  set  aside  as  not  being  the  true 
church  of  Christ. 

3.  And  I  will  give  power  unto  my  two 
•witnesses.  In  respect  to  this  important 
passage  (vs.  3-13),  I  propose  to  pursue 
the  same  method  which  I  have  pursued 
all  along  in  this  exposition ;  first,  to  ex¬ 
amine  the  meaning  of  the  words  and 
phrases  in  the  symbol  with  a  purpose  to 


ATION,  [A.  D.  96. 

my b  two  witnesses, c  and  they  shall 

b  Matt.  18. 16.  c  c.  20.  4. 


ascertain  the  fair  signification  of  the 
symbols;  and,  second,  to  enquire  into 
the  application ;  that  is,  to  enquire 
whether  any  events  have  occurred 
which,  in  respect  to  their  character  and 
to  the  time  of  their  occurrence,  can  be 
shown  to  be  a  fair  fulfilment  of  the 
language. 

And  I  will  give  power.  The  word 
“power”  is  not  in  the  original.  The 
Greek  is  simply,  “  I  will  give ;”  that  is, 
I  will  grant  to  my  two  witnesses  the  right, 
or  the  power,  of  prophesying,  during  the 
time  specified,  correctly  expressed  in  the 
margin,  ‘give  unto  my  two  witnesses 
that  they  may  prophesy.’  The  meaning 
is  not  that  he  would  send  two  witnesses 
to  prophesy,  but  rather  that  these  were 
in  fact  such  “  witnesses,”  and  that  he 
would  during  that  time  permit  them  to 
exercise  their  prophetic  gifts,  or  give 
them  the  privilege  and  the  strength  to 
enunciate  the  truth  which  they  were 
commissioned  to  communicate  as  his 
“witnesses”  to  mankind.  Some  word, 
then,  like  power,  privilege,  opportunity, 
or  boldness,  it  is  necessary  to  supply  in 
order  to  complete  the  sense.  Unto  my 
two  witnesses.  The  word  “  two”  evi¬ 
dently  denotes  that  the  number  would 
be  small ;  and  yet  it  is  not  necessary  to 
confine  it  literally  to  two  persons,  or  to 
two  societies  or  communities.  Perhaps 
the  meaning  is,  that  as,  under  the  law, 
two  witnesses  were  required,  and  were 
enough,  to  establish  any  fact  (Notes  on 
John  viii.  17),  such  a  number  would, 
during  those  times,  be  preserved  from 
apostasy,  as  would  be  sufficient  to  keep 
up  the  evidence  of  truth ;  to  testify 
against  the  prevailing  abominations, 
errors,  and  corruptions;  to  show  what 
was  the  real  church,  and  to  bear  a  faith¬ 
ful  witness  against  the  wickedness  of  the 
world.  The  law  of  Moses  required  that 
there  should  be  two  witnesses  on  a  trial, 
and  this,  under  that  law,  was  deemed  a 
competent  number.  See  Deut.  xvii.  6, 
xix.  15 ;  Num,  xxxv.  30 ;  Matt,  xviii.  16 ; 
John  v.  30-33.  The  essential  meaning 
of  this  passage,  then,  is,  that  there  would 
be  a  competent  number  of  witnesses  in 
the  case;  that  is,  as  many  as  would  be 
regarded  as  sufficient  to  establish  the 
points  concerning  which  they  would 


CHAPTER  XI. 


307 


A.  D.  98.] 

prophesy  a  thousand  two  hundred 
and  three  score  days,  clothed  in 
sackcloth.® 

a  Is.  22. 12. 


testify,  with  perhaps  the  additional  idea 
that  the  number  would  be  small.  There 
is  no  reason  for  limiting  it  strictly  to  two 
persons,  or  for  supposing  that  they 
would  appear  in  pairs,  two  and  two ;  nor 
is  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  it  refers 
particularly  to  two  people  or  nations. 
The  word  rendered  witnesses — fidprvg — is 
that  from  which  we  have  derived  the 
word  martyr.  It  means  properly  one 
who  bears  testimony,  either  in  a  judicial 
sense,  Matt,  xviii.  16,  xxvi.  65,  or  one 
who  can  in  any  way  testify  to  the  truth 
of  what  he  has  seen  and  known,  1  Thess. 
ii.  10 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  12 ;  Rom.  i.  9  ,•  Phil, 
i.  8  ,•  Luke  xxiv.  48.  Then  it  came 
to  be  employed  in  the  sense  in  which 
the  word  martyr  is  now  —  to  denote 
one  who,  amidst  great  sufferings,  or  by 
his  death,  bears  witness  to  the  truth ;  that 
is,  one  who  is  so  confident  of  the  truth, 
and  so  upright,  that  he  will  rather  lay 
down  his  life  than  deny  the  truth  of  what 
he  has  seen  and  known.  Acts  xxii.  20 ; 
Rev.  ii.  13.  In  a  similar  sense  it  comes 
to  denote  one  who  is  so  thoroughly  con¬ 
vinced  on  a  subject  that  is  not  susceptible 
of  being  seen  and  heard,  or  who  is  so 
attached  to  one,  that  he  is  willing  to  lay 
down  his  life  as  the  evidence  of  his  con¬ 
viction  and  attachment.  The  word,  as 
used  here,  refers  to  those  who,  during 
this  period  of  “forty  and  two  months,” 
would  thus  be  witnesses  for  Christ  in  the 
world :  that  is,  who  would  bear  their 
testimony  to  the  truth  of  his  religion  ;  to 
the  doctrines  which  he  had  revealed; 
and  to  what  was  required  of  man  —  who 
would  do  this  amidst  surrounding  error 
and  corruption,  and  when  exposed  to 
persecutions  and  trials  on  account  of 
their  belief.  It  is  not  uncommon  in  the 
Scriptures  to  represent  the  righteous  as 
witnesses  for  God.  See  Notes  on  Isa. 
xliii.  10,  12,  xliv.  8.  And  they  shall 
prophesy.  The  word  prophesy  does  not 
necessarily  mean  that  they  would  pre¬ 
dict  future  events ;  but  the  sense  is,  that 
they  would  give  utterance  to  the  truth 
as  God  had  revealed  it.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  x.  11.  The  sense  here  is,  that  they 
would  in  some  public  manner,  hold  up 
or  maintain  the  truth  before  the  world. 


4  These  are  the  two  b  olive-trees, 
and  the  two  candlesticks  c  standing 
before  the  God  of  the  earth. 

•  b  Je.  11. 16;  Zee.  4.  3,  11, 14.  c  c.  1.  20. 


A  thousand  tico  hundred  and  three 
score  days.  The  same  period  as  the 
forty  and  two  months  (ver.  2),  though 
expressed  in  a  different  form.  Reckon¬ 
ing  a  day  for  a  year,  this  period  would 
be  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  or 
the  same  as  the  “  time,  and  times,  and 
dividing  of  time”  in  Daniel  vii.  25.  See 
Notes  on  that  place.  The  meaning  of 
this  would  be,  therefore,  that  during  that 
long  period  in  which  it  is  said  that  “  the 
holy  city  would  be  trodden  under  foot,” 
there  would  be  those  who  might  be  pro¬ 
perly  called  “witnesses”  for  God,  and 
who  would  be  engaged  in  holding  up 
his  truth  before  the  world ;  that  is,  there 
would  be  no  part  of  that  period  in  which 
there  would  not  be  found  some  to  whom 
this  appellation  could  with  propriety  be 
given.  Though  the  “holy  city”  —  the 
church — would  seem  to  be  wholly  trodden 
down,  yet  there  would  be  a  few  at  least 
who  would  assert  the  great  doctrines 
of  true  godliness.  Clothed  in  sack¬ 
cloth.  Sackcloth — c&kkos — was  properly 
a  coarse  black  cloth  commonly  made  of 
hair,  used  for  sacks,  for  straining,  and 
for  mourning  garments.  See  Notes  on 
Rev.  vi.  12;  on  Isa.  iii.  24;  and  on 
Matt.  xi.  21.  Here  it  is  an  emblem  of 
mourning;  and  the  idea  is,  that  they 
would  prophesy  in  the  midst  of  grief. 
This  would  indicate  that  the  time  would 
be  one  of  calamity,  or  that,  in  doing 
this,  there  would  be  occasion  for  their 
appearing  in  the  emblems  of  grief,  rather 
than  in  robes  expressive  of  joy.  The 
most  natural  interpretation  of  this  is, 
that  there  would  be  but  few  who  could 
be  regarded  as  true  witnesses  for  God  in 
the  world,  and  that  they  would  be  ex¬ 
posed  to  persecution. 

4.  These  are  the  two  olive-trees.  These 
are  represented  by  the  two  olive-trees, 
or  these  are  what  are  symbolized  by  the 
two  olive-trees.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  there  is  an  allusion  here  to 
Zech.  iv.  3,  11,  14,  thoug"h  the  imagery 
is  in  some  respects  changed.  The  pro¬ 
phet  (Zech.  iv.  2,  3)  saw  in  vision  “a 
candlestick  all  of  gold,  and  a  bowl  upon 
the  top  of  it,  and  his  seven  lamps 
thereon,  and  seven  pipes  to  the  seven 


308 


KEVELATION, 


[4..  D.  96. 


5  And  if  any  man  will  hurt 
them,  °  fire  proceedeth  out  of  their 
mouth,  and  devoureth  their  ene- 
a  Ps.  18.  8. 


lamps,  which  were  upon  the  top  thereof ; 
and  two  olive-trees  by  it;  one  upon  the 
right  side  of  the  bowl,  and  the  other 
upon  the  left  side  thereof.”  These  two 
“olive-branches”  were  subsequently  de¬ 
clared  (ver.  14)  to  be  “the  two  anointed 
ones,  that  stand  by  the  Lord  of  the 
whole  earth.”  The  olive-trees,  or  olive- 
branches  (ver.  12),  appear  in  the  vision 
of  the  prophet  to  have  been  connected 
with  the  ever-burning  lamp,  by  golden 
pipes,  and  as  the  olive-tree  produced 
the  oil  used  by  the  ancients  in  their 
lamps,  these  trees  are  represented  as 
furnishing  a  constant  supply  of  oil 
through  the  golden  pipes  to  the  candle¬ 
stick,  and  thus  they  become  emblematic 
of  the  supply  of  grace  to  the  church. 
John  uses  this  emblem,  not  in  the  sense 
exactly  in  which  it  was  employed  by  the 
prophet,  but  to  denote  that  these  two 
“  witnesses,”  which  might  be  compared 
with  the  two  olive-trees,  would  be  the 
means  of  supplying  grace  to  the  church. 
As  the  olive-tree  furnished  oil  for  the 
lamps,  the  two  trees  here  would  seem 
properly  to  denote  ministers  of  religion  ; 
and  as  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  candlesticks,  or  lamp-bearers,  denote 
churches,  the  sense  would  appear  to  be 
that  it  was  through  the  pastors  of  the 
churches  that  the  oil  of  grace  which 
maintained  the  brightness  of  those  mys¬ 
tic  candlesticks,  or  the  churches,  was 
conveyed.  The  image  is  a  beautiful  one, 
and  expresses  a  truth  of  great  im¬ 
portance  to  the  world: — for  God  has 
designed  that  the  lamp  of  piety  shall  be 
kept  burning  in  the  churches  by  truth 
supplied  through  ministers  and  pastors. 

And  the  tico  candlesticks.  The  pro¬ 
phet  Zechariah  saw  but  one  such  can¬ 
dlestick  or  lamp-bearer;  John  here  saw 
two  —  as  there  are  two  “  witnesses”  re¬ 
ferred  to.  In  the  vision  described  in 
ch.  i.  12,  he  saw  seven — representing  the 
seven  churches  of  Asia.  For  an  expla¬ 
nation  of  the  meaning  of  the  symbol, 
see  Notes  on  that  verse.  Standing 
before  the  God  of  the  earth.  So  Zech.  iv. 
14,  “  These  be  the  two  anointed  ones, 
that  stand  by  the  Lord  of  the  whole 
earth.”  The  meaning  is,  that  they  stood, 


mies:  and  if  any  man  will  hurt 
them,  he  must  in  this  manner  he 
killed.  * 

b  Nu.  16.  35.  Hos.  6.  5. 


as  it  were,  in  the  very  presence  of  God — 
as  in  the  tabernacle  and  temple,  the 
golden  candlestick  stood  “before”  the 
ark  on  which  was  the  symbol  of  the 
divine  presence,  though  separated  from 
it  by  a  veil.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  13. 
This  representation  that  the  ministers 
of  religion  “  stand  before  the  Lord;”  is 
one  that  is  not  uncommon  in  the  Bible. 
Thus  it  is  said  of  the  priests  and  Levites 
(Deut.  x.  8),  “  The  Lord  separated  the 
tribes  of  Levi,  to  stand  before  the  Lord, 
to  minister  unto  him,  and  to  bless  his 
name.”  Comp.  Deut.  xviii.  7.  The 
same  thing  is  said  of  the  prophets,  as  in 
the  cases  of  Elijah  and  Elisha:  “  As 
the  Lord  liveth,  before  whom,  I  stand.” 
1  Kings  xvii.  1,  xviii.  15 ;  2  Kings  iii. 
14,  v.  16;  comp.  Jer.  xv.  19.  The  re¬ 
presentation  is,  that  they  ministered,  as 
it  were,  constantly  in  his  presence,  and 
under  his  eye. 

5.  And  if  any  man  tcill  hurt  them. 
This  implies  that  there  would  be  those 
who  would  be  disposed  to  injure  or 
wrong  them;  that  is,  that  they  would 
be  liable  to  persecution.  The  word 
‘will’  is  here  more  than  the  mere  sign 
of  the  future ;  it  denotes  intention,  pur¬ 
pose,  design — S£\jt — ‘if  any  man  wills 
or  purposes  to  injure  them.’  See  a  simi¬ 
lar  use  of  the  word  in  1  Tim.  vi.  9.  The 
word  hurt  here  means  to  do  injury  or 
injustice  —  afiucrjaai  —  and  may  refer  to 
wrong  in  any  form — whether  in  respect 
to  their  character,  opinions,  persons,  or 
property.  The  general  sense  is,  *  that 
there  would  be  those  who  would  be  dis¬ 
posed  to  do  them  harm,  and  we  should 
naturally  look  for  the  fulfilment  of  this 
in  some  form  of  persecution,  Fire 
proceedeth  out  of  their  mouth.  It  is,  of 
course,  not  necessary  that  this  should 
be  taken  literally.  The  meaning  is, 
that  they  would  have  the  power  of  de¬ 
stroying  their  enemies  as  if  fire  should 
proceed  out  of  their  mouth;  that  is, 
their  words  would  be  like  burning  coals 
or  flames.  There  may  possibly  be  an 
allusion  here  to  2  Kings  i.  10-14,  where 
it  is  said  that  Elijah  commanded  the  fire 
to  descend  from  heaven  to  consume 
those  who  were  sent  to  take  him  (comp. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


309 


A.  D.  96.] 


6  These  0  have  power  to  shut 
heaven,  that  it  rain  not  in  the  days 
of  their  prophecy :  and  have  power 
a  1  Ki.  17.  l. 


Luke  ix.  54) ;  but  in  that  case  Elijah 
commanded  the  fire  to  come  ‘from  hea¬ 
ven,’  here  it  proceeded  ‘out  of  the 
mouth.’  The  allusion  here,  therefore, 
is  to  the  denunciations  which  they  would 
utter,  or  the  doctrines  which  they  would 
preach,  and  which  would  have  the  same 
effect  on  their  enemies  as  if  they  breathed 
forth  fire  and  flame.  So  Jeremiah  v.  14, 
“  Because  ye  speak  this  word,  behold  I 
will  make  my  words  in  thy  mouth  fire, 
and  this  people  wood,  and  it  shall  de¬ 
vour  them.”  And  devoureth  their  ene¬ 
mies.  The  word  devour  is  often  used 
with  reference  to  fire,  which  seems  to 
eat  up  or  consume  what  is  in  its  way,  or 
to  feed  on  that  which  it  destroys.  This 
is  the  sense  of  the  word  here  —  kotcuSUi 
—  ‘to  eat  down,  to  swallow  down,  to 
devour.’  Comp.  ch.  xx.  9.  Sept.  Isa. 
xxix.  6 ;  Joel  ii.  5 ;  Lev.  x.  2.  As  there 
is  no  reason  to  believe  that  there  would 
be  literal  fire,  so  it  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  their  enemies  would  be 
literally  devoured  or  consumed.  The 
meaning  is  fulfilled  if  their  words  should 
in  any  way  produce  an  effect  on  their 
enemies  similar  to  what  is  produced  by 
fire :  that  is,  if  it  should  destroy  their 
influence;  if  it  should  overcome  and 
subdue  them;  if  it  should  annihilate 
their  domination  in  the  world.  And 
if  any  man  will  hurt  them.  This  is  re¬ 
peated  in  order  to  make  the  declaration 
more  intensive,  and  also  to  add  another 
thought  about  the  effect  of  persecuting 
and  injuring  them.  ^  He  must  in  this 
manner  he  hilled.  That  is,  in  the  man¬ 
ner  specified — by  fire.  It  does  not  mean 
that  he  would  be  killed  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  the  ‘witnesses’  were 
killed,  but  in  the  method  specified  be¬ 
fore — by  the  fire  that  should  proceed 
out  of  their  mouth.  The  meaning  is, 
undoubtedly,  that  they  would  have 
power  to  bring  down  on  them  divine 
vengeance  or  punishment,  so  that  there 
would  be  a  just  retaliation  for  the  wrongs 
done  them. 

6.  These  have  power  to  shut  heaven. 
That  is,  so  far  as  rain  is  concerned — for 
this  is  immediately  specified.  There  is 
probably  reference  here  to  an  ancient 


over  waters 1  to  turn  them  to  blood, 
and  to  smite  the  earth  with  all 
plagues,  as  often  as  they  will. 

b  Ex.  7. 19. 


opinion  that  the  rain  was  kept  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  as  in  reservoirs  or  bot¬ 
tles,  and  that  when  they  were  opened  it 
rained;  when  they  were  closed  it  ceased 
to  rain.  So  Job  xxvi.  8,  “He  bindeth 
up  the  waters  in  the  thick  clouds,  and 
the  cloud  is  not  rent  under  them.” 
xxxvi.  28,  “  Which  the  clouds  do  drop 
and  distil  upon  man  abundantly.” 
xxxviii.  37,  “  Who  can  number  the 
clouds  in  wisdom,  or  who  can  stay  the 
bottles  of  heaven  ?”  Comp.  Gen.  i.  7, 
vii.  2,  viii.  2 ;  2  Kings  vii.  2.  To  shut 
or  close  up  the  heavens,  therefore,  is  to 
restrain  the  rain  from  descending,  or  to 
produce  a  drought.  Comp.  Notes  on 
James  v.  17.  That  it  rain  not  in  the 
days  of  their  prophecy.  In  the  time 
when  they  prophesy.  Probably  the  al¬ 
lusion  here  is  to  what  is  said  of  Elijah, 
1  Kings  xvii.  1.  This  would  properly 
refer  to  some  miraculous  power;  but 
still  it  may  be  used  to  denote  merely 
that  they  would  be  clothed  with  the 
power  of  causing  blessings  to  be  withheld 
from  men,  as  if  rain  were  withheld; 
that  is,  that  in  consequence  of  the  cala¬ 
mities  that  would  be  brought  upon  them, 
and  the  persecutions  which  they  would 
endure,  God  would  bring  judgments 
upon  men  as  if  they  were  clothed  with 
this  power.  The  language,  therefore,  it 
seems  to  me,  does  not  necessarily  imply 
that  they  would  have  the  power  of  work¬ 
ing  miracles.  And  have  power  over 
waters  to  turn  them  to  blood.  The  allu¬ 
sion  here  is  doubtless  to  what  occurred 
in  Egypt,  Ex.  vii.  17.  Comp.  Notes  on 
ch.  viii.  8.  This,  too,  would  literally 
denote  the  power  of  working  a  miracle ; 
but  still  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to 
suppose  that  this  is  intended.  Any  thing 
that  would  be  represented  by  turning 
waters  into  blood,  would  correspond  with 
all  that  is  necessarily  implied  in  the  lan¬ 
guage.  If  any  great  calamity  should 
occur  in  consequence  of  what  was  done 
to  them  that  would  be  properly  repre¬ 
sented  by  turning  the  waters  into  blood 
so  that  they  could  not  be  used,  and  that 
was  so  connected  with  the  treatment 
which  they  received  as  to  appear  to  be 
a  judgment  of  heaven  on  that  aocount, 


310 


REVELATION, 


7  And  when  they  shall  have 


or  that  would  appear  to  have  come  upon 
the  world  in  consequence  of  their  impre¬ 
cations,  it  would  be  all  that  is  necessa¬ 
rily  implied  in  this  language.  And  to 
smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues.  All 
kinds  of  plague  or  calamity;  disease, 
pestilence,  famine,  flood,  <fcc.  The  word 
plague — tt Xriyrj — which  means,  properly, 
stroke,  stripe,  blow,  would  include  any 
or  all  of  these.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  great  calamities  would  follow  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  treated,  as 
a/ the  power  were  lodged  in  their  hands. 

As  often  as  they  will.  So  that  it 
would  seem  that  they  could  exercise 
this  power  as  they  pleased. 

7.  And  ichen  they  shall  have  finished 
their  testimony.  Prof.  Stuart  renders 
this,  “  And  whenever  they  shall  have 
finished  their  testimony.”  The  reference 
is  undoubtedly  to  a  period  when  they 
should  have  faithfully  borne  the  testi¬ 
mony  which  they  were  appointed  to 
hear.  The  word  here  rendered  “  shall 
have  finished”  —  rthiamai,  from  reXtu  — 
means  properly  to  end,  to  finish,  to  com¬ 
plete,  to  accomplish.  It  is  used,  in  this 
respect,  in  two  senses  —  either  in  regard 
to  time,  or  in  regard  to  the  end  or  object 
in  view,  in  the  sense  of  perfecting  it,  or 
accomplishing  it.  In  the  former  sense 
it  is  employed  in  such  passages  as  the 
following  : — Rev.  xx.  3,  “  Till  the  thou¬ 
sand  years  should  be  fulfilled Matt, 
x.  23,  “Ye  shall  not  have  gone  over  the 
cities  of  Israel  [Gr.,  ye  shall  not  have 
finished  the  cities  of  Israel]  till  the  Son 
of  man  be  come that  is,  ye  shall  not 
have  finished  passing  through  them; 
Matt.  xi.  1,  “When  Jesus  had  made  an 
end  [Gr.,  finished ]  of  commanding  his 
twelve  disciples;”  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  “I  have 
finished  my  course.”  In  these  passages 
it  clearly  refers  to  time.  In  the  other 
sense  it  is  used  in  such  places  as  the 
following  : — Rom.  ii.  27,  “  And  shall  not 
the  uncircumcision  which  is  by  nature, 
if  it  f  ulfil  the  law ;”  that  is,  if  it  accom¬ 
plish,  or  come  up  to  the  demands  of  the 
law ;  James  ii.  8,  “  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal 
law,  according  to  the  Scriptures.”  The 
word,  then,  may  here  refer  not  to  time, 
meaning  that  these  events  would  occur 
at  the  end  of  the  ‘  thousand  two  hundred 
and  threescore  days/  but  to  the  fact  that 
what  is  here  stated  would  occur  when 


[A.  D.  96. 

finished  their  testimony,  the  beast  ° 

a  c.  17. 18. 


they  had  completed  their  testimony  in 
the  sense  of  having  testified  all  that 
they  were  appointed  to  testify ;  that  is, 
when  they  had  borne  full  witness  for 
God,  and  fully  uttered  his  truth.  Thus 
understood,  the  meaning  here  may  be 
that  the  event  here  referred  to  would 
take  place,  not  at  the  end  of  the  1260 
years,  but  at  that  period  during  the 
1260  years  when  it  could  be  said  with 
propriety  that  they  had  accomplished 
their  testimony  in  the  world,  or  that 
they  had  borne  full  and  ample  witness 
on  the  points  entrusted  to  them,  The 
beast.  This  is  the  first  time  in  the  book 
of  Revelation  in  which  what  is  here  called 
‘the  beast’  is  mentioned,  and  which 
has  so  important  an  agency  in  the  events 
which  it  is  said  would  occur.  It  is  re¬ 
peatedly  mentioned  in  the  course  of  the 
book,  and  always  with  similar  charac¬ 
teristics,  and  as  referring  to  the  same 
object.  Here  it  is  mentioned  as  ‘  ascend¬ 
ing  out  of  the  bottomless  pit;’  in  ch. 
xiii.  1,  as  ‘rising  up  out  of  the  sea;’  in 
ch.  xiii.  11,  as  ‘  coming  out  of  the  earth.’ 
It  is  also  mentioned  with  characteristics 
appropriate  to  such  an  origin,  in  ch. 
xiii.  2,  3,  4  (twice),  11,  12  (twice),  14 
(twice),  15  (twice),  17,  18 ;  xiv,  9,  11 ; 
xv.  2 ;  xvi.  2, 10, 13 ;  xvii.  3,  7,  8  (twice), 
11,  12,  13,  16,  17 ;  xix.  19,  20  (twice) ; 
xx.  4,  10.  The  word  here  used — Sri pt'ov 
means  properly  a  beast,  a  wild  beast. 
Mark  i.  13 ;  Acts  x.  12,  xi.  6,  xxviii.  4, 
5 ;  Heb.  xii.  20 ;  James  iii.  7 ;  Rev.  vi.  8. 
It  is  once  used  tropically  of  brutal  or 
savage  men,  Titus  i.  12.  Elsewhere,  in 
the  passages  above  referred  to  in  the 
Apocalypse,  it  is  used  symbolically.  As 
employed  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  the 
characteristics  of  the  ‘  beast’  are  strongly 
marked,  (a)  It  has  its  origin  from  be¬ 
neath— in  the  bottomless  pit;  the  sea; 
the ‘earth,  ch.  xi.  7,  xiii.  1,  11.  (6)  It 

has  great  poxcer,  ch.  xiii.  4,  12,  xvii.  12, 
13.  (c)  It  claims  and  receives  worship, 

ch.  xiii.  3,  12,  14,  15,  xiv.  9,  11,  (d)  It 

has  a  certain  ‘  seat'  or  throne  from 
whence  its  power  proceeds,  ch.  xvi.  10. 
(e)  It  is  of  scarlet  color,  ch.  xvii.  3. 
(/)  It  receives  power  conferred  upon  it 
by  the  kings  of  the  earth,  ch.  xvii.  13. 
( g )  It  has  a  mark  by  which  it  is  known, 
ch.  xiii.  17,  xix.  20.  ( h )  It  has  a  cer¬ 

tain  ‘number;’  that  is,  there  are  certain 


311 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XI. 


that  ascendeth  out  of  the  bottom¬ 
less  pit  shall  make  a  war  against 

a  Da.  7.21;  Zee.  14.  2,  Ac. 

mystical  letters  or  figures  which  so  ex¬ 
press  its  name  that  it  maybe  known, 
ch.  xii.  17,  18.  These  things  serve  to 
characterize  the  '  beast’  as  distinguished 
from  all  other  things,  and  they  are  so 
numerous  and  definite,  that  it  would 
seem  to  have  been  intended  to  make  it 
easy  to  understand  what  was  meant 
when  the  power  referred  to  should  ap¬ 
pear.  In  regard  to  the  origin  of  the 
imagery  here,  there  can  be  no  reason¬ 
able  doubt  that  it  is  to  be  traced  to 
Daniel,  and  that  the  writer  here  means 
to  describe  the  same  'beast'  which 
Daniel  refers  to  in  ch.  vii.  7.  The  evi¬ 
dence  of  this  must  be  clear  to  any  one 
who  will  compare  the  description  in 
Daniel  (ch.  vii.),  with  the  minute  de¬ 
tails  in  the  book  of  Revelation.  No  one, 
I  think,  can  doubt  that  John  means  to 
■  carry  forward  the  description  in  Daniel, 
and  to  apply  it  to  new  manifestations  of 
the  same  great  and  terrific  power  —  the 
power  of  the  fourth  monarchy  —  on  the 
earth.  For  full  evidence  that  the  repre¬ 
sentation  in  Daniel  refers  to  the  Roman 
power  prolonged  and  perpetuated  in  the 
Papal  dominion,  I  must  refer  the  reader 
to  the  Notes  on  ch.  vii.  25,  of  Daniel.  It 
may  be  assumed  here  that  the  opinion 
there  defended  is  correct,  and  conse¬ 
quently  it  may  be  assumed  that  the 
‘  beast’  of  this  book  refers  to  the  Papal 
power,  That  ascendeth  out  of  the  bot¬ 
tomless  pit.  See  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  1. 
This  would  properly  mean  that  its  origin 
is  the  nether  world;  or  that  it  will 
have  characteristics  which  will  show 
that  it  was  from  beneath.  The  meaning 
clearly  is,  that  which  was  symbolized  by 
the  beast  would  have  such  characteristics 
as  to  show  that  it  was  not  of  divine 
origin,  but  had  its  source  in  the  world 
of  darkness,  sin,  and  death.  This  of 
course  could  not  represent  the  true 
church,  or  any  civil  government  that  is 
founded  on  principles  which  God  ap¬ 
proves.  But  if  it  represent  a  community 
pretending  to  be  a  church,  it  is  an  apos¬ 
tate  church ;  if  a  civil  community,  it  is 
a  community  the  characteristics  of  which 
are  that  it  is  controlled  by  the  Spirit 
that  rules  over  the  world  beneath.  For 
reasons  which  we  shall  see  in  abundance 


them,  and  shall  overcome  them, 
and  kill  them. 

8  And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie 


in  applying  the  descriptions  which  ocour 
of  the  ‘beast,’  I  regard  this  as  referring 
to  that  great  apostate  power  which  occu¬ 
pies  so  much  of  the  prophetic  descrip¬ 
tions— the  Papacy,  Shall  make  war 
against  them.  Will  endeavor  to  exter¬ 
minate  them  by  force.  This  clearly  is 
not  intended  to  be  a  general  statement 
that  they  would  be  persecuted,  but  to 
refer  to  the  particular  manner  in  which 
the  opposition  would  be  conducted.  It 
would  be  in  the  form  of  ‘war/  that  is, 
there  would  be  an  effort  to  destroy  them 
by  arms.  And  shall  overcome  them. 
Shall  gain  the  victory  over  them ;  con¬ 
quer  them  —  vtKf/au  avrobs.  That  is, 
there  will  be  some  signal  victory  in 
which  those  represented  by  the  two 
witnesses  will  be  subdued.  And  kill 
them.  That  is,  an  effect  would  be  pro¬ 
duced  as  if  they  were  put  to  death. 
They  would  be  overcome;  would  be 
silenced;  would  be  apparently  dead. 
Any  event  that  would  cause  them  to 
cease  to  bear  testimony,  as  if  they  were 
dead,  would  be  properly  represented  by 
this.  It  would  not  be  necessary  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  there  would  be  literally  death 
in  the  case,  but  that  there  would  be  some 
event  which  would  be  well  represented 
by  death  —  such  as  an  entire  suspension 
of  their  prophesying  in  consequence  of 
force. 

8.  And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie  in 
the  street.  Prof.  Stuart,  “shall  be  in  the 
street.”  The  words  ‘  shall  lie’  are  sup¬ 
plied  by  the  translators,  but  not  impro¬ 
perly.  The  literal  rendering  would  be, 
‘and  their  corpses  upon  the  street  of  the 
great  city ;’  and  the  meaning  is,  that 
there  would  be  a  state  of  things  in  re¬ 
gard  to  them  which  would  be  well 
represented  by  supposing  them  to  lie 
unburied.  To  leave  a  body  unburied  is 
to  treat,  it  with  contempt,  and  among 
the  ancients  nothing  was  regarded  as 
more  dishonorable  than  such  treatment. 
See  the  Ajax  of  Sophocles.  Among  the 
Jews  also  it  was  regarded  as  a  special 
indignity  to  leave  the  dead  unburied, 
and  hence  they  are  always  represented 
as  deeply  solicitous  to  secure  the  inter¬ 
ment  of  their  dead.  See  Gen.  xxiii.  4. 
Comp.  2  Sam.  xxi.  9-13;  Eccl.  vi.  3; 


312 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


in  the  street  •  of  the  great  city, 
which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  b 
a  He.  13. 12.  I  Is.  1. 10. 


Isa.  xiv.  18-20,  xxii.  16,  liii.  9.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that,  for  the  time  spe¬ 
cified,  those  who  are  here  referred  to 
would  be  treated  with  indignity  and 
contempt.  In  the  fulfilment  of  this,  we 
are  not,  of  course,  to  look  for  any  literal 
accomplishment  of  what  is  here  said,  but 
for  some  treatment  of  the  ‘witnesses’ 
which  would  be  well  represented  by  this ; 
that  is,  which  would  show  that  they  were 
treated,  after  they  were  silenced,  like 
unburied  corpses  putrefying  in  the  sun. 
f  Of  the  great  city.  Where  these  trans¬ 
actions  would  occur.  As  a  great  city 
would  be  the  agent  in  putting  them  to 
death,  so  the  result  would  be  as  if  they 
were  publicly  exposed  in  its  streets. 
The  word  ‘great’  here  supposes  that  the 
city  referred  to  would  be  distinguished 
for  its  size — a  circumstance  of  some  im¬ 
portance  in  determining  the  place  re¬ 
ferred  to.  Which  spiritually  is  called 
—  TrvtvfiaTucHs.  This  word  occurs  only 
in  one  other  place  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  (1  Cor.  ii.  14),  “because  they  are 
spiritually  discerned,”  where  it  means, 
‘  in  accordance  with  the  Holy  Spirit,’  or 
‘  through  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit.’ 
Here  it  seems  to  be  used  in  the  sense  of 
metaphorically,  or  allegorically,  in  con¬ 
tra-distinction  from  the  literal  and  real 
name.  There  may  possibly  be  an  inti¬ 
mation  here  that  the  city  is  so  called  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  designate  its  real 
character,  but  still  the  essential  meaning 
is,  that  that  was  not  its  literal  name. 
For  some  reason,  the  real  name  is  not 
given  to  it,  but  such  descriptions  are 
applied  as  are  designed  to  leave  no  doubt 
as  to  what  is  intended.  Sodom.  So¬ 
dom  was  distinguished  for  its  wicked¬ 
ness,  and  especially  for  that  vice  to 
which  its  abominations  have  given  name. 
For  the  character  of  Sodom,  see  Gen. 
xviii.,  xix.  Comp.  2  Pet.  ii.  6.  In  en¬ 
quiring  what  ‘city’  is  here  referred  to, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  find  in  it  such 
abominations  as  characterized  Sodom, 
or  so  much  wickedness  that  it  would  be 
proper  to  call  it  Sodom.  If  it  shall  be 
found  that  this  was  designed  to  refer  to 
Papal  Rome,  no  one  can  doubt  that  the 
abominations  which  prevailed  there, 
would  justify  such  an  appellation. 


and  Egypt,  ‘  where  also  our  Lord 
was  crucified. 

c  Ex.  20. 2. 


Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  20,  21.  And 
Egypt.  That  is,  it  would  have  such  a 
character  that  the  name  Egypt  might  be 
properly  given  to  it.  Egypt  is  known, 
in  the  Scriptures,  as  the  land  of  oppres¬ 
sion —  the  land  where  the  Israelites,  the 
people  of  God,  were  held  in  cruel  bond¬ 
age.  Comp.  Ex.  i.-xv.  See  also  Ezek. 
xxiii.  8.  The  particular  idea,  then, 
which  seems  to  be  conveyed  here  is, 
that  the  ‘  city’  referred  to  would  be  cha¬ 
racterized  by  acts  of  oppression  and 
wrong  towards  the  people  of  God.  So 
far  as  the  language  is  concerned,  it 
might  apply  either  to  Jerusalem  or  to 
Rome — for  both  were  eminently  charac¬ 
terized  by  such  acts  of  oppression  toward 
the  true  children  of  God  as  to  make  it 
proper  to  compare  their  cruelties  with 
those  which  were  inflicted  on  the  Israel¬ 
ites  by  the  Egyptians.  Of  whichever 
of  these  places  the  course  of  the  exposi¬ 
tion  may  require  us  to  understand  this, 
it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  language 
is  such  as  is  strictly  applicable  to  either; 
though,  as  the  reference  is  rather  to 
Christians  than  to  the  ancient  people  of 
God,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  would 
be  most  natural  to  refer  it  to  Rome. 
More  acts  authorizing  persecution,  and 
designed  to  crush  the  true  people  of 
God,  have  gone  forth  from  Rome  than 
from  any  other  city  on  the  face  of  the 
earth ;  and  taking  the  history  of  the 
church  together,  there  is  no  place  that 
would  be  so  properly  designated  by  the 
term  here  employed.  Where  also  our 
Lord  was  crucified.  If  this  refers  to 
Jerusalem,  it  is  to  be  taken  literally ; 
if  to  another  city,  it  is  to  be  understood 
as  meaning  that  lie  was  practically  cru¬ 
cified  there ;  that  is,  that  the  treatment 
of  his  friends  —  his  church  —  was  such 
that  it  might  be  said  that  he  Was  ‘  cru¬ 
cified  afresh’  there ;  for  what  is  done  to 
his  church  may  be  said  to  be  done  to 
him.  Either  of  these  interpretations 
would  be  justified  by  the  use  of  the  lan¬ 
guage.  Thus  in  Heb.  vi.  6,  it  is  said  of 
apostates  from  the  true  faith  (comp. 
Notes  on  the  passage),  that  ‘  they  crucify 
to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh.’ 
If  the  passage  before  us  is  to  be  taken 
figuratively,  the  meaning  is,  that  aots 


CHAPTER  XI. 


313 


A.  D.  96.] 

9  And  they  of  the  people,  and 
kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations, 
Bhall  see  their  dead  bodies  three 
days  and  an  half,  and  shall  not 


would  be  performed  which  might  pro¬ 
perly  be  represented  as  crucifying  the 
Son  of  God;  that,  as  he  lives  in  his 
church,  the  acts  of  perverting  his  doc¬ 
trines,  and  persecuting  his  people,  would 
be  in  fact  an  act  of  crucifying  the  Lord 
again.  Thus  understood,  the  language 
is  strictly  applicable  to  Rome;  that 
is,  if  it  is  admitted  that  John  meant 
to  characterize  that  city,  he  has  em¬ 
ployed  such  language  as  a  Jewish  Chris¬ 
tian  would  naturally  use.  While,  there¬ 
fore,  it  must  be  admitted  th  at  the  language 
is  such  as  could  be  literally  applied  only 
to  Jerusalem,  it  is  still  true  that  it  is 
such  language  as  might  be  figuratively 
applied  to  any  other  city  strongly  resem¬ 
bling  that,  and  that  in  this  sense  it 
would  characterize  Rome  above  all  other 
cities  of  the  world.  The  common  read¬ 
ing  of  the  text  here  is  ‘our  Lord' — fjywv; 
the  text  now  regarded  as  correct,  how¬ 
ever  (Griesbach,  Tittmann,  Hahn),  is 
‘their  Lord’— avriov.  This  makes  no 
essential  difference  in  the  sense,  except 
that  it  directs  the  attention  more  parti¬ 
cularly  to  the  fact  that  they  were  treated 
like  their  own  Master. 

9.  And  they  of  the  people.  Some  of 
the  people  ;  a  part  of  the  people. — Ik  rdv 
Xa&v.  The  language  is  such  as  would 
be  employed  to  describe  a  scene  where 
a  considerable  portion  of  a  company  of 
people  should  be  referred  to,  without 
intending  to  include  all.  The  essential 
idea  is,  that  there  would  be  an  assem¬ 
blage  of  different  classes  of  people  to 
whom  their  carcases  would  be  exposed, 
and  that  they  would  come  and  look  upon 
them.  We  should  expect  to  find  the 
fulfilment  of  this  in  some  place  where, 
from  any  cause,  a  variety  of  people 
should  be  assembled  —  as  in  some  capi¬ 
tal,  or  some  commercial  city,  to  which 
they  would  be  naturally  attracted. 

Shall  see  their  dead  bodies.  That  is, 
a  state  of  things  will  occur  as  if  these 
witnesses  were  put  to  death,  and  their 
carcases  were  publicly  exposed.  Three 
days  and  an  half.  This  might  be  either 
literally  three  days  and  a  half,  or,  more 
in  accordance  with  the  usual  style  of 
27 


suffer  their  dead  bodies  to  be  put 
in  graves.  “ 

10  And  they  that  dwell  upon  the 
earth  shall  rejoice  over  them,  and 

a  Ps.  79.  3. 


this  book,  these  would  be  prophetic 
days;  that  is,  three  years  and  a  half. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  5,  15.  f  And 
shall  not  suffer  their  dead  bodies  to  be 
put  in  graves.  That  is,  there  would  be 
a  course  of  conduct  in  regard  to  these 
witnesses  such  as  would  be  shown  to 
the  dead  if  they  were  not  suffered  to 
be  decently  interred.  The  language 
used  here  —  ‘shall  not  suffer ■* —  seems 
to  imply  that  there  would  be  those 
who  might  be  disposed  to  show  them 
the  respect  evinced  by  interring  the 
dead,  but  that  this  would  not  be  per¬ 
mitted.  This  would  find  a  fulfilment, 
if,  in  a  time  of  persecution,  those  who 
had  borne  faithful  testimony  were  si¬ 
lenced  and  treated  with  dishonor,  and 
if  there  should  be  those  who  were  dis¬ 
posed  to  show  them  respect,  but  who 
would  be  prevented  by  positive  acts  on 
the  part  of  their  persecutors.  This  has 
often  been  the  case  in  persecution,  and 
there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  finding 
numerous  instances  in  the  history  of  the 
church,  to. which  this  language  would  be 
applicable. 

10.  And  they  that  dwell  upon  the 
earth  shall  rejoice  over  them.  Those 
dwelling  in  the  land  would  rejoice  over 
their  fall  and  ruin.  This  cannot,  of 
course,  mean  all  who  inhabit  the  globe, 
but,  according  to  the  usage  in  Scripture, 
those  who  dwell  in  the  country  where 
this  would  occur.  Comp.  Notes  on  Luke 

ii.  1.  We  now  affix  to  the  word  ‘earth’ 
an  idea  which  was  not  necessarily  im¬ 
plied  in  the  Hebrew  word  yiX  —  erete 

(comp.  Ex.  iii.  8,  xiii.  5;  Neh.  ix.  22; 
Deut.  xix.  2,  10,  xxviii.  12;  Joel  i.  2; 
Ps.  xxxvii.  9,  11,  22,  29,  xliv.  4 ;  Prov. 
ii.  21,  x.  30),  or  the  Greek  word  yi? — ge. 
Compare  Matt.  ii.  6,  20,  21,  xiv.  15 ; 
Acts  vii.  11,  36,  40,  xiii.  17.  Our  word 
land,  as  now  commonly  understood, 
would  better  express  the  idea  intended 
to  be  conveyed  here,  and  thus  under¬ 
stood  the  meaning  is  that  the  dwellers 
in  the  country  where  these  things  would 
happen  would  thus  rejoice.  The  mean¬ 
ing  is,  that  while  alive  they  would,  by 


314 


REVELATION. 


make  merry,  and  shall  send  gifts 
one  to  another ;  because  these  two 
prophets  tormented  them  that  dwelt 
on  the  earth. 

11  And  after  three  days  and 
an  half  the  Spirit  “  of  life  from 
a  Eze.  37.  5-14. 


their  faithful  testimony  against  existing 
errors,  excite  so  much  hatred  against 
themselves,  and  would  be  so  great  an 
annoyance  to  the  governing  powers, 
that  there  would  be  general  exultation 
when  the  voice  of  their  testimony  should 
be  silenced.  This,  too,  has  been  so  com¬ 
mon  in  the  world  that  there  would  be 
no  difficulty  in  applying  the  language 
here  used,  or  in  finding  events  which  it 
would  appropriately  describe.  And 
make  merry.  Be  glad.  See  Notes  on 
Luke  xii.  19,  xv.  23.  The  Greek  word 
does  not  necessarily  denote  the  light¬ 
hearted  mirth  expressed  by  our  word 
merriment,  but  rather  joy,  or  happiness 
in  general.  The  meaning  is,  that  they 
would  be  filled  with  joy  at  such  an 
event.  And  shall  send  gifts  one  to 
another.  As  expressive  of  their  joy.  To 
send  presents  is  a  natural  expression  of 
our  own  happiness,  and  our  desire  for  the 
happiness  of  others — as  is  indicated  now 
by  ‘  Christmas’  and  ‘New-Year’s  gifts.’ 
Comp,  also  Neh.  viii.  10-12,  “  Then  he 
said  unto  them,  Go  your  way,  eat  the 
fat,  and  drink  the  sweet,  and  send  por¬ 
tions  unto  them  for  whom  nothing  is 
prepared ;  for  this  day  is  holy  unto  our 
Lord :  neither  be  ye  sorry ;  for  the  joy 
of  the  Lord  is  your  strength.”  See  also 
Esther  ix.  19-22.  Because  these  two 
'prophets  tormented  those  that  dwelt  on 
the  earth.  They  ‘tormented’  them,  or 
were  a  source  of  annoyance  to  them,  by 
bearing  testimony  to  the  truth ;  by  op¬ 
posing  the  prevailing  errors;  and  by 
rebuking  the  vices  of  the  age ; — perhaps 
by  demanding  reformation,  and  by  de¬ 
nouncing  the  judgment  of  heaven  on  the 
guilty.  There  is  no  intimation  that  they 
tormented  them  in  any  other  way  than 
by  the  truths  which  they  held  forth. 
See  the  word  explained  in  the  Notes  on 
2  Pet.  ii.  8. 

11.  And  after  three  days  and  an  half. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  9.  ^  The  spirit  of 

life  from  God.  The  living,  or  life-giving 
spirit  that  proceeds  from  God,  entered 


[A.  D.  96. 

God  entered  into  them,  and  they 
stood  upon  their  feet,  and  great 
fear  fell  upon  them  which  saw 
them. 

12  And  they  heard  a  great  voice 
from  heaven  saying  unto  them, 
Come  up  hither.  And  they  as- 


into  them.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job  xxxiii. 
4.  There  is  evidently  allusion  here  to 
Gen.  ii.  7,  where  God  is  spoken  of  as  the 
Author  of  life.  The  meaning  is,  that 
they  would  seem  to  come  to  life  again, 
or  that  effects  would  follow  as  if  the 
dead  were  restored  to  life.  If,  when 
they  had  been  compelled  to  cease  from 
prophesying,  they  should,  after  the  inter¬ 
val  here  denoted  by  three  days  and  a 
half,  again  prophesy,  or  their  testimony 
should  be  again  borne  to  the  truth  as  it 
had  been  before,  this  would  evidently  be 
all  that  would  be  implied  in  the  lan¬ 
guage  here  employed.  Entered  into 
them.  Seemed  to  animate  them  again. 

And  they  stood  upon  their  feet.  As  if 
they  had  come  to  life  again,  And 
great  fear  fell  vpon  them  that  saw  them. 
This  would  be  true  if  those  who  were 
dead  should  be  literally  restored  to  life; 
and  this  would  be  the  effect  if  those  who 
had  given  great  annoyance  by  their  doc¬ 
trines,  and  who  had  been  silenced,  and 
who  seemed  to  be  dead,  should  again,  as 
if  animated  anew  by  a  divine  power, 
begin  to  prophesy,  or  to  proclaim  their 
doctrines  to  the  world.  The  statement 
in  the  symbol  is,  that  those  who  had 
put  them  to  death  had  been  greatly 
troubled  by  these  ‘  witnesses ;’  that  they 
had  sought  to  silence  them,  and  in  order 
to  this  had  put  them  to  death  ;  that  they 
then  greatly  rejoiced,  as  if  they  would  no 
more  be  annoyed  by  them.  The  fact 
that  they  seemed  to  come  to  life 
again  would,  therefore,  fill  them  with 
consternation,  for  they  would  anticipate 
a  renewal  of  their  troubles,  and  they 
would  see  in  this  fact  evidence  of  the 
divine  favor  towards  those  whom  they 
persecuted,  and  reason  to  apprehend 
divine  vengeance  on  themselves. 

12.  And  they  heard  a  great  voice  from 
Keaven.  Some  manuscripts  read  ‘  I 
heard’ — f/Kovaa — but  the  more  approved 
reading  is  that  of  the  common  text. 
J ohn  says  that  a  voice  was  addressed  to 
them  calling  them  to  ascend  to  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


315 


A.  D.  96.] 

cended  up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud ; a 
and  their  enemies  b  beheld  them. 

13  And  the  same  hour  tvas  there 
a  great  earthquake,  and  the  tenth 
part  of  the  city  c  fell,  and  in  the 
alTh.  4. 17.  b  Mai.  3.18. 


^  Come  up  hither.  To  heaven.  «[  And 
they  ascended  up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud. 
So  the  Saviour  ascended,  Acts  i.  9,  and 
so  probably  Elijah,  2  Kings  ii.  11.  f  And 
their  enemies  beheld  them.  That  is,  it 
was  done  openly,  so  that  their  enemies, 
who  had  put  them  to  death,  saw  that 
they  were  approved  of  God,  as  if  they 
had  been  publicly  takeu  up  to  heaAren. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  this 
would  literally  occur.  All  this  is,  mani¬ 
festly,  mere  symbol.  The  meaning  is, 
that  they  would  triumph  as  if  they 
should  ascend  to  heaven,  and  be  receiv¬ 
ed  into  the  presence  of  God.  The  sense 
of  the  whole  is,  that  these  witnesses,  after 
bearing  a  faithful  testimony  against 
prevailing  errors  and  sins,  would  be 
persecuted  and  silenced;  that  for  a  con¬ 
siderable  period  their  voice  of  faithful 
testimony  would  be  hushed  as  if  they 
were  dead;  that  during  that  period  they 
would  be  treated  with  contempt  and 
scorn,  as  if  their  unburied  bodies  should 
be  exposed  to  the  public  gaze ;  that  there 
would  be  general  exultation  and  joy  that 
they  were  thus  silenced ;  that  they  would 
again  revive,  as  if  the  dead  were  re¬ 
stored  to  life,  and  bear  a  faithful  testi¬ 
mony  to  the  truth  again,  and  that  they 
would  have  the  divine  attestation  in  their 
favor,  as  if  they  were  raised  up  visibly 
and  publicly  to  heaven. 

13.  And  the  same  hour.  In  immediate 
connexion  with  their  triumph,  ^f  Was 
there  a  great  earthquake.  An  earth¬ 
quake  is  a  symbol  of  commotion,  agita¬ 
tion,  change;  of  great  political  revolu¬ 
tions,  &c.  See  Notes  on  ch.  vi.  12.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  the  triumph  of  the 
witnesses,  represented  by  their  ascend¬ 
ing  to  heaven,  would  be  followed  by  such 
revolutions  as  ,  would  be  properly  sym¬ 
bolized  by  an  earthquake.  *[  And  the 
tenth  part  of  the  city  fell.  That  is,  the 
tenth  part  of  that  which  is  represented 
by  the  ‘city’  —  the  persecuting  power. 
A  city  would  be  the  seat  and  centre  of 
the  power,  and  the  acts  of  persecution 
would  seem  to  proceed  from  it ;  but  the 
destruction,  we  may  suppose,  would  ex- 


earthquako  were  slain  d  of  men 
seven  thousand :  and  the  remnant 
were  affrighted,  and  gave  ‘  glory  to 
the  God  of  heaven. 

e  c.  16. 19.  d  Names  of  men. 

e  Is.  26. 15, 16 ;  c.  14. 17. 


tend  to  all  that  was  represented  by  the 
persecuting  power.  The  word  ‘  tenth’  is 
probably  used  in  a  general  sense  to  de¬ 
note  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
persecuting  power  would  be  thus  in¬ 
volved  in  ruin ;  that  is,  that  in  respect 
to  that  power,  there  would  be  such  a 
revolution  —  such  a  convulsion  or  com¬ 
motion-such  a  loss,  that  it  would  be 
proper  to  represent  it  by  an  earthquake. 
IT  -And  in  the  earthquake.  In  the  con¬ 
vulsions  consequent  on  what  would  occur 
to  the  witnesses.  Were  slain  of 
men  seven  thousand.  Marg.,  as  in  the 
Greek,  ‘  names  of  men’ — the  name  being 
used  to  denote  the  men  themselves.  The 
number  here  mentioned — seven  thou¬ 
sand —  seems  to  have  been  suggested 
because  it  would  bear  some  proportion 
to  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  which  fell. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose,  in  seek¬ 
ing  for  the  fulfilment  of  this,  that  just 
seven  thousand  would  be  killed,  but  the 
idea,  clearly  is,  that  there  would  be  such 
a  diminution  of  numbers  as  would  be 
well  represented  by  a  calamity  that 
would  overwhelm  a  tenth  part  of  the 
city,  such  as  the  apostle  had  in  his  eye, 
and  a  proportional  number  of  the  inha¬ 
bitants.  The  number  that  would  be 
slain,  therefore,  in  the  convulsions  and 
changes  consequent  on  the  treatment  of 
the  witnesses,  might  be  numerically 
much  larger  than  seven  thousand,  and 
might  be  as  great  as  if  a  tenth  part  of 
all  that  were  represented  by  the  ‘city’ 
should  be  swept  away,  f  And  the  rem¬ 
nant  were  affrighted.  Fear  and  alarm 
came  on  them  in  consequence  of  these 
calamities.  The  ‘remnant’  hero  refers 
to  those  who  still  remained  in  the  ‘  city;’ 
that  is,  to  those  who  belonged  to  the 
community  or  people  designed  to  be  re¬ 
presented  here  by  the  city,  f  And  gave 
glory  to  the  God  of  heaven.  Comp.  Luke 
v.  26  : — “And  they  were  all  amazed,  and 
they  glorified  God,  and  were  filled  with 
fear,  saying,  We  have  seen  strange 
things  to-day.”  All  that  seems  to  be 
meant  by  this,  is,  that  they  stood  in  awe 
at  what  God  was  doing,  and  acknow- 


316 


REVEL 

14  The  second  °  woe  is  past; 

a  c.  S.  13. 


ledged  his  power  in  the  changes  that 
occurred.  It  does  not  mean,  necessarily, 
that  they  would  repent  and  become 
truly  his  friends,  but  that  there  would 
be  a  prevailing  impression  that  these 
changes  were  produced  by  his  power, 
and  that  his  hand  was  in  these  things. 
This  would  be  fulfilled  if  there  should 
be  a  general  willingness  among  man¬ 
kind  to  acknowledge  God,  or  to  recog¬ 
nize  his  hand  in  the  events  referred  to ; 
if  there  should  be  a  disposition  exten¬ 
sively  prevailing  to  regard  the  ‘  wit¬ 
nesses’  as  on  the  side  of  God,  and  to 
favor  their  cause  as  one  of  truth  and 
righteousness ;  and  if  these  convulsions 
should  so  far  change  public  sentiment 
as  to  produce  an  impression  that  theirs 
was  the  cause  of  God. 

14.  The  second  woe  is  past.  That  is, 
the  second  of  the  three  that  were  an¬ 
nounced  as  yet  to  come,  ch.  viii.  13  ; 
Comp.  ch.  ix.  12.  And,  behold,  the 
third  woe  cometh  quickly.  The  last  of 
the  series.  The  meaning  is,  that  that 
which  was  signified  by  the  third  ‘woe’ 
would  be  the  next,  and  final  event,  in 
order.  On  the  meaning  of  the  word 
‘quickly,’  see  Notes  on  ch.  i.  1;  comp, 
ch.  ii.  5,  16,  iii.  11,  xxii.  7,  12,  20. 

In  reference  now  to  the  important 
question  about  the  application  of  this 
portion  of  the  book  of  Revelation,  it 
need  hardly  be  said  that  the  greatest 
variety  of  opinion  has  prevailed  among 
expositors.  It  wonld  be  equally  un¬ 
profitable,  humiliating,  and  discourag¬ 
ing,  to  attempt  to  enumerate  all  the 
opinions  which  have  been  held,  and  I 
must  refer  the  reader  who  has  any 
desire  to  become  acquainted  with  them, 
to  Pool’s  Synopsis,  in  loc.,  and  to  the 
copious  statement  of  Prof.  Stuart,  Com., 
vol.  ii.  pp.  219-227.  Prof.  Stuart  him¬ 
self  supposes  that  the  meaning  is,  that 
“  a  competent  number  of  divinely  com¬ 
missioned  and  faithful  Christian  wit¬ 
nesses,  endowed  with  miraculous  powers, 
should  bear  testimony  against  the  cor¬ 
rupt  Jews,  during  the  last  days  of  their 
commonwealth,  respecting  their  sins ; 
that  they  should  proclaim  the  truths  of  the 
gospel;  and  that  the  Jews,  by  destroying 
them,  would  bring  upon  themselves  an 
aggravated  and  an  awful  doom.”  ii.  226. 


ATI  ON,  [A.D.96. 

and,  behold,  the  third  woe  cometh 
quickly. 


Instead  of  attempting  to  examine  in 
detail  the  opinions  which  have  been  held, 
I  shall  rather  state  what  seems  to  me  to 
be  the  fair  application  of  the  language 
used,  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
pursued  thus  far  in  the  exposition.  The 
enquiry  is,  whether  there  have  been  any 
events  to  which  this  language  is  ap¬ 
plicable,  or  in  reference  to  which,  if  it 
be  admitted  that  it  was  the  design  of 
the  Spirit  of  inspiration  to  describe 
them,  it  may  be  supposed  that  such 
language  would  be  employed  as  we  find 
here. 

In  this  enquiry,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  the  preceding  exposition  is  correct, 
and  the  application  now  to  be  made  must 
accord  with  that ;  that  is,  it  must  be  found 
that  events  occurred  in  such  times  and 
circumstances  as  would  be  consistent 
with  the  supposition  that  that  exposition 
is  correct.  It  is  to  be  assumed,  there¬ 
fore,  that  ch.  ix.  20,  21,  refers  to  the 
state  of  the  ecclesiastical  world  after  tho 
conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks, 
and  previous  to  the  Reformation;  that 
ch.  x.  refers  to  the  Reformation  itself; 
that  ch.  xi.  1,  2,  refers  to  the  necessity, 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  of  ascer¬ 
taining  what  was  the  true  church,  of 
reviving  the  Scripture  doctrine  respect¬ 
ing  the  atonement  and  justification,  and 
of  drawing  correct  lines  as  to  member¬ 
ship  in  the  church.  All  this  has  refer¬ 
ence,  according  to  this  interpretation,  to 
the  state  of  the  church  while  the  Papacy 
would  have  the  ascendency,  or  during 
the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  in 
which  it  would  trample  down  the  church 
as  if  the  holy  city  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  Gentiles.  Assuming  this  to  be  the 
correct  exposition,  then  what  is  here 
said  (vs.  3-13),  must  relate  to  that  pe¬ 
riod,  for  it  is  with  reference  to  that  same 
time  —  the  period  of  ‘a  thousand  two 
hundred  and  threescore  days’ — or  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years,  that  it  is  said 
(ver.  3)  the  witnesses  would  ‘prophesy’ 
— ‘  clothed  in  sackcloth.’  If  this  be  so, 
then  what  is  here  stated  (vs.  3-13)  must 
be  supposed  to  occur  during  the  ascen¬ 
dency  of  the  Papacy,  and  must  mean,  in 
general,  that  during  that  long  period  of 
apostasy,  darkness,  corruption,  and  sin, 
there  would  be  faithful  witnesses  for  the 


CHAPTER  XI. 


317 


A.  D.  96.] 


truth,  who,  though  they  were  few  in 
number,  would  be  sufficient  to  keep  up 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  on  the  earth, 
and  to  bear  testimony  against  the  pre¬ 
vailing  errors  and  abominations.  The 
object,  of  this  portion  of  the  book,  there¬ 
fore,  is  to  describe  the  character  of  the 
faithful  witnesses  for  the  truth  during 
this  long  period  of  darkness ;  to  state 
their  influence ;  to  record  their  trials  ; 
and  to  show  what  would  be  the  ultimate 
result  in  regard  to  them,  when  their 
'testimony’  should  become  triumphant. 
This  general  view  will  be  seen  to  accord 
with  the  exposition  of  the  previous  por¬ 
tion  of  the  book,  and  will  be  sustained, 
I  trust,  by  the  more  particular  enquiry 
into  the  application  of  the  passage  to 
which  I  now  proceed.  The  essential 
points  in  the  passage  (vs.  3-13)  respect¬ 
ing  the  'witnesses/  aro  six:  —  I.  who 
are  meant  by  the  witnesses ;  II.  the  war 
made  on  them;  III.  their  death;  IV. 
their  resurrection ;  V.  their  reception 
into  heaven ;  and  VI.  the  consequences 
of  their  triumph  in  the  calamity  that 
came  upon  the  city. 

I.  Who  are  meant  by  the  witnesses, 
ys.  3-6.  There  are  several  specifications 
in  regard  to  this  point,  which  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  notice,  (a)  The  fact  that,  during 
this  long  period  of  error,  corruption,  and 
sin,  there  were  those  who  were  faithful 
witnesses  for  the  truth  —  men  who  op¬ 
posed  the  prevailing  errors ;  who  main¬ 
tained  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  faith ;  and  who  were  ready  to  lay 
down  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  truth. 
For  a  full  confirmation  of  this,  it  would 
be  necessary  to  trace  the  histox-y  of  the 
church  down  from  the  rise  of  the  Papal 
power  through  the  long  lapse  of  the  sub¬ 
sequent  ages ;  but  such  an  examination 
would  be  far  too  extensive  for  the  purpose 
contemplated  in  these  Notes,  and,  indeed, 
would  require  a  volume  by  itself.  Hap¬ 
pily,  this  has  already  been  done;  and 
all  that  is  necessary  now  is  to  refer  to 
the  works  where  the  fact  here  affirmed 
has  been  abundantly  established.  In 
any  of  the  histories  of  the  church — Mo- 
sheim,  Neander,  Milner,  Milman,  G'iese- 
ler  —  most  ample  proof  may  be  found 
that  amidst  the  general  darkness  and 
corruption,  there  were  those  who  faith¬ 
fully  adhered  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  and  who,  amidst  many  sufferings, 
bore  their  testimony  against  prevailing 
errors.  The  investigation  has  been 
27* 


made,  also,  with  special  reference  to  an 
illustration  of  this  passage,  by  Mr. 
Elliott,  Horae  Apoca.  vol.  ii.  pp.  193- 
406 ;  and  although  it  must  be  admitted 
that  some  of  the  details  are  of  doubtful 
applicability,  yet  the  main  fact  is  abun¬ 
dantly  established,  that  during  that  long 
period  there  were  'witnesses’  for  the 
pure  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  a  faithful 
testimony  borne  against  the  abomina¬ 
tions  and  errors  of  the  Papacy.  These 
'witnesses’  are  divided  by  Mr.  Elliott 
into  (1)  the  earlier  Western  witnesses  — 
embracing  such  men,  and  their  follow¬ 
ers,  as  Serenus,  Bishop  of  Marseilles; 
the  Anglo-Saxon  church  in  England;* 
Agobard,  Archbishop  of  Lyons  from 
A.  D.  810  to  841,  on  the  one  side  of  the 
Alps,  and  Claude  of  Turin,  on  the  other ; 
Gotteschalcus,  A.  D.  884;  Berenger, 
Arnold  of  Brescia,  Peter  de  Bruys,  and 
his  disciple  Henry,  and  then  the  Wal- 
denses.  (2)  The  Eastern,  or  Paulikian 
line  of  witnesses,  a  sect  deriving  their 
origin,  about  A.  D.  653,  from  an  Arme¬ 
nian  by  the  name  of  Constantine,  who 
received  from  a  deacon,  by  whom  he  was 
hospitably  entertained,  a  present  of  two 
volumes,  very  rare,  one  containing  the 
gospels,  and  the  other  the  epistles  of 
Paul,  and  who  applied  himself  to  tho 
formation  of  a  new  sect  or  church,  dis¬ 
tinct  from  the  Manichaens,  and  from  the 
Greek  church.  In  token  of  the  nature 
of  their  profession,  they  adopted  the 
name  by  which  they  were  ever  after  dis¬ 
tinguished,  Paulikiani,  Paulicians,  or 
'  disciples  of  the  disciple  of  Paul.’  This 
sect  continued  to  bear  ‘  testimony’  in  the 
East  from  the  time  of  its  rise  till  the 
eleventh  or  twelfth  centuries,  when  it 
commenced  a  migration  to  the  West, 
where  it  bore  the  same  honorable  char¬ 
acter  for  its  attachment  to  the  truth. 
See  Elliott,  ii.  233-246,  275-315.  (3) 
Witnesses  duringthe  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries,  up  to  the  time  of  Peter  Waldo. 
Among  tlxese  are  to  be  noticed  those  who 
were  arraigned  for  heresy  before  the 
councils  of  Orleans,  Arras,  Thoulouse, 
Oxford,  and  Bombers,  in  the  years  1022, 
1025,  1119,  1160,  1165,  respectively,  and 
who  were  condemned  by  those  councils 


*  “An  old  Welsh  Chronicle  preserved  at  Cambridge, 
says,  ‘After  that  by  means  of  Austin  the  Saxons  be¬ 
came  Christians,  in  such  sort  as  Austin  had  taught  thsm, 
the  Britons  would  not  either  eat  or  drink  with  or  sa.  ute 
them  ;  because  they  corrupted  with  superstition ,  tm- 
ages,  and  idolatry ,  the  true  religion  of  Christ.’  ”  Cited 
in  Hearn’s  Man  of  Sin,  p.  21.  Elliott,  ii.  217. 


318 


REVELATION, 


for  their  departure  from  the  doctrines 
held  by  the  Papacy.  For  a  full  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  doctrines  held  by  those 
who  were  thus  condemned,  and  of  the 
fact  that  they  were  ‘witnesses’  for  the 
truth,  see  Elliott,  ii.  247-275.  ( d )  The 

Waldenses  and  Albigenses.  The  nature 
of  the  testimony  borne  by  these  perse¬ 
cuted  people  is  so  well  known  that  it  is 
not  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  subject; 
and  a  full  statement  of  their  testimony 
would  require  the  entire  transcription 
of  their  history.  No  Protestant  will 
doubt  that  they  were  ‘  witnesses’  for  the 
truth,  or  that  from  the  time  of  their  rise, 
through  all  the  periods  of  their  persecu¬ 
tion,  they  bore  full  and  honorable  testi¬ 
mony  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  The 
general  ground  of  this  claim  to  be  re¬ 
garded  as  Apocalyptic  witnesses,  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  summary  state¬ 
ments  of  their  doctrines.  Those  state¬ 
ments  are  found  in  a  work  called  “  The 
Noble  Lesson,”  written  within  some 
twenty  years  of  1170.  The  Treatise  be¬ 
gins  in  this  manner :  “  0  brethren,  hear 
a  Noble  Lesson.  We  ought  always  to 
watch  and  pray,”  Ac.  In  this  Treatise 
the  following  doctrines  are  drawn  out, 
says  Mr.  Elliott,  “  with  much  simplicity 
and  beauty  :  —  the  origin  of  sin  in  the 
fall  of  Adam;  its  transmission  to  all 
men,  and  the  offered  redemption  from  it 
through  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ;  the 
union  and  co-operation  of  the  three 
persons  of  the  blessed  Trinity  in  man’s 
salvation ;  the  obligation  and  spirituality 
of  the  moral  law  under  the  gospel ;  the 
duties  of  prayer,  watchfulness,  self-de¬ 
nial,  unworldliness,  humility,  love,  as 
‘the  way  of  Jesus  Christ;’  their  enforce¬ 
ment  by  the  prospeet  of  death  and  judg¬ 
ment,  and  the  world’s  near  ending;  by 
the  narrowness  too  of  the  way  of  life, 
and  the  fewness  of  those  who  find  it;  as 
also  by  the  hope  of  coming  glory  at  the 
judgment  and  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Besides  which  we  find  in  it  a  protest 
against  the  Romish  system  generally,  as 
one  of  soul-destroying  idolatry ;  against 
masses  for  the  dead,  and  therein  against 
the  whole  doctrine  of  purgatory ;  against 
the  system  of  the  confessional,  and 
asserted  power  of  the  priesthood  to 
absolve  from  sin ;  this  last  point  being 
insisted  on  as  the  most  deadly  point  of 
heresy,  and  its  origin  referred  to  the 
mercenariness  of  the  priesthood,  and 
their  love  of  money; — the  iniquity  fur¬ 


[A.  D.  96. 

ther  noticed  of  the  Romish  persecutions 
of  good  men  and  teachers  that  wished 
to  teach  the  way  of  Jesus  Christ;  and 
the  suspicion  half-hinted,  and  apparently 
half-formed,  that,  though  a  personal 
Antichrist  might  be  expected,  yet  Po¬ 
pery  itself  might  be  one  form  of  Anti¬ 
christ.”  In  another  work,  the  “  Treatise 
of  Antichrist,”  there  is  a  strong  and 
decided  identification  of  the  Antichris¬ 
tian  system  and  the  Papacy.  This  was 
written  probably  in  the  last  quarter  of 
the  14th  century.  “From  this,”  says 
Mr.  Elliott  (ii.  355),  “the  following  will 
appear  to  have  been  the  Waldensian 
views:  —  that  the  Papal  or  Romish  sys¬ 
tem  was  that  of  Antichrist;  which,  from 
infancy  in  apostolic  times,  had  grown 
gradually  by  the  increase  of  its  constitu¬ 
ent  parts  to  the  stature  of  a  full-grown 
man;  that  its  prominent  characteristics 
were  — to  defraud  God  of  the  worship 
due  to  Him,  rendering  it  to  creatures, 
whether  departed  saints,  relics,  images, 
or  Antichrist;  to  defraud  Christ,  by 
attributing  justification  and  forgiveness 
to  Antichrist’s  authority  and  words,  to 
saints’  intercession,  to  the  merits  of 
men’s  own  performances,  and  to  the  fire 
of  purgatory ;  —  to  defraud  the  Holy 
Spirit,  by  attributing  regeneration  and 
sanctification  to  the  opus  operatum  of 
the  two  sacraments ;  that  the  origin  of 
this  Anti-christian  religion  was  the  co¬ 
vetousness  of  the  priesthood;  its  ten¬ 
dency  to  lead  men  away  from  Christ ; 
its  essence  a  vain  ceremonial ;  its  foun¬ 
dation  the  false  notions  of  grace  and 
forgiveness.” 

This  work  is  so  important  as  a  ‘  testi¬ 
mony’  against  Antichrist  and  for  the 
truth,  and  is  so  clear  as  showing  that 
the  Papacy  was  regarded  as  Antichrist, 
that  I  will  copy,  from  the  work  itself, 
the  portion  containing  these  sentiments 
— sentiments  which  may  be  regarded  as 
expressing  the  uniform  testimony  of  the 
Waldenses  on  the  subject: 

“  Antichrist  is  the  falsehood  of  eternal 
damnation,  covered  with  the  appearance 
of  the  truth  and  righteousness  of  Christ 
and  his  spouse.  The  iniquity  of  such  a 
system  is  with  all  his  ministers,  great  and 
small :  —  and  inasmuch  as  they  follow 
the  law  of  an  evil  and  blinded  heart, 
such  a  congregation,  taken  together,  is 
called  Antichrist,  or  Babylon,  or  the 
Fourth  Beast,  or  the  Harlot,  or  the  Man 
of  Sin,  who  is  the  son  of  perdition. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


319 


A.  D.  96.] 


“  His  first  work  is,  that  the  service  of 
latria,  properly  due  to  God  alone,  he 
perverts  unto  Antichrist  himself  and  to 
his  doings ;  to  the  poor  creature,  rational 
or  irrational,  sensible  or  insensible ;  as, 
for  instance,  to  male  or  female  saints 
departed  this  life,  and  to  their  images, 
or  carcasses,  or  relics.  His  doings  are 
the  sacraments,  especially  that  of  the 
eucharist,  which  he  worships  equally 
with  God  and  Christ,  prohibiting  the 
adoration  of  God  alone. 

“  His  second  work  is,  that  he  robs  and 
deprives  Christ  of  the  merits  of  Christ, 
with  the  whole  sufficiency  of  grace,  and 
justification,  and  regeneration,  and  re¬ 
mission  of  sins,  and  sanctification,  and 
confirmation,  and  Spiritual  nourishment; 
and  imputes  and  attributes  them  to  his 
own  authority,  or  to  a  form  of  words,  or 
to  his  own  performances,  or  to  the  saints 
and  their  intercession,  or  to  the  fire  of 
purgatory.  Thus  he  divides  the  people 
from  Christ,  and  leads  them  away  to  the 
things  already  mentioned ;  that  so  they 
may  seek  not  the  things  of  Christ,  nor 
through  Christ,  but  only  the  work  of 
their  own  hands ;  not  through  a  living 
faith  in  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit;  but  through  the  will  and 
the  work  of  Antichrist,  agreeably  to  the 
preaching  that  man’s  salvation  depends 
on  his  own  deeds. 

“  His  third  work  is,  that  he  attributes 
the  regeneration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  a 
dead  outward  faith ;  baptizing  children 
in  that  faith,  and  teaching  that  by  the 
mere  outward  consecration  of  baptism 
regeneration  may  be  procured. 

“  His  fourth  work  is,  that  he  rests  the 
whole  religion  of  the  people  upon  his 
Mass ;  for  leading  them  to  hear  it,  he 
deprives  them  of  spiritual  and  sacra¬ 
mental  manducation. 

“  His  fifth  work  is,  that  he  does  every 
thing  to  be  seen,  and  to  glut  his  insa¬ 
tiable  avarice. 

“  His  sixth  work  is,  that  he  allows 
manifest  sins  without  ecclesiastical  cen¬ 
sure. 

“  His  seventh  work  is,  that  he  defends 
his  unity,  not  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  by 
the  secular  power. 

“  His  eighth  work  is,  that  he  hates, 
and  persecutes,  and  searches  after,  and 
robs  and  destroys  the  members  of 
Christ. 

‘*  These  things,  and  many  others,  are 
the  cloak  and  vestment  of  Antichrist; 


by  which  he  covers  his  lying  wicked¬ 
ness,  lest  he  should  be  rejected  as  a 
heathen.  But  there  is  no  other  cause  of 
idolatry  than  a  false  opinion  of  grace, 
and  truth,  and  authority,  and  invoca¬ 
tion,  and  intercession  ;  which  this  Anti¬ 
christ  has  taken  away  from  God,  and 
which  he  has  ascribed  to  ceremonies, 
and  authorities,  and  a  man’s  own  works, 
and  to  saints,  and  to  purgatory.” 
Elliott,  ii.  354-355. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with 
the  application  of  this  to  the  Papacy, 
and  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  Papacy 
was  intended  to  be  referred  to.  And, 
if  this  be  so,  this  was  a  bold  and  decided 
‘testimony’  against  the  abominations  of 
that  system,  and  they  who  bore  this 
testimony  deserved  to  be  regarded  as 
‘  witnesses’  for  Christ  and  his  truth. 

If  to  the  ‘  testimony’  thus  briefly  re¬ 
ferred  to,  we  add  that  of  such  men  as 
Wiclif,  John  Huss,  and  Jerome  of 
Prague;  and  then  that  of  the  Re¬ 
formers,  Luther,  Calvin,  Zuingle,  Me- 
lancthon,  and  their  fellow-laborers,  we 
can  see  with  what  propriety  it  was  pre¬ 
dicted  that  even  during  the  prevalence 
of  the  great  apostasy,  there  would  be  a 
competent  number  of  ‘  witnesses’  to  keep 
up  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  in  the 
world.  And  supposing  that  this  is  what 
was  designed  to  be  represented,  it  is 
easy  to  perceive  that  the  symbol  which 
is  employed  is  admirably  appropriate. 
The  design  of  what  is  here  said  is  merely 
to  show  that  during  the  whole  of  the 
period  of  the  Papal  apostasy — whenever 
it  may  be  supposed  to  have  begun,  and 
whenever  it  shall  cease,  it  is  and  will  be 
true  that  the  Saviour  has  had  true 
‘witnesses’  on  the  earth  —  that  there 
have  been  those  who  have  ‘testified’ 
against  these  abominations,  and  who, 
often  at  great  personal  peril  and  sacri¬ 
fice,  have  borne  a  faithful  testimony  for 
the  truth. 

(b)  The  number  of  the  witnesses.  In 
ver.  3,  this  is  said  to  be  ‘two,’  and  this 
has  been  shown  to  mean  that  there 
would  be  a  competent  number,  yet  pro¬ 
bably  with  the  implied  idea  that  the 
number  would  not  be  large.  The  only 
question,  then,  is,  whether  in  looking 
through  this-  long  period,  it  would  be 
found  that,  according  to  the  established 
laws  of  testimony  under  the  divine  code, 
there  was  a  competent  number  to  bear 
witness  to  the  truth.  And  of  this  no 


320 


REVELATION,  |A.  D.  9o. 


one  can  doubt,  for  in  respect  to  each 
and  every  part  of  the  period  of  the  great 
apostasy,  it  is  possible  now  to  show  that 
there  was  a  sufficient  number  of  the  true 
friends  of  the  Redeemer  to  testify  against 
all  the  great  and  cardinal  errors  of  the 
Papacy.  This  simple  and  obvious  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  language,  it  may  be 
added,  also,  makes  wholly  unnecessary 
and  inappropriate  all  the  efforts  which 
have  been  made  by  expositors  to  find 
precisely  two  such  witnesses,  or  two 
churches  or  people  with  whom  the  line 
of  the  faithful  testimony  was  preserved : 
—  all  such  interpretations  as  that  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  are  referred  to, 
as  Melchior,  Affelman,  and  Croly  sup¬ 
pose  ;  or  that  preachers  are  referred  to 
who  are  instructed  by  the  Law  and  the 
Gospel,  as  Pannonius  and  Thomas 
Aquinas  supposed;  or  that  Christ  and 
John  the  Baptist  are  referred  to,  as 
Ubertinus  supposed ;  or  that  Pope  Syl¬ 
vester  and  Mena,  who  wrote  against  the 
Eutychians,  are  meant,  as  Lyranus  and 
Ederus  supposed;  or  that  Francis  and 
Dominic,  the  respective  heads  of  two 
orders  of  monks,  are  intended,  as  Cor¬ 
nelius  £  Lapide  supposed;  or  that  the 
great  wisdom  and  sanctity  of  the  primi¬ 
tive  preachers  are  meant,  as  Alcassar 
maintained ;  or  that  John  Huss  and 
Luther,  or  John  Huss  and  Jerome  of 
Prague,  or  the  Waldenses  and  Albi- 
genses,  or  the  Jewish  and  Gentile 
Christians  in  iElia,  are  intended,  as 
others  have  supposed.  According  to  the 
obvious  and  fair  meaning  of  the  lan¬ 
guage,  all  this  is  mere  fancy,  and  can 
illustrate  nothing  but  the  fertility  of  in¬ 
vention  of  those  who  have  written  on 
the  Apocalypse.  All  that  is  necessarily 
implied  is,  that  the  number  of  true  and 
uncorrupted  followers  of  the  Saviour  has 
been  at  all  times  sufficiently  large  to  bear 
a  competent  testimony  to  the  world,  or  to 
keep  up  the  remembrance  of  the  truth 
upon  the  earth — and  of  the  reality  of  this 
no  one  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
the  church  will  doubt 

(e)  The  condition  of  the  ‘witnesses’  as 
‘  clothed  in  sackcloth,’  ver.  3.  This  has 
been  shown  to  mean  that  they  would  be 
in  a  state  of  sadness  and  grief ;  and  they 
would  be  exposed  to  trouble  and  persecu¬ 
tion.  It  is  unnecessary  to  prove  that  all 
this  was  abundantly  fulfilled.  The  long 
history  of  those  times  was  a  history  of 
persecutions ;  and  if  it  be  admitted  that 


the  pasage  before  us  was  designed  to 
refer  to  those  above  mentioned  as  ‘  wit¬ 
nesses,’  no  more  correct  description 
could  be  given  of  them  than  to  say  that 
they  were  ‘  clothed  in  sackcloth.’ 

( d )  The  power  of  the  witnesses,  vs. 
5-6.  Of  this  there  are  several  specifi¬ 
cations.  (a)  They  had  power  over  those 
who  should  injure  or  hurt  them,  ver.  5. 
This  is  represented  by  ‘  fire  proceeding 
out  of  their  mouth,  and  devouring  their 
enemies.’  This  has  been  shown  to  refer 
to  the  doctrines  which  they  would  pro¬ 
claim,  and  the  denunciations  which  they 
would  utter,  and  which  would  resemble 
consuming  fire.  This  would  be  accom¬ 
plished  or  fulfilled  if  their  solemn  testi¬ 
mony  —  their  proclamations  of  truth  — 
and  their  denunciations  of  the  wrath  of 
God  should  have  the  effect  ultimately  to 
bring  down  the  divine  vengeance  on 
their  persecutors.  And  no  one  can  doubt 
that  this  has  had  an  ample  fulfilment. 
That  is,  the  effect  of  the  testimony 
borne ;  of  the  solemn  appeals  made ;  of 
the  denunciations  of  the  judgment  of 
heaven,  has  been  to  show  that  that 
great  persecuting  power  that  oppressed 
them  is  arrayed  against  God,  and  must 
be  finally  overthrown.  In  order  to 
see  the  complete  fulfilment  of  this,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  trace  all  the  effect 
of  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses  for  the 
truth  from  age  to  age  on  that  power, 
and  to  see  how  far  it  has  been  among 
the  causes  of  the  ultimate  and  final 
overthrow  of  the  Papacy.  Of  course,  it 
may  be  said  that  in  an  important  sense 
it  is  all  to  be  traced  to  that,  since  if  they 
had  forborne  to  bear  that  testimony,  and 
to  protest  against  those  corruptions  and 
abominations,  that  colossal  power  would 
have  stood  unshaken.  But  the  solemn 
appeals  made  from  age  to  age  by  the 
friends  of  truth,  amidst  much  persecu¬ 
tion,  have  contributed  to  weaken  that 
power,  and  to  prepare  the  world  f*r  its 
ultimate  fall — as  if  fire  from  heaven  fell 
upon  it.  The  causes  of  the  decline  of 
the  Papal  power  were,  therefore,  laid 
far  back  in  the  solemn  truths  urged  by 
those  persecuted  ‘  witnesses ;’  and  the 
calamities  which  have  ravaged  Europe 
for  these  three  hundred  years,  and  the 
changes  now  occurring  which  make  it  so 
certain  that  this  mighty  power  hastens 
to  its  fall,  may  all  be  the  regular  results 
of  the  ‘testimony’  for  the  truths  of  a 
pure  gospel  borne  long  ago  by  the  men 


321 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAP' 

that  dwelt  amidst  the  Alps,  and  their 
fellow-sufferers  in  persecution,  (b)  They 
‘  have  power  to  shut  heaven,  that  it  rain 
not  in  the  days  of  their  prophecy,’  ver.  6. 
This  has  been  shown  to  mean  that  they 
would  have  power  to  cause  blessings  to 
be  withheld  from  men  as  if  the  rain 
were  withheld.  The  reference  here  is 
probably  to  the  Spiritual  heavens,  and 
to  that  of  which  rain  is  the  natural 
emblem— the  influences  of  truth,  and  the 
influences  of  the  divine  Spirit  on  the 
world.  So  Moses  says  in  Deut.  xxxii.  2, 
“My  doctrine  shall  drop  as  the  rain, 
and  my  speech  shall  distil  as  the  dew, 
as  the  small  rain  upon  the  tender  herb, 
and  as  the  showers  upen  the  grass.” 
So  the  Psalmist  (Ps.  lxxii.  6),  “He  shall 
come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown 
grass ;  as  showers  that  water  the  earth.” 
So  Isa.  (lv.  10,  11),  “For  as  the  rain 
cometh  down,  and  the  snow  from  heaven, 
so  shall  my  word  be.”  Comp.  Micah  v.  7. 
The  meaning  here,  then,  must  be,  that 
Spiritual  influences  would  seem  to  be 
under  their  control ;  or  that  they  would 
be  imparted  at  their  bidding,  and  with¬ 
held  at  their  will.  This  found  an  ample 
fulfilment  in  the  history  of  the  church  in 
those  dark  periods,  in  the  fact  that  it 
was,  in  connexion  with  these  'witnesses/ 
and  in  answer  to  their  prayers,  that  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  im¬ 
parted  to  the  world,  and  that  the  true 
religion  was  kept  up  on  the  earth.  “  It 
is  an  historical  fact,”  says  the  author  of 
‘  The  Seventh  Vial’  (p.  130),  “that  during 
the  ages  of  their  ministry,  there  was 
neither  dew  nor  rain  of  a  Spiritual  kind 
upon  the  earth,  but  at  the  word  of  the 
witnesses.  There  was  no  knowledge  of 
salvation  but  by  their  preaching  —  no 
descent  of  the  Spirit  but  in  answer  to 
their  prayers  ,•  and,  as  the  witnesses  were 
shut  out  from  Christendom  generally,  a 
universal  famine  ensued.”  (c)  They  had 
power  over  the  waters  to  turn  them  to 
blood,  and  to  smite  the  earth  with  all 
plagues,  ver.  6.  That  is,  as  explained 
above,  calamities  would  come  upon  the 
earth  as  if  the  waters  were  turned  into 
blood,  and  this  would  be  so  connected 
with  them,  and  with  the  treatment  which 
they  would  receive,  that  these  calamities 
would  seem  to  have  been  called  down 
from  heaven  in  answer  to  their  prayers, 
and  in  order  to  avenge  their  wrongs. 
And  can  any  one  be  ignorant  that  wars, 
commotions,  troubles,  disasters  have  fol- 


ER  XI. 

lowed  the  attempts  to  destroy  those  who 
have  borne  a  faithful  testimony  for 
Christ,  in  the  dark  period  of  the  world 
here  referred  to?  The  calamities  that 
have  befallen  the  Papal  communion,  from 
time  to  time,  may  have  been,  and  seem 
to  have  been,  to  a  great  degree,  the  con¬ 
sequence  of  its  persecuting  spirit,  and  of 
its  attempts  to  quench  the  light  of  truth. 
When  the  oppressed  and  persecuted 
nations  of  Europe  had  borne  it  long,  and 
when  attempts  had  long  been  made  to 
extinguish  every  spark  of  true  liberty, 
the  spirit  of  freedom  and  revenge  was 
roused.  The  yoke  was  broken  ;  and  in 
the  wars  that  ensued  rivers  of  blood 
flowed  upon  the  earth,  as  if  these  ‘wit¬ 
nesses’  or  martyrs  had,  by  their  own 
power  and  prayers,  brought  these  cala 
mities  upon  their  oppressors.  A  philo¬ 
sophic  historian  carefully  studying  hu¬ 
man  nature,  and  the  essential  spirit  of 
Christianity,  might  find  in  these  facts 
a  sufficient  explanation  of  all  the  cala¬ 
mities  that  have  come  upon  that  once 
colossal  power— the  Papacy,  and  a  full 
demonstration  that,  under  the  operation 
of  these  causes,  that  power  must  ulti¬ 
mately  fall  as  if  in  revenge  called  down 
from  heaven  by  the  martyrs  for  the 
wrongs  done  to  them  who  had  borne  a 
faithful  testimony  to  the  truth. 

II.  The  war  against  the  witnesses, 
ver.  7.  There  are  several  circumstances 
stated  in  regard  to  this  which  demand 
explanation  in  order  to  a  full  under- 
standing  of  the  prophecy.  Those  cir¬ 
cumstances  relate  to  the  time  when  this 
would  occur ;  to  the  government  by 
which  this  war  would  be  waged;  and  tc 
the  victory. 

(a)  The  time  when  the  war  referred 
to  would  be  waged.  The  whole  nar¬ 
rative  (comp.  vs.  3,  5),  supposes  that 
opposition  would  be  made  to  them  at  all 
times,  and  that  their  condition  would 
be  such  that  they  could  properly  be  re¬ 
presented  as  always  clothed  in  sack¬ 
cloth  ;  but  it  is  evident  that  a  particular 
period  is  here  referred  to,  when  there 
would  be  such  a  war  waged  with  them 
that  they  would  be  for  a  time  overcome, 
and  would  seem  to  be  dead.  This  time 
is  referred  to  by  the  phrase  ‘  when  they 
shall  have  finished  their  testimony* 
(ver.  7);  and  it  is  to  the  period  when 
this  could  be  properly  said  of  them, 
that  we  are  to  look  for  the  fulfilment  of 
what  is  here  predicted.  This  must  mean 


322 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


when  they  should  have  borne  full  or 
ample  testimony ;  that  is,  when  they  had 
borne  their  testimony  on  all  the  great 
points  on  which  they  were  appointed  to 
bear  witness.  See  Notes  on  ver.  7.  This, 
then,  must  not  be  understood  as  refer¬ 
ring  to  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  but  to 
any  time  during  that  period  when  it 
could  be  said  that  they  had  borne  a  full 
and  ample  testimony  for  the  truths  of 
the  gospel,  and  against  the  abominations 
and  errors  that  prevailed.  In  this  gene¬ 
ral  expression  there  is  not,  indeed,  any 
thing  that  would  accurately  designate 
the  time,  but  no  one  can  doubt  that  this 
had  been  done  at  the  time  of  the  Reforma¬ 
tion.  In  the  preceding  remarks  it  has 
been  shown  that  there  was  a  succession 
of  faithful  witnesses  for  the  truth  in  the 
darkest  periods  of  the  church,  and  that 
to  all  the  great  points  pertaining  to  the 
system  of  religion  revealed  in  the  gos¬ 
pel,  as  well  as  against  the  errors  that 
prevailed,  they  had  borne  an  unam¬ 
biguous  testimony.  There  is  no  impro¬ 
priety,  therefore,  in  fixing  this  period  at 
about  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  for 
all  that  is  necessarily  implied  in  the  lan¬ 
guage  is  fulfilled  on  such  a  supposition. 
Faithful  testimony  had  been  borne 
during  the  long  period  of  the  Papal  cor¬ 
ruptions,  until  it  could  be  said  that  their 
peculiar  work  had  been  accomplished. 
The  earlier  witnesses  for  the  truth ;  the 
Paulicians,  the  Waldenses,  the  Vaudois, 
and  other  bodies  of  true  Christians, 
had  borne  an  open  testimony,  from 
the  beginning,  against  the  various  cor¬ 
ruptions  of  Rome  —  her  errors  in  doc¬ 
trine,  her  idolatries  in  worship,  and 
her  immoralities,  until  in  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century  —  the  same  cen¬ 
tury  in  which,  according  to  Mr.  Gibbon, 
the  meridian  of  Papal  greatness  was 
attained  —  they  proclaimed  her,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  be  the  Antichrist  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  —  the  harlot  of  the  Apocalypse. 
Thus  did  they  fulfil  their  testimony ; 
and  then  was  the  war  waged  against 
them,  with  all  the  power  of  apostate 
Rome,  to  silence  and  to  destroy  them. 
This  war  was  commenced  in  the  edicts 
of  councils,  which  stigmatized  the  pure 
doctrines  of  the  Bible,  and  branded 
those  who  held  them  as  heretics.  The 
next  step  was  to  pronounce  the  most 
dreadful  anathemas  on  those  who  were 
regarded  as  heretics,  which  were  exe¬ 


cuted  in  the  same  remorseless  and  ex¬ 
terminating  manner  in  which  they  were 
conceived.  The  confessors  of  the  truth 
were  denied  both  their  natural  and  their 
civil  rights.  They  were  forbidden  all 
participation  in  dignities  and  offices ; 
their  goods  were  confiscated,  their  houses 
were  to  be  razed  and  never  more  to  be 
rebuilt  }  and  their  lands  were  given  to 
those  who  were  able  to  seize  them. 
They  were  shut  out  from  the  solace  of 
human  converse ;  no  one  might  give 
them  shelter  while  living,  or  Christian 
burial  when  dead.  At  length  a  crusade 
was  proclaimed  against  them.  Preachers 
were  sent  abroad  through  Europe  to 
sound  the  trumpet  of  vengeance,  and  to 
assemble  the  nations.  The  Pope  wrote 
to  all  Christian  princes,  exhorting  them 
to  earn  their  pardon  and  win  heaven, 
rather  by  bearing  the  cross  against 
heretics  than  by  marching  against  the 
Saracens.  The  war,  in  particular,  which 
was  waged  against  the  Waldenses,  is 
well  known,  and  the  horror  of  its  de¬ 
tails  is  among  the  darkest  pages  of 
history.  The  peaceful  and  fertile  val¬ 
leys  of  the  Yaudois  were  invaded, 
and  speedily  devastated  with  fire  and 
sword;  their  towns  and  villages  were 
burnt;  while  not  one  individual,  in 
many  cases,  escaped  to  carry  the  tidings 
to  the  next  valley.  To  all  the  cru¬ 
elties  of  these  wars,  and  to  all  the 
open  persecutions  which  were  waged, 
are  to  be  added  the  horrors  of  the 
Inquisition,  as  an  illustration  of  the 
fact  that  ‘  wars’  would  be  made  against 
the  true  witnesses  for  Christ.  Calcula¬ 
tions,  more  or  less  accurate,  have  been 
made  of  the  numbers  that  Popery  has 
slain ;  and  the  lowest  of  those  calcula¬ 
tions  would  confirm  what  is  said  here, 
on  the  supposition  that  the  reference  is 
to  the  Papal  power.  From  the  year 
1540  to  the  year  1570,  comprehending  a 
space  of  only  thirty  years,  no  fewer  than 
nine  hundred  thousand  Protestants  were 
put  to  death  by  the  Papistsfcin  different 
countries  of  Europe.  During  the  short 
Pontificate  of  Paul  the  Fourth,  which 
lasted  only  four  years  (A.  D.  1555-1559), 
the  Inquisition  alone,  on  the  testimony 
of  Yergerius,  destroyed  an  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand.  When  he  died,  the  in¬ 
dignant  populace  of  Rome  crowded  to 
the  prison  of  the  Inquisition,  broke  open 
the  doors,  .and  released  seventeen  hun¬ 
dred  prisoners,  and  then  set  fire  to  the 


323 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XI. 


building.  Bowers’  History  of  the  Popes, 
iii.  319.  Ed.  1845.  Those  who  perished 
in  Germany  during  the  wars  of  Charles 
the  Fifth,  and  in  Flanders,  under  the 
infamous  Duke  of  Alva,  are  reckoned  by 
hundreds  of  thousands.  In  France  seve¬ 
ral  millions  were  destroyed  in  the  innu¬ 
merable  massacres  that  took  place  in 
that  kingdom.  It  has  been  computed 
that  since  the  rise  of  the  Papacy,  not 
fewer  than  fifty  millions  of  persons  have 
been  put  to  death  on  account  of  religion. 
Of  this  vast  number  the  greater  part 
have  been  cut  off  during  the  last  six 
hundred  years;  for  the  Papacy  perse¬ 
cuted  very  little  during  the  first  half  of 
its  existence,  and  it  was,  in  this  way, 
that  it  was  not  until  the  witnesses  had 
‘completed’  their  testimony,  or  had 
borne  full  and  ample  testimony,  that  it 
made  war  against  them.  Comp.  ‘  The 
seventh  vial,”  pp.  149-157.  For  a  full 
illustration  of  the  facts  here  referred  to, 
see  Notes  on  Daniel,  vii.  21.  There  can 
be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  Daniel  and 
John  refer  to  the  same  thing. 

(h)  By  whom  this  was  to  be  done. 
In  ver.  7,  it  is  said  that  it  would  be  by 
“  the  beast  that  ascendeth  out  of  the  bot¬ 
tomless  pit.”  This  is  undoubtedly  the 
same  as  the  fourth  beast  of  Daniel  (Dan. 
vii.),  and  for  a  full  illustration  I  must 
refer  to  the  Notes  on  that  chapter.  It 
is  necessary  only  to  add  here,  if  the 
above  representation  is  correct,  that  it 
is  easy  to  see  the  propriety  of  this  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  symbol  *  to  the  Papacy. 
Nothing  would  better  represent  that 
cruel  persecuting  power  ‘making  war 
with  the  witnesses,’  than  a  fierce  and 
cruel  monster  that  seemed  to  ascend 
from  the  bottomless  pit. 

(c)  The  victory  of  the  persecutors,  and 
the  death  of  the  witnesses:  “and  shall 
overcome  them,  and  kill  them,”  ver.  7. 
That  is,  they  would  gain  a  temporary  vic¬ 
tory  over  them,  and  the  witnesses  would 
seem  for  a  time  to  be  dead.  The  subse¬ 
quent  statement  shows,  however,  that 
they  would  revive  again,  and  would  again 
resume  their  prophesying.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ch.  ix.  20.  The  victory  over  them 
would  appear  to  be  complete,  and  the 
great  object  of  the  persecuting  power 
would  seem  to  have  been  gained.  A  few 
facts  on  this  subject  will  show  the  pro¬ 
priety  of  the  statement  that  ‘  when  they 
had  finished,’  or  had  fully  home  their 
testimony,  a  victory  was  obtained  over 


them,  and  that  they  were  so  silenced 
that  it  might  be  said  they  were  killed. 
The  first  will  be  in  the  words  of  Milner 
in  his  account  of  the  opening  of  tho  six¬ 
teenth  century  ( History  of  the  Church, 
p.  660,  Ed.  Edin.  1835) :  “  Tho  sixteenth 
century  opened  with  a  prospect  of  all 
others  the  most  gloomy,  in  the  eyes  of 
every  true  Christian.  Corruption  both 
in  doctrine  and  in  practice  had  exceeded 
all  bounds ;  and  the  general  face  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  though  the  name  of  Christ  was 
everywhere  professed,  presented  nothing 
that  was  properly  evangelical.  The 
Waldenses  wero  too  feeble  to  molest  the 
popedom;  and  the  Hussites,  divided 
among  themselves,  and  worn  out  by  a 
long  series  of  contentions,  were  reduced 
to  silence.  Among  both  were  found 
persons  of  undoubted  godliness,  but  they 
appeared  incapable  of  making  effectual 
impressions  on  the  kingdom  of  Anti¬ 
christ.  The  Roman  pontiffs  were  still 
the  uncontrolled  patrons  of  impiety; 
neither  the  scandalous  crimes  of  Alex¬ 
ander  VI.,  nor  the  military  ferocity  of 
Julius  II.,  seemed  to  have  lessened  tho 
dominion  of  the  court  of  Rome,  or  to 
have  opened  the  eyes  of  men  so  as  to 
induce  them  to  make  a  sober  investiga¬ 
tion  of  the  nature  of  true  religion.”  The 
language  of  Mr.  Cunninghame  may  here 
be  adopted  as  describing  the  state  of 
things  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century  :  “  At  the  commencement  of  tho 
sixteenth  century,  Europe  reposed  in  tho 
deep  sleep  of  spiritual  death,  under  tho 
iron  yoke  of  the  Papacy.  That  haughty 
power,  like  the  Assyrian  of  the  prophet, 
said  in  the  plenitude  of  his  insolence, 
‘My  hand  hath  found  as  a  nest  tho 
riches  of  the  people ;  and  as  one  gather¬ 
ed  eggs,  I  have  gathered  all  the  earth; 
and  there  was  none  that  moved  the  wing, 
or  opened  the  mouth,  or  peeped.'  ”  And 
in  a  similar  manner,  the  writer  of  tho 
article  on  the  Reformation,  in  the  Ency¬ 
clopedia  Brittanica,  —  in  a  statement 
made,  of  course,  with  no  reference  to 
the  fulfilment  of  this  passage  -t-  thus 
speaks  of  that  period:  “Every  thing 
was  quiet;  every  heretic  was  extermi¬ 
nated,  and  the  whole  Christian  world 
supinely  acquiesoed  in  the  enormous 
absurdities  inculcated  by  the  Romish 
church.”  These  quotations  will  show 
the  propriety  of  tho  language  used  here 
by  John,  on  the  supposition  that  it  was 
intended  to  refer  to  this  period.  No 


324 


REVELATION, 


symbol  would  be  more  striking,  or  more 
appropriate  to  that  state  of  things,  than 
to  represent  the  witnesses  for  the  truth 
as  overcome  and  slain,  so  that,  for  a  time 
at  least,  they  would  cease  to  bear  their 
testimony  against  the  prevailing  errors 
and  corruptions.  It  will  be  remembered 
also  that  this  occurred  at  a  time  when 
it  might  be  said  that  they  had  *  fulfilled’ 
their  testimony,  or  when,  in  a  most  so¬ 
lemn  manner,  they  had  protested  against 
the  existing  idolatries  and  abominations. 

III.  The  witnesses  dead,  vs.  8-10. 
The  preceding  verse  contains  the  state¬ 
ment  that  they  would  be  overcome  and 
killed ;  these  verses  describe  their  treat¬ 
ment  when  they  would  be  dead;  that 
is,  when  they  would  be  silenced.  There 
are  several  circumstances  referred  to 
here,  which  demand  notice. 

(a)  The  place  where  it  is  said  that 
this  would  occur — that  “  great  city  which 
spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt, 
where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified,”  ver. 
8.  In  the  explanation  of  this  verse,  it 
has  been  shown  that  the  language  used 
here  is  such  as  would  be  properly  em¬ 
ployed,  on  the  supposition  that  the  in¬ 
tention  was  to  refer  to  Rome,  or  the 
Romish  communion.  A  few  testimonies 
may  serve  to  confirm  the  interpretation 
proposed  in  the  Notes  on  ver.  8,  and  to 
show  farther  the  propriety  of  applying 
the  appellation  ‘  Sodom’  and  ‘  Egypt’  to 
Rome.  Thus,  among  the  Reformers, 
“  Grosteste  perceived  that  the  whole 
scheme  of  the  Papal  government  was 
enmity  with  God,  and  exclaimed  that 
nothing  but  the  sword  could  deliver  the 
church  from  the  Egyptian  bondage.” 
D’Aubigne.  Wiclif  compared  the  Rom¬ 
ish  priestcraft  to  “  the  accursed  sorceries 
with  which  the  sages  of  Pharaoh  pre¬ 
sumed  to  emulate  the  works  of  Jehovah.” 
Le  Bas’  Wiclif,  p.  68,  147.  Luther,  in 
a  letter  to  Melancthon,  says,  “  Italy  is 
plunged,  as  in  ancient  times  in  Egypt, 
in  darkness  that  may  be  felt.”  And  of 
Zuingle  in  Switzerland,  they  who  longed 
for  the  light  of  salvation  said  of  him, 
“  He  will  be  our  Moses,  to  deliver  us  out 
of  the  darkness  of  Egypt.”  Any  number 
of  passages  could  be  found  in  the  writings 
of  the  Reformers,  and  even  some  in  the 
writings  of  Romanists  themselves,  in 
which  the  abominations  that  prevailed 
in  Rome  are  compared  with  those  in 
Sodom.  Comp.  Elliott,  ii.  pp.  386,  387, 
notes.  Assuming  this  to  be  the  correct 


[A.  D.  96. 

interpretation,  the  meaning  is,  that  a 
state  of  things  would  exist  after  the 
silencing  of  the  witnesses,  which  wonld 
be  well  represented  by  supposing  that 
their  dead  bodies  would  lie  unburied ; 
that  is,  that  there  would  be  dishonor  and 
indignity  heaped  upon  them,  such  as  is 
shown  to  the  dead  when  they  are  suf¬ 
fered  to  lie  unburied.  No  one  needs  to 
be  informed  that  this  accurately  repre¬ 
sents  the  state  of  things  throughout  the 
Roman  world.  To  the  ‘witnesses’  thus 
persecuted,  down-trodden,  and  silenced, 
there  was  the  same  kind  of  indignity 
shown  which  there  is  when  the  dead  are 
left  unburied. 

( b )  The  exposure  of  their  bodies,  ver. 
8.  That  is,  as  we  have  seen,  they  would 
be  treated  with  indignity,  as  if  they 
were  not  worthy  of  Christian  burial. 
Now  this  not  only  expresses  what  was 
in  fact  the  general  feeling  among  the 
Papists  in  respect  to  those  whom  they 
regarded  as  heretics,  but  it  had  a  literal 
fulfilment  in  numerous  cases  where  the 
rites  of  Christian  burial  were  denied 
them.  One  of  the  punishments  most 
constantly  decreed  and  constantly  en¬ 
forced  in  reference  to  those  who  were 
called  ‘  heretics,’  was  their  exclusion 
from  burial  as  persons  excommunicated 
and  without  the  pale  of  the  church. 
Thus,  in  the  third  Council  of  Lateran 
(A.  D.  1179),  Christian  burial  was  de¬ 
nied  to  heretics ;  the  same  in  the  Later¬ 
an  Council,  A.  D.  1215,  and  the  Papal 
decree  of  Gregory  IX.,  A.  D.  1227 ;  the 
same  again  in  that  of  Pope  Martin,  A.  D. 
1422 ;  and  the  same  thing  was  deter¬ 
mined  in  the  Council  of  Constance,  A.  D. 
1422,  which  ordered  that  the  body  of 
Wiclif  should  be  exhumed,  and  that  the 
ashes  of  John  Huss,  instead  of  being 
buried,  should  be  collected  and  thrown 
into  the  lake  of  Constance.  It  may  be 
added  that  Savonarola’s  ashes  were  in  a 
similar  manner  cast  into  the  Arno,  A.  D. 
1498,  and  that  in  the  first  bull  entrusted 
to  the  cardinal  Cajetan  against  Luther, 
this  was  one  of  the  declared  penalties, 
that  both  Luther  and  his  partisans  should 
be  deprived  of  ecclesiastical  burial.  See 
Waddington,  p.  717.  D’Aubigne,  i.  355. 
Fox,  v.  667. 

(c)  The  mutual  congratulations  of 
those  who  had  put  them  to  death ;  their 
exultation  over  them;  and  the  expression 
of  their  joy  by  the  interchange  of  pre¬ 
sents  :  “  And  they  that  dwell  upon  the 


CHAPTER  XI. 


325 


A.  D.  96.] 

earth  shall  rejoice  over  them,”  &c.,  ver. 
10.  The  language  here  used  is  expres¬ 
sive  of  general  joy  and  rejoicing,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  such  joy  and 
rejoicing  occurred  at  Rome  whenever  a 
new  victory  was  obtained  over  those  who 
were  regarded  as  heretics.  Pareus  re¬ 
marks  on  the  passage  in  Luke  xv.  32, 
“It  was  meet  that  we  should  make 
merry,”  &c.,  that  “when  heretics  are 
burnt,  Papists  play  at  frolicksome  games, 
celebrate  feasts  and  banquets,  sing  Te 
Deum  laudamus,  and  wish  one  another 
joy.”  And  so  too  Bullinger,  in  loc.  But 
there  was  special  rejoicing,  which  ac¬ 
corded  entirely  with  the  prediction  here, 
at  the  close  of  the  sessions  of  the  Lateran 
Council  (A.  D.  1517),  in  the  splendor  of 
the  dinners  and  f6tes  given  by  the  cardi¬ 
nals.  The  scene  on  the  closing  of  the 
council  is  thus  described  by  Dean  Wad- 
dington :  “  The  pillars  of  the  Papal 
strength  seemed  visible  and  palpable; 
and  Rome  surveyed  them  with  exulta¬ 
tion  from  her  golden  palaces.  The 
assembled  princes  and  prelates  separated 
from  the  Council  with  complacency ,  con¬ 
fidence,  and  mutual  congratulations  on 
the  peace,  unity,  and  purity  of  the 
church.”  Still,  while  this  was  true  of 
that  particular  council,  it  should  be 
added  that  the  language  here  used  is 
general,  and  may  be  regarded  as  descrip¬ 
tive  of  the  usual  joy  which  would  be 
felt,  and  which  was  felt  at  Rome,  in  view 
of  the  efforts  made  to  suppress  heresy  in 
the  church. 

( d )  The  time  during  which  the  wit¬ 
nesses  would  remain  ‘  dead.’  This  it  is 
said  (ver.  9),  would  be  for  “three  days 
and  an  half,”  during  which  time  they 
would  “  not  suffer  their  dead  bodies  to 
be  put  in  graves ;”  that  is,  there  would 
bo  a  course  of  conduct,  and  a  state  of 
things,  as  if  the  dead  were  left  un¬ 
buried.  This  time,  as  we  have  seen 
(Notes  on  ver.  9),  means  probably  three 
years  and  an  half ;  and  in  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  this  we  are  to  look  for  some 
striking  event  relating  to  the  'witnesses,' 
when  they  should  have  ‘finished  their 
testimony,’  or  when  they  had  fully  borne 
their  testimony,  that  would  fully  cor¬ 
respond  with  this.  Now  it  happens  that 
there  was  a  point  of  time,  just  previous 
to  the  Reformation,  when  it  was  sup¬ 
posed  that  a  complete  victory  was 
gained  for  ever  over  those  who  were 
regarded  as  ‘  horetics,’  but  who  were  in 
28 


fact  the  true  witnesses  for  Christ.  That 
point  of  time  was  during  the  Session  of 
the  Council  of  Lateran,  which  was 
assembled  A.  D.  1513,  and  which  con¬ 
tinued  its  Sessions  to  May  16,  1517.  In 
the  ninth  Session  of  this  Council,  a  re¬ 
markable  proclamation  was  made,  indi¬ 
cating  that  all  opposition  to  the  Papal 
power  had  now  ceased.  The  scene  is 
thus  described  by  Mr.  Elliott  (ii.  396, 
397) :  “The  orator  of  the  Session  ascend¬ 
ed  the  pulpit;  and  amidst  the  applause 
of  the  assembled  Council,  uttered  that 
memorable  exclamation  of  triumph — an 
exclamation  which,  notwithstanding  the 
long  multiplied  anti-heretical  decrees  of 
Popes  and  Councils,  notwithstanding 
the  yet  more  multiplied  anti-heretical 
crusades  and  inquisitorial  fires,  was 
never,  I  believe,  pronounced  before,  and 
certainly  never  since,  ‘Jam  nemo  recla- 
mat,  nullus  obsistit’  —  ‘There  is  an  end 
of  resistance  to  the  Papal  rule  and  reli¬ 
gion;  opposers  there  exist  no  more:’ 
and  again,  ‘  The  whole  body  of  Christ¬ 
endom  is  now  seen  to  be  subjected  to  its 
Head,  i.  e.  to  Tliee.’  ”  This  occurred 
May  5,  1514.  It  is,  probably,  from  this 
‘time’  that  the  three  days  and  an  half, 
or  the  three  years  and  an  half,  during 
which  the  ‘  dead  bodies  of  the  witnesses 
remained  unburied,’  and  were  exposed 
to  public  gaze  and  derision,  are  to  be 
reckoned. 

But  it  was  with  remarkable  accuracy 
that  a  period  of  three  years  and  an  half 
occurred  from  the  time  when  this  pro¬ 
clamation  was  made,  and  when  it  was 
supposed  that  these  ‘witnesses’  were 
‘  dead,’  to  the  time  when  the  voice  of 
living  witnesses  for  the  truth  was  heard 
again,  as  if  those  witnesses  that  had  been 
silenced  had  come  to  life  again ;  and 
“not  in  the  compass  of  the  whole  eccle¬ 
siastical  history  of  Christendom,  except 
in  the  case  of  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  Christ  himself,  is  there  any  such  ex¬ 
ample  of  the  sudden,  mighty,  and  tri¬ 
umphant  resuscitation  of  his  church 
from  a  state  of  deep  depression,  as  was 
just  after  the  separation  of  the  Lateran 
Council  exhibited,  in  the  protesting  voice 
of  Luther,  and  the  glorious  Reforma¬ 
tion.”  All  accounts  agree  in  placing  the 
beginning  of  the  Reformation  in  A.  D. 
1517.  See  Bowers’  History  of  the  Popes, 
iii.  295.  Murdock’s  Mosheim,  iii.  11,  n. 
The  effect  of  this,  as  compared  with  the 
supposed  suppression  of  heresy,  or  the 


326 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


death  of  the  witnesses,  and  as  an  illus-  : 
tration  of  the  passage  before  us,  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  language  of  a 
writer  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Brittanica  : 

“  Every  thing  was  quiet ;  every  heretic  j 
exterminated ;  and  the  whole  Christian 
world  supinely  acquiescing  in  the  enor-  j 
mous  absurdities  inculcated  in  the  Rom- 
ish  church,  when,  in  1517,  the  empire 
of  superstition  received  its  first  attack 
from  Luther.”  Or,  in  the  language  of 
Mr.  Cuninghame,  “  At  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Europe 
reposed  in  the  deep  sleep  of  spiritual 
death,  under  the  iron  yoke  of  the  Pa¬ 
pacy.  There  was  none  that  moved  the 
wing,  or  opened  the  mouth,  or  peeped ; 
when  suddenly  in  one  of  the  Universities 
of  Germany  the  voice  of  an  obscure 
monk  was  heard,  the  sound  of  which 
rapidly  filled  Saxony,  Germany,  and  , 
Europe  itself,  shaking  the  very  founda-  j 
tions  of  the  Papal  power,  and  arousing 
men  from  the  lethargy  of  ages.” 

The  remarkable  coincidence  in  regard 
to  time — supposing  that  three  years  and 
an  half  arc  intended — will  be  seen  from 
the  following  statement.  The  day  of  the 
ninth  Session  of  the  Lateran  Council, 
when  the  proclamation  above  referred 
to  was  made,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  May 
5,  1514;  the  day  of  Luther’s  posting  up 
his  theses  at  Wittemberg  (the  well- 
known  epoch  of  the  beginning  of  the 
Reformation),  was  Oct.  31, 1517.  “Now 
from  May  5,  1514,  to  May  5,  1517,  are 
three  years;  and  from  May  5,  1517,  to 
Oct.  31  of  the  same  year,  1517,  the  reck¬ 
oning  in  days  is  as  follows : 

May  5 — 31  .  .  27  August  31  .  .  31 

June  30  .  .  30  September  30  .  .  30 

July  31  .  .  31  October  31  .  .  31 

in  all  180,  or  half  of  360  days,  that  is, 
half  a  year;  so  that  the  whole  interval 
is  precisely  to  a  day  three  and  a  half 
years.”  Elliott,  ii.  402,  403.  But,  with¬ 
out  insisting  on  this  very  minute  accu¬ 
racy,  any  one  can  see,  and  all  must  be 
prepared  to  admit,  that,  on  the  supposi¬ 
tion  that  it  was  intended  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  to  refer  to  these  events,  this  is 
the  language  which  would  be  used ;  or, 
in  other  words,  nothing  would  better 
represent  this  state  of  things  than  the 
declaration  that  the  witnesses  would  be 
‘slain,’  and  would  be  suffered  to  ‘remain 
unburied’  during  this  period  of  time,  and 
that,  at  the  end  of  this  period,  a  public 
testimony  would  be  borne  again  for  the 


truth,  and  against  the  abominations  of 
the  Papacy,  as  if  ‘  the  Spirit  of  life  from 
God  should  again  enter  into  them,  and 
they  should  stand  upon  their  feet/ 
ver.  11. 

IV.  The  resurrection  of  the  witnesses, 
ver.  11.  Little  need  be  added  on  this 
point,  after  what  has  been  said  on  the 
previous  portions  of  the  chapter.  We 
have  seen  (Notes  on  ver.  11)  that  this 
must  mean  that  a  state  of  things  would 
occur  which  would  be  well  represented 
by  their  being  restored  to  life  again ; 
and  if  the  previous  illustrations  are  cor¬ 
rect,  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in  ad¬ 
mitting  that  this  had  its  fulfilment  in 
the  commencement  of  the  Reformation. 
As  to  the  time  when  they  would  revive, 
we  have  seen  above  how  remarkably 
this  accords  with  the  commencement  of 
the  Reformation  in  1517;  and  as  to  the 
correspondence  of  this  with  what  is  here 
symbolized,  nothing  would  better  repre¬ 
sent  this  than  to  describe  the  witnesses 
as  coming  to  life  again.  It  was  as  if 
‘  the  Spirit  of  life  from  God  entered  into’ 
those  who  had  been  slain,  and  ‘they 
stood  upon  their  feet’  again,  and  again 
bore  their  solemn  testimony  to  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus.  For  («)  it  was  the 
same  kind  of  testimony  —  testimony  to 
the  same  truths,  and  against  the  same 
evils,  which  had  been  borne  by  the  long 
array  of  the  confessors  and  martyrs  that 
had  been  put  to  death.  The  truths  pro¬ 
claimed  by  the  Reformers  on  the  great 
doctrines  of  grace,  were  the  same  which 
had  been  professed  by  the  Waldenses,  by 
Wiclif,  by  John  Huss,  and  others;  and 
the  abominations  of  image  worship,  of 
the  invocations  of  the  saints,  of  the 
arrogant  claims  of  the  pope,  of  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  human  merit  in  justification,  of 
the  corruptions  of  the  monastic  systems, 
of  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  of  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  purgatory,  against  which  they 
testified,  were  the  same.  ( b )  That  tes¬ 
timony  was  borne  by  men  of  the  same 
spirit  and  character.  In  what  would 
now  be  called  personal  religious  experi¬ 
ence,  there  was  the  closest  resemblance 
between  the  Waldenses  and  the  other 
‘  witnesses’  before  the  Reformation,  and 
the  Reformers  themselves — between  the 
piety  of  Huss,  Jerome  of  Prague,  Wiclif, 
and  Peter  Waldo  ;  and  Luther,  Melanc- 
thon,  Zuingle,  Calvin,  Bucer,  Latimer, 
Ridley,  and  Knox.  They  were  men 
who  belonged  to  the  same  spiritual 


CHAPTEK  XI. 


327 


A.  D.  96.] 

communion,  and  who  had  been  moulded 
and  fashioned  in  their  spiritual  character 
by  the  same  power  from  on  high,  (c) 
The  testimony  was  borne  with  the  same 
fearlessness,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  same 
kind  of  persecution  and  opposition.  All 
that  occurred  was  as  if  the  same  ‘  wit¬ 
nesses ’had  been  restored  to  life,  and 
again  lifted  up  their  voice  in  the  cause 
for  which  they  had  been  persecuted  and 
slain.  The  propriety  of  this  language 
as  applied  to  these  events,  may  be  fur¬ 
ther  seen  from  expressions  used  by  the 
'witnesses’  themselves,  or  by  the  perse¬ 
cuted  friends  of  the  truth.  “And  I,” 
said  John  Huss,  speaking  of  the  gospcl- 
prcachers  who  should  appear  after  he 
had  suffered  at  the  stake,  “And  I, 
awaking  as  it  were  from  the  dead,  and 
rising  from  the  grave,  shall  rejoice  with 
exceeding  great  joy.”  Again,  in  1523, 
after  the  Reformation  had  broken  out, 
we  find  Pope  Hadrian  saying,  in  a  mis¬ 
sive  addressed  to  the  Diet  at  Nuremberg, 
“  The  heretics  Huss  and  Jerome  are  now 
alive  again,  in  the  person  of  Martin  Lu¬ 
ther.”  The  Seventh  Vial,  p.  190. 

V.  The  ascension  of  the  witnesses 
(ver.  12) :  ‘And  they  ascended  to  hea¬ 
ven  in  a  cloud.’  We  have  seen  (Notes 
on  this  verse),  that  this  means  that 
events  would  take  place  as  if  they  should 
ascend  in  triumph  to  heaven ;  or  which 
would  be  properly  symbolized  by  such 
an  ascent  to  heaven.  All  that  is  here 
represented  would  be  fulfilled  by  a  tri¬ 
umph  of  the  truth  under  the  testimony 
of  the  witnesses ;  or  by  its  becoming 
gloriously  established  in  view  of  the  na¬ 
tions  of  the  earth,  as  if  the  witnesses 
ascended  publicly,  and  were  received  to 
the  presence  of  God'in  heaven.  All  this 
was  fulfilled  in  the  various  influences 
that  served  to  establish  and  confirm  the 
Reformation,  and  to  introduce  the  great 
principles  of  religious  freedom,  giving  to 
that  work  ultimate  triumph,  and  showing 
that  it  had  the  favor  of  God.  This  would 
embrace  the  whole  series  of  events,  after 
the  Reformation  was  begun,  by  which 
its  triumph  was  secured,  or  by  which 
that  state  of  things  was  gradually  intro¬ 
duced  which  now  exists,  in  which  the 
true  religion  is  free  from  persecution ; 
in  which  it  is  advancing  into  so  many 
parts  of  the  world  where  the  Papacy 
once  had  the  control;  and  in  which, 
with  so  little  molestation,  and  with  such 
an  onward  march  toward  ultimato  vic¬ 


tory,  it  is  extending  its  conquests  over 
the  earth.  The  triumphant  ascent  of  the 
witnesses  to  heaven,  and  the  public 
proof  of  the  divine  favor  thus  shown  to 
them,  would  be  an  appropriate  symbol 
of  this. 

VI.  The  consequences  of  the  resur¬ 
rection,  ascension,  and  triumph  of  the 
witnesses,  ver.  13.  These  are  said  to  be, 
that  there  would  be  “  in  the  same  hour  a 
great  earthquake ;  that  a  tenth  part  of 
the  city  would  fall ;  that  seven  thousand 
would  be  slain,  and  that  the  remainder 
would  be  affrighted,  and  would  give 
glory  to  the  God  of  heaven.” 

(a)  The  earthquake.  This,  as  we  have 
seen  (Notes  on  ver.  13),  denotes  that 
there  would  be  a  shock,  or  a  convulsion 
in  the  world,  so  that  the  powers  of  the 
earth  would  be  shaken,  as  cities,  trees, 
and  hills  are  in  the  shocks  of  an  earth¬ 
quake.  There  can  be  little  difficulty  in 
applying  this  to  the  shock  produced 
throughout  Europe  by  the  boldness  of 
Luther  and  his  fellow-laborers  in  the  Re¬ 
formation.  No  events  have  ever  taken 
place  in  history  that  would  be  better 
compared  with  the  shock  of  an  earth¬ 
quake,  than  those  which  occurred  when 
the  long-established  governments  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  and  especially  the  domination  of 
the  Papacy,  so  long  consolidated  and 
confirmed,  were  shaken  by  the  Reforma¬ 
tion.  In  the  suddenness  of  the  attack 
made  on  the  existing  state  of  things ;  in 
the  commotions  which  were  produced; 
in  the  overthrow  of  so  many  govern¬ 
ments,  there  was  a  striking  resemblance 
to  the  convulsions  caused  by  an  earth¬ 
quake.  So  Dr.  Lingard  speaks  of  the 
Reformation:  “That  religious  revolu¬ 
tion  which  astonished  and  convulsed 
the  nations  of  Europe.”  Nothing  would 
better  represent  the  convulsions  caused 
in  Germany,  Switzerland,  Prussia,  Sax¬ 
ony,  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  England, 
by  the  Reformation,  than  an  earthquake. 

(b)  The  fate  of  a  part  of  the  city:  — 
“And  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell.” 
That  is,  as  we  have  seen  (Notes  on  ver. 
13),  of  that  which  was  represented  by 
the  city,  to  wit,  the  Roman  power.  The 
fall  of  a  ‘tenth  part,’  would  denote  the 
fall  of  a  considerable  portion  of  that 
power ;  as  if,  in  an  earthquake,  a  tenth 
part  of  a  city  should  be  demolished. 
This  would  well  represent  what  occurred 
in  the  Reformation,  when  so  considera¬ 
ble  a  portion  of  the  colossal  Papal  power 


328 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


suddenly  fell  away,  and  the  immediate 
effect  on  the  portions  of  Europe  where 
the  Reformation  prevailed  as  compared 
with  the  whole  of  that  power,  might  well 
he  represented  by  the  fall  of  a  tenth  part 
of  a  city.  It  is  true  that  a  much  larger 
proportion  ultimately  fell  off  from  Home, 
so  that  now  the  number  of  Romanists 
and  Protestants  is  not  far  from  being 
equal;  but  in  the  first  convulsion — in 
what  passed  before  the  eye  in  vision  as 
represented  by  the  earthquake — that 
proportion  would  not  be  improperly 
represented  by  the  tenth  part  of  a  city. 
The  idea  is,  that  the  sudden  destruction 
of  a  tenth  part  of  a  great  city  by  an 
earthquake,  would  well  represent  the 
convulsion  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Reformation,  by  which  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  Papal  power  would 
fall. 

(c)  Those  who  were  slain,  ver.  13 : 
“And  in  the  earthquake  were  slain  of 
men  seven  thousand.”  That  is,  as  we 
have  seen  (Notes  on  ver.  13),  a  calamity 
would  occur  to  this  vast  Papal  power, 
as  if  this  number  should  be  killed  in  the 
earthquake,  or  which  would  be  well  rep¬ 
resented  by  that.  In  other  words,  a  por¬ 
tion  of  those  who  were  represented  by  the 
city  would  be  slain,  which,  compared  with 
the  whole  number,  would  bear  about  the 
same  proportion  which  seven  thousand 
would  to  the  usual  dwellers  in  such  a 
city.  As  the  numbers  in  the  city  are 
not  mentioned,  it  is  impossible  to  form 
any  exact  estimate  of  the  numbers  that 
would  be  slain,  on  this  supposition. 
But,  if  we  suppose  that  the  city  con¬ 
tained  an  hundred  thousand,  then  the 
proportion  would  be  something  like  a 
fourteenth  part ;  if  it  were  half  a  million, 
then  it  would  be  about  a  seventieth  part ; 
if  it  were  a  million,  then  it  would  be 
about  an  hundred  and  forty-fifth  part — 
and,  as  we  may  suppose  that  John,  in 
these  visions,  had  his  eye  on  Rome  as  it 
was  in  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  we 
may,  if  we  can  ascertain  what  the  size 
of  Rome  was  at  that  period,  take  that 
estimate  as  the  basis  of  the  interpreta¬ 
tion.  Mr.  Gibbon  (ii.  251,  252),  has 
endeavored  to  form  an  estimate  of  the 
probable  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
ancient  Rome,  and,  after  enumerating 
all  the  circumstances  which  throw  any 
light  on  the  subject,  says,  “  If  we  adopt 
the  same  average  which,  under  similar 
circumstances,  has  been  found  applicable 


to  Paris,  and  indifferently  allow  about 
twenty-five  persons  for  each  house,  of 
every  degree,  we  may  fairly  estimate  the 
inhabitants  of  Rome  at  twelve  hundred 
thousand.”  Allowing  this  to  be  the 
number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city, 
then  the  number  here  specified  that  was 
slain — seven  thousand — would  be  about 
the  one  hundred  and  seventieth  part,  or 
one  in  one  hundred  and  seventy.  This 
would,  according  to  the  purport  of  the 
vision  here,  represent  the  number  that 
would  perish  in  the  convulsion  denoted 
by  the  earthquake  —  a  number  which, 
though  it  would  be  large  in  the  aggre¬ 
gate,  is  not  probably  too  large  in  fact  as 
referring  to  the  number  of  persons  that 
perished  in  Papal  Europe  in  the  wars 
that  were  consequent  on  the  Reforma¬ 
tion. 

( d )  The  only  other  circumstance  in 
this  representation  is,  that  “the  rem¬ 
nant  were  affrighted,  and  gave  glory  to 
the  God  of  heaven,”  ver.  13.  That  is, 
as  we  have  seen  (Notes  on  ver.  13),  fear 
and  consternation  came  upon  them,  and 
they  stod  in  awe  at  what  was  occurring, 
and  acknowledged  the  power  of  God  in 
the  changes  that  took  place.  How  well 
this  was  fulfilled  in  what  occurred  in 
the  Reformation,  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  state.  The  events  which  then  took 
place  had  every  mark  of  being  under  the 
divine  hand,  and  were  such  as  to  fill  the 
minds  of  men  with  awe,  and  to  teach 
them  to  recognize  the  hand  of  God.  The 
power  which  tore  asunder  that  immense 
ecclesiastical  establishment,  that  had  so 
long  held  the  whole  of  Europe  in  ser¬ 
vitude  ;  which  dissolved  the  charm  which 
had  so  long  held  kings,  and  princes,  and 
people  spell-bound;  which  rent  away 
for  ever  so  large  a  portion  of  the  Papal 
dominions ;  which  led  kings  to  separate 
themselves  from  the  control  to  which 
they  had  been  so  long  subjected,  and 
which  emancipated  the  human  mind, 
and  diffused  abroad  the  great  principles 
of  ci'yl  and  religious  liberty,  was  well 
adapted  to  fill  the  mind  with  awe,  and 
to  lead  men  to  recognize  the  hand  and 
the  agency  of  God ;  and  if  it  be  admitted 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  passage 
meant  to  refer  to  these  events,  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  the  language  here  used 
is  such  as  is  well  adapted  to  describe 
the  effects  produced  on  the  minds  of 
men  at  large. 

15.  And  the  seventh  angel  sounded. 


0 


329 


CHAPTEK  XI. 


A.  D.  96.] 

15  And  the  seventh J  angel  sound¬ 
ed  ;  and  there  were  great  voices  in 
heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  c  of 

b  c.  10.  7.  C  c.  12. 10. 


See  Notes  on  ch.  viii.  2,  6,  7.  This  is 
the  last  of  the  trumpets,  implying,  of 
course,  that  under  this  the  series  of 
visions  was  to  end,  and  that  this  was  to 
introduce  the  state  of  things  under  which 
the  affairs  of  the  world  were  to  be  wound 
up.  The  place  which  this  occupies  in 
the  order  of  time,  is  when  the  events 
pertaining  to  the  colossal  Roman  power 
—  the  fourth  kingdom  of  Dauiel  (Dan. 
ii.,  vii.),  should  have  been  completed, 
and  when  the  reign  of  the  saints  (Dan. 
vii.  9-14,  27,  28)  should  have  been  in¬ 
troduced.  This,  both  in  Daniel  and  in 
John,  is  to  occur  when  the  mighty 
power  of  the  Papacy  shall  have  been 
overthrown,  at  the  termination  of  the 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  of  its 
duration.  See  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  25. 
In  both  Daniel  and  John  the  termina¬ 
tion  of  that  persecuting  power  is  the 
commencement  of  the  reign  of  the 
saints ;  the  downfall  of  the  Papacy,  the 
introduction  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
its  establishment  on  the  earth.  ^  And 
there  were  great  voices  in  heaven.  As  of 
exultation  and  praise.  The  grand  con¬ 
summation  had  come,  the  period  so 
long  anticipated  and  desired  when  God 
should  reign  on  the  earth  had  arrived, 
and  this  lays  the  foundation  for  joy  and 
thanksgiving  in  heaven,  The  king¬ 
doms  of  this  world.  The  modern  editions 
of  the  New  Testament  (see  Tittmann 
and  Hahn)  read  this  in  the  singular 
number  —  ‘The  kingdom  of  this  world 
has  become,’  &c.  According  to  this 
reading,  the  meaning  would  be,  either 
that  the  sole  reign  over  this  world  had 
become  that  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  or,  more 
probably,  that  the  dominion  over  the 
earth  had  been  regarded  as  one  in  the 
sense  that  Satan  had  reigned  over  it,  but 
had  now  become  the  kingdom  of  God  ; 
that  is,  that  “  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  many,  considered  in  them¬ 
selves;  but  in  reference  to  the  sway  of 
Satan,  there  is  only  one  kingdom  ruled 
over  by  tho  ‘  god  of  this  world.’  ”  Prof. 
Stuart.  The  sense  is  not  materially 
different  whichever  reading  is  adopted; 
though  the  authority  is  in  favor  of  the 
latter.  See  Wetstein.  According  to  the 
28  * 


this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ ;  and 
he  °  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 
a  Da.  2.  44,  7. 14,  18.  27. 


common  reading,  the  sense  is,  that  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  being  many 
in  themselves,  had  been  now  brought 
under  tho  one  sceptre  of  Christ ;  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  other,  tho  whole  world  was 
regarded  as  in  fact  one  kingdom  —  that 
of  Satan,  and  the  sceptre  had  now 
passed  from  his  hands  into  those  of  the 
Saviour,  ^  The  kingdoms  of  our  Lord. 
Or,  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord,  according 
to  the  reading  adopted  in  the  previous 
part  of  the  verse.  The  word  Lord  here, 

evidently  has  reference  to  God  as  such _ 

represented  as  the  original  source  of 
authority,  and  as  giving  the  kingdom  to 
his  Son.  See  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  13, 14  • 
comp.  Ps.  ii.  8.  The  word  Lord—Kvpios 
— implies  the  notion  of  possessor,  owner, 
sovereign,  Supremo  Ruler  — and  is  thus 
properly  given  to  God.  See  Matt.  i.  22, 
v.  33;  Mark  v.  19;  Luke  i.  6,  28;  Acts 
vii.  33;  Heb.  viii.  2,  10;  James  iv.  15, 
al.  seep,  f  And  of  his  Christ.  Of  his 
anointed;  of  him  who  is  set  apart  as  the 
Messiah,  and  consecrated  to  this  high 
office.  See  Notes  on  Matt.  i.  1.  He  is 
called  ‘  his  Christ,’  because  he  is  set 
apart  by  him,  or  appointed  by  him  to 
perform  the  work  appropriate  to  that 
office  on  earth.  Such  language  as  that 
which  occurs  here  is  often  employed,  in 
which  God  and  Christ  are  spoken  of  as, 
in  some  respects,  distinct — as  sustaining 
different  offices,  and  performing  different 
works.  The  essential  meaning  here  is, 
that  the  kingdom  of  this  world  had  now 
become  the  kingdom  of  God  under 
Christ;  that  is,  that  that  kingdom  is 
administered  by  the  Son  of  God.  f  And 
he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  A  king¬ 
dom  is  commenced  which  shall  never 
terminate.  It  is  not  said  that  this  would 
be  on  the  earth,  but  the  essential  idea  is, 
that  the  sceptre  of  the  world  had  now, 
after  so  long  a  time,  come  into  his  hands 
never  more  to  pass  away.  The  fuller 
characteristics  of  this  reign  are  stated 
in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  book  (chs. 
xx.-xxii.).  What  is  here  stated  is  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  all  the  predictions  in  the 
Bible.  A  time  is  to  come  when,  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  term,  G  od  is  to  reign 
on  the  earth ;  when  his  kingdom  is  to  bo 


330 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


16  And  the  four  and  twenty0 
elders  which  sat  before  God  on 
their  seats,  fell  upon  .their  faces, 
and  worshipped  God, 

17  Saying,  W e  give  thee  thanks, 

a  c.  4.  4. 


universal ;  when  his  laws  shall  be  every 
where  recognized  as  binding;  when  all 
idolatry  shall  come  to  an  end ;  and  when 
the  understandings  and  the  hearts  of 
men  every  where  shall  bow  to  his  autho¬ 
rity.  Comp.  Ps.  ii.  8 ;  Isa.  ix.  7,  xi.  9, 
xlv.  22,  lx. ;  Dan.  ii.  35,  44,  45,  vii.  13, 
14,  27,  28 ;  Zech.  xiv.  9 ;  Mai.  i.  11  ; 
Luke  i.  33.  On  this  whole  subject,  see 
the  very  ample  illustrations  and  proofs 
in  the  Notes  on  Daniel,  ii.  44, 45,  vii.  13, 
14,  27,  28;  comp.  Notes  on  chs.  xx.- 
xxii. 

16.  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders 
which  sat,  <fcc.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  4. 
<[  Fell  upon  their  faces,  and  worshipped 
God.  Prostrated  themselves  before  him 
— the  usual  form  of  profound  adoration. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  8-14. 

17.  Saying,  We  give  thee  thanks.  We, 
as  the  representatives  of  the  church,  and 
as  identified  in  our  feelings  with  it  (see 
Notes  on  ch.  iv.  4),  acknowledge  thy 
goodness  in  thus  delivering  the  church 
from  all  its  troubles,  and,  having  con¬ 
ducted  it  through  the  times  of  fiery 
persecution,  thus  establishing  it  upon 
the  earth.  The  language  here  used  is 
an  expression  of  their  deep  interest  in 
the  church,  and  of  the  fact  that  they  felt 
themselves  identified  with  it.  They,  as 
representatives  of  the  church,  would  of 
course  rejoice  in  its  prosperity  and  final 
triumph.  0  Lord  God  Almighty.  Re¬ 
ferring  to  God  as  all  powerful,  because 
it  was  by  his  omnipotent  arm  alone  that 
this  great  work  had  been  accomplished. 
Nothing  else  could  have  defended  the 
church  in  its  many  trials ;  nothing  else 
could  have  established  it  upon  the 
earth,  Which  art,  and  wast,  and  art 
to  come.  The  eternal  One,  always  the 
same.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  8.  The  re¬ 
ference  here  is  to  the  fact  that  God,  who 
had  thus  established  his  church  on 
the  earth,  is  unchanging.  In  all  the 
revolutions  which  occur  on  the  earth,  he 
always  remains  the  same.  What  he  was 
in  past  times  he  is  now ;  what  he  is  now 
he  always  will  be.  The  particular  idea 
suggested  here  seems  to  be,  that  he  had 


0  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  b  art, 
and  wast,  and  art  to  come  ;  because 
thou  hast  taken  to  thee  thy  great 
power,  and  hast  reigned. c 

18  And  the  nations  were  angry/ 

b  c.  16.  5.  c  c.  19.  6.  d  ver.  9. 


now  shown  this  by  having  caused  his 
church  to  triumph;  that  is,  he  had  shown 
that  he  was  the  same  God  who  had  early 
promised  that  it  should  ultimately  tri¬ 
umph;  he  had  carried  forward  his  glorious 
purposes  without  modifying  or  abandon¬ 
ing  them  amidst  all  the  changes  that 
had  occurred  in  the  world;  and  he  had 
thus  given  the  assurance  that  he  would 
now  remain  the  same,  and  that  all  his 
purposes  in  regard  to  his  church  would 
be  accomplished.  The  fact  that  God 
remains  always  unchangeably  the  same 
is  the  sole  reason  why  his  church  is  safe ; 
or  why  any  individual  member  of  it  is 
kept  and  saved.  Comp.  Mai.  iii.  6. 

Because  thou  hast  taken  to  thee  thy 
great  paicer.  To  wit,  by  setting  up  thy 
kingdom  over  all  the  earth.  Before  that, 
it  seemed  as  if  he  had  relaxed  that  power, 
or  had  given  the  power  to  others.  Satan 
had  reigned  on  the  earth.  Disorder, 
anarchy,  sin,  rebellion,  had  prevailed. 
It  seemed  as  if  God  had  let  the  reins  of 
government  fall  from  his  hand.  Now, 
he  came  forth  as  if  to  resume  the 
dominion  over  the  world,  and  to  take 
the  sceptre  into  his  own  hand,  and  to 
exert  his  great  power  in  keeping  the 
nations  in  subjection.  The  setting  up 
of  his  kingdom  all  over  the  world,  and 
causing  his  laws  every  where  to  be 
obeyed,  will  be  among  the  highest 
demonstrations  of  divine  power.  No 
thing  can  accomplish  this  but  the  power 
of  God;  when  that  power  is  exerted 
nothing  can  prevent  its  accomplishment. 

And  hast  reigned.  Prof.  Stuart : — 
“and  shown  thyself  as  king;”  that  is, 
‘  hast  become  king,  or  acted  as  a  king.’ 
The  idea  is,  that  he  had  now  vindicated 
his  regal  power  (Rob.  Lex.) ;  that  is,  he 
had  now  set  up  his  kingdom  on  the 
earth,  and  had  truly  begun  to  reign. 
One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Millen¬ 
nium — and  indeed  the  main  characteris¬ 
tic —  will  be,  that  God  will  be  every 
where  obeyed;  for  when  that  occurs 
all  will  be  consummated  that  properly 
enters  into  the  idea  of  the  millennial 
kingdom. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


331 


A.  D.  96.] 


and  thy  wrath  is  come,  and  the 
time  °  of  the  dead,  that  they  should 
be  judged,  and  that  thou  shouldest 
give  reward  4  unto  thy  servants 
the  prophets,  and  to  the  saints, 

a  He.  9.  27.  ft  c.  22. 12. 


18.  And  the  nations  were  angry.  Were 
enraged  against  thee.  This  they  had 
shown  by  their  opposition  to  his  laws; 
by  persecuting  his  people;  by  slaying 
his  witnesses ;  by  all  the  attempts  which 
they  had  made  to  destroy  his  authority 
on  the  earth.  The  reference  here  seems 
to  be  to  the  whole  series  of  events  pre¬ 
ceding  the  final  establishment  of  his 
kingdom  on  the  earth ;— to  all  the  efforts 
which  had  been  made  to  throw  off  his 
government  and  to  crush  his  church. 
At  this  period  of  glorious  triumph  it  was 
natural  to  look  back  to  those  dark 
times  when  the  ‘  nations  raged’  (comp. 
Ps.  ii.  1—3),  and  when  the  very  existence 
of  the  church  was  in  jeopardy.  ^  And 
thy  wrath  is  come.  That  is,  the  time 
when  thou  wilt  punish  them  for  all  that 
they  have  done  in  opposition  to  thee, 
and  when  the  wicked  shall  be  cut  off. 
There  will  be,  in  the  setting  up  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  some  manifestation  of 
his  wrath  against  the  powers  that  op¬ 
posed  it;  or  something  that  will  show 
his  purpose  to  destroy  his  enemies, 
and  to  judge  the  wicked.  The  repre¬ 
sentations  in  this  book  lead  us  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  final  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  on  the  earth  will  be 
introduced  or  accompanied  by  commo¬ 
tions  and  wars  which  will  end  in  the 
overthrow  of  the  great  powers  that  have 
opposed  his  reign,  and  by  such  awful 
calamities  in  those  portions  of  the  world 
as  shall  show  that  God  has  arisen  in  his 
strength  to  cut  off  his  enemies,  and  to 
appear  as  the  vindicator  of  his  people. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xvi.  12-16,  xix.  11- 
26.  «[  And  the  time  of  the  dead  that  they 

should  be  judged.  According  to  the 
view  which  the  course  of  the  expo¬ 
sition  thus  far  pursued  leads  us  to  enter¬ 
tain  of  this  book,  there  is  reference 
here,  in  few  words,  to  the  same  thing 
which  is  more  fully  stated  in  ch.  xx., 
and  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  writer 
will,  therefore,  come  up  for  a  more 
distinct  and  full  examination  when 
we  consider  that  chapter.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  xx.  4,  5,  6,  12-15.  The  purpose 


and  them  that  fear  thy  name, 
small  e  and  great ;  and  shouldest 
destroy  them  which  d  destroy  the 
earth. 

c  c.  19.  5.  d  Or,  corrupt. 


of  the  writer  does  not  require  that  a 
detailed  statement  of  the  order  of  tho 
events  referred  to  should  be  made 
here,  for  it  would  be  better  made, 
when,  after  another  line  of  illustration 
and  of  symbol  (ch.  xi.  19,  xii.-xix.),  he 
should  have  reached  the  same  catastro¬ 
phe,  and  when,  in  view  of  both,  the  mind 
would  be  prepared  for  the  fuller  descrip¬ 
tion  with  which  the  book  closes,  chs.  xx., 
xxi.,  xxii.  All  that  occurs  here,  there¬ 
fore,  is  a  very  general  statement  of  the 
final  consummation  of  all  things,  f  And 
that  thou  shouldest  give  reward  unto  thy 
servants.  The  righteous.  Comp.  Matt, 
xxv.  34—40,  Rev.  xxi.,  xxii.  That  is,  in 
the  final  winding  up  of  human  affairs, 
God  will  bestow  the  long-promised  re¬ 
ward  on  those  who  have  been  his  true 
friends.  The  wicked  that  annoyed  and 
persecuted  them,  will  annoy  and  perse¬ 
cute  them  no  more ;  and  the  righteous 
will  bo  publicly  acknowledged  as  the 
friends  of  God.  For  the  manner  in 
which  this  will  be  done,  cee  the  details 
chs.  xx.,  xxi.,  xxii.  The  prophets. 
All  who,  in  every  age,  have  faithfully 
proclaimed  the  truth.  On  the  meaning 
of  tho  word,  see  Notes  on  ch.  x.  11. 
IF  And  to  the  saints.  To  all  who  are 
holy — under  whatever  dispensation,  and 
in  whatever  land,  and  at  whatever  time, 
they  may  have  lived.  Then  will  be  the 
time  when,  in  a  public  manner,  they 
will  be  recognized  as  belonging  to  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  as  being  his  true 
friends.  And  them  that  fear  thy  name. 
Another  way  of  designating  his  people, 
since  religion  consists  in  a  profound 
veneration  for  God.  Mai.  iii.  16 ;  Acts 

x.  22,  35 ;  Job  i.  1 ;  Ps.  xv.  4,  xxii.  23, 
cxv.  11 ;  Prov.  i.  7,  iii.  13,  ix.  10 ;  Isa. 

xi.  2.  Small  and  great.  Young  and 
old ;  low  and  high ;  poor  and  rich.  The 
language  is  designed  to  comprehend  all, 
of  every  class,  who  have  a  claim  to  be 
numbered  among  the  friends  of  God,  and 
it  furnishes  a  plain  intimation  that 
men  of  all  classes  will  bo  found  at 
last  among  his  true  people.  One  of 
the  glories  of  the  true  religion  is,  that, 


332 


REVELATION, 


in  bestowing  its  favors,  it  disregards  all 
the  artificial  distinctions  of  society,  and 
addresses  man  as  man,  welcoming  all 
who  are  human  beings  to  the  blessings 
of  life  and  salvation.  This  will  be  illus¬ 
triously  shown  in  the  last  period  of  the 
world’s  history,  when  the  distinctions 
of  wealth,  and  rank,  and  blood  shall 
lose  the  importance  which  has  been 
attributed  to  them,  and  when  the  honor 
of  being  a  child  of  God  shall  have  its 
true  place.  Comp.  G-al.  iii.  28.  And 
shouldest  destroy  them  which  destroy  the 
earth.  That  is,  all  who  have,  in  their 
conquests,  spread  desolation  over  the 
earth ;  and  who  have  persecuted  the 
righteous,  and  all  who  have  done  injus¬ 
tice  and  wrong  to  any  class  of  men. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xx.  13-15. 

Here  ends,  as  I  suppose,  the  first 
series  of  visions  referred  to  in  the  volume 
sealed  with  the  seven  seals,  ch.  v.  1. 
At  this  point,  where  the  division  of  the 
chapter  should  have  been  made,  and 
which  is  properly  marked  in  our  com¬ 
mon  Bibles  by  the  sign  of  the  para¬ 
graph  (^[),  there  commences  anew  series 
of  visions,  intended  also,  but  in  a  dif¬ 
ferent  line,  to  extend  down  to  the  con- 
sumjnation  of  all  things.  The  former 
series  traces  the  history  down  mainly 
through  the  series  of  civil  changes  in 
the  world,  or  the  outward  affairs  which 
affect  the  destiny  of  the  church ;  the 
latter  —  the  portion  still  before  us  —  em¬ 
braces  the  same  period  with  a  more 
direct  reference  to  the  rise  of  Antichrist, 
and  the  influence  of  that  power  in  affect¬ 
ing  the  destiny  of  the  church.  When 
that  is  completed  (ch.  xi.  19,  xii.-xix.), 
the  way  is  prepared  (ch.xx.-xxii.)  for  the 
more  full  statement  of  the  final  triumph  of 
the  gospel,  and  the  universal  prevalence 
of  religion,  with  which  the  book  so  ap¬ 
propriately  closes.  That  portion  of  the 
book,  therefore,  refers  to  the  same 
period  as  the  one  which  has  just  been 
considered  under  the  sounding  of  the 
seventh  trumpet,  and  the  description  of 
the  finaj  state  of  things  would  have  im¬ 
mediately  succeeded  if  it  had  not  been 
necessary,  by  another  series  of  visions, 
to  trace  more  particularly  the  history  of 
Antichrist  on  the  destiny  of  the  church, 
and  the  way  in  which  that  great  and 
fearful  power  would  be  finally  overcome. 
See  the  ‘  Analysis’  of  the  book,  Part 
Fifth.  The  way  is  then  prepared  for  the 
description  of  the  state  of  things  which 


[A.  D.  96. 

will  exist  when  all  the  enemies  of  the 
church  shall  be  subdued;  when  Chris¬ 
tianity  shall  triumph ;  and  when  the 
predicted  reign  of  God  shall  be  set  up 
on  the  earth,  chs.  xx.,  xxi.,  xxii. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ANALYSIS  OF  CH.  XI.  19,  XII. 

This  portion  of  the  book  commences, 
according  to  the  view  presented  in  the 
closing  remarks  on  the  last  chapter,  a 
new  series  of  visions,  designed  more 
particularly  to  represent  the  internal 
condition  of  the  church ;  the  rise  of 
Antichrist,  and  the  effect  of  the  rise 
of  that  formidable  power  on  the  in¬ 
ternal  history  of  the  church  to  the 
time  of  the  overthrow  of  that  power,  and 
the  triumphant  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  See  the  Analysis  of 
the  Book,  Part  Fifth.  The  portion 
before  us  embraces  the  following  par¬ 
ticulars  : — 

(1)  A  new  vision  of  the  temple  of  God 
as  opened  in  heaven,  disclosing  the  ark 
of  the  testimony,  and  attended  with 
lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunderings, 
and  an  earthquake,  and  great  hail,  ch. 
xi.  19.  The  view  of  the  ‘  temple ,’  and 
the  ‘arlc,’  would  naturally  suggest  a 
reference  to  the  church,  and  would  be 
an  appropriate  representation  on  the 
supposition  that  this  vision  related 
to  the  church.  The  attending  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  lightnings,  &o.,  were  well 
fitted  to  impress  the  mind  with  awe,  and 
to  leave  the  conviction  that  great  and 
momentous  events  were  about  to  be  dis¬ 
closed.  I  regard  this  verse,  therefore, 
which  should  have  been  separted  from 
the  eleventh  chapter  and  attached  to  the 
twelfth,  as  the  introduction  to  a  new 
series  of  visions,  similar  to  what  we  have 
in  the  introduction  of  the  previous 
series,  ch.  iv.  1.  The  vision  was  of  the 
temple — the  symbol  of  the  church, — and 
it  was  ‘opened’  so  that  John  could  see 
into  its  inmost  part  —  even  within  the 
veil  where  the  ark  was, — and  could  have 
a  view  of  what  most  intimately  per¬ 
tained  to  it. 

(2)  A  representation  of  the  church, 
under  the  image  of  a  woman  about  to 
give  birth  to  a  child,  ch.  xii.  1,  2.  A 
woman  is  seen,  clothed,  as  it  were,  with 
the  sun  —  emblem  of  majesty,  truth,  in¬ 
telligence,  and  glory ;  she  has  the  moon 
under  her  feet,  as  if  she  walked  the 


A.  D.  96.J 


CHAPTER  XI.  —  XII. 


333 


heavens ;  she  has  on  her  head  a  glitter- 
ing  diadem  of  stars  ;  she  is  about  to 
become  a  mother.  This  seems  to  have 
been  designed  to  represent  the  church 
as  about  to  be  increased,  and  as  in 
that  condition  watched  by  a  dragon  —  a 
mighty  foe  —  ready  to  destroy  its  off¬ 
spring,  and  thus  compelled  to  flee  into 
the  wilderness  for  safety.  Thus  under¬ 
stood,  the  point  of  time  referred  to  would 
be  when  the  church  was  in  a  prosperous 
condition,  and  when  it  would  be  en¬ 
countered  by  Antichrist,  represented 
here  by  the  dragon,  and  compelled  to 
flee  into  the  wilderness;  that  is,  the 
church  for  a  time  would  be  driven  into 
obscurity,  and  be  almost  unknown. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing,  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  to  compare  the  church  with  a 
beautiful  woman.  See  Notes  on  Isa. 
i.  8.  The  following  remarks  of  Prof. 
Stuart  (vol.  ii.  252),  though  he  applies 
the  subject  in  a  manner  very  different 
from  what  I  shall,  seem  to  me  accu¬ 
rately  to  express  the  general  design  of 
the  symbol:  “The  daughter  of  Zion  is  a 
common  personification  of  the  church  in 
the  Old  Testament;  and  in  the  writings 
of  Paul,  the  same  image  is  exhibited  by 
the  phrase,  Jerusalem  which  is  the  mo¬ 
ther  of  us  all ;  i.  e.  of  all  Christians,  Gal. 
iv.  26.  The  main  point  before  us  is,  the 
illustration  of  that  church,  ancient  or 
later,  under  the  image  of  a  woman.  If  the 
Canticles  are  to  have  a  spiritual  sense 
given  to  them,  it  is  plain  enough  of 
course,  how  familiar  such  an  idea  was 
to  the  Jews.  Whether  the  woman  thus 
exhibited  as  a  symbol  be  represented  as 
bride  or  mother  depends  of  course  on  the 
nature  of  the  case,  and  the  relations  and 
exigencies  of  any  particular  passage.” 

(3)  The  dragon  that  stood  ready  to 
devour  the  child,  vs.  3,  4.  This  repre¬ 
sents  some  formidable  enemy  of  the 
church,  that  was  ready  to  persecute  and 
destroy  it.  The  real  enemy  here  referred 
to  is,  undoubtedly,  Satan,  the  great  ene¬ 
my  of  God  and  the  church,  but  here  it 
is  Satan  in  the  form  of  some  fearful 
opponent  of  the  church  that  would  arise 
at  a  period  when  the  church  was  pros¬ 
perous,  and  when  it  was  about  to  be 
enlarged.  We  are  to  look,  therefore,  for 
some  fearful  manifestation  of  this  for¬ 
midable  power,  having  the  characteris¬ 
tics  here  referred  to,  or  some  opposition 
to  the  church  such  as  we  may  suppose 
Satan  would  originate,  and  by  which  the 


|  existence  of  the  church  might  seem  to 
!  be  endangered. 

(4)  The  fact  that  the  child  which  the 
woman  brought  forth  was  caught  up  to 
heaven  —  symbolical  of  its  real  safety, 
and  of  its  having  the  favor  of  God  — a 
pledge  that  the  ultimate  prosperity  of 
the  church  was  certain,  and  that  it  was 
safe  from  real  danger,  ver.  5. 

(5)  The  fleeing  of  the  woman  into  the 
wilderness,  for  the  space  of  a  thousand 
two  hundred  and  threescore  days,  or 
1260  years,  ver.  6.  This  act  denotes  the 
persecuted  and  obscure  condition  of  the 
church  during  that  time,  and  the  period 
which  would  elapse  before  it  would  be 
delivered  from  this  persecution,  and  re¬ 
stored  to  the  place  in  the  earth  which  it 
was  designed  to  have. 

(6)  The  war  in  heaven;  a  struggle 
between  the  mighty  powers  of  heaven 
and  the  dragon,  vs.  7-9.  Michael  and 
his  angels  contend  against  the  dragon, 
in  behalf  of  the  church,  and  finally  pre¬ 
vail.  The  dragon  is  overcome,  and  is 
past  out,  and  all  his  angels  with  him  ; 
in  other  words,  the  great  enemy  of  God 
and  his  church  is  overcome  and  subdued. 
This  is  evidently  designed  to  be  sym¬ 
bolical,  and  the  meaning  is,  that  a  state 
of  things  would  exist  in  regard  to  the 
church,  which  would  be  well  represented 
by  supposing  that  such  a  scene  should 
occur  in  heaven ;  that  is,  as  if  a  war 
should  exist  there  between  the  great 
enemy  of  God  and  the  angels  of  light, 
and  as  if,  being  there  vanquished,  Satan 
should  be  cast  down  to  the  earth,  and 
should  there  exert  his  malignant  power 
in  a  warfare  against  the  church.  The 
general  idea  is,  that  his  warfare  would 
be  primarily  against  heaven,  as  if  he 
fought  with  the  angels  in  the  very  pre¬ 
sence  of  God,  but  that  the  form  in  which 
he  would  seem  to  prevail  would  be  against 
the  church,  as  if,  being  unsuccessful  in 
his  direct  warfare  against  the  angels  of 
God,  he  was  permitted,  for  a  time,  to 
enJ°y  the  appearance  of  triumph  in  con¬ 
tending  with  the  church. 

(7)  The  shout  of  victory  in  view  of 
the  conquest  over  the  dragon,  vs.  10-12. 

A  loud  voice  is  heard  in  heaven,  saying 
that  now  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come, 
and  that  the  reign  of  God  would  be  set 
up,  for  the  dragon  is  cast  down  and  over¬ 
come.  The  grand  instrumentality  in 
overcoming  this  foe  was  ‘  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  the  word  of  their  testimony 


334 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


19  And  the  temple  °  of  God  was 
opened  in  heaven,  and  there  was 
seen  in  his  temple  the  ark  of  his 
a  c.  15.  5.  S. 

that  is,  the  great  doctrines  of  truth  per¬ 
taining  to  the  work  of  the  Redeemer 
would  be  employed  for  this  purpose,  and 
it  is  proclaimed  that  the  heavens  and 
all  that  dwell  therein  had  occasion  to 
rejoice  at  the  certainty  that  a  victory 
would  be  ultimately  obtained  over  this 
great  enemy  of  God.  Still,  however,  his 
influence  was  not  wholly  at  an  end,  for 
he  would  yet  rage  for  a  brief  period  on 
the  earth. 

(8)  The  persecution  of  the  woman,  vs. 
13-15.  She  is  constrained  to  fly,  as  on 
wings  given  her  for  that  purpose,  into 
the  wilderness,  where  she  is  nourished 
for  the  time  that  the  dragon  is  to  exert 
his  power  —  a  ‘  time,  times,  and  half  a 
time’  —  or  for  1260  years.  The  dragon 
in  rage  pours  out  a  flood  of  water,  that 
he  may  cause  her  to  be  swept  away 
by  the  flood :  referring  to  the  perse¬ 
cutions  that  would  exist  while  the 
church  was  in  the  wilderness,  and  the 
efforts  that  would  be  made  to  destroy  it 
entirely. 

(9)  The  earth  helps  the  woman,  ver.  16. 
That  is,  a  state  of  things  would  exist  as 
if,  in  such  a  ease,  the  earth  should  open 
and  swallow  up  the  flood.  The  meaning 
is,  that  the  church  would  not  be  swept 
away,  but  that  there  would  be  an  inter¬ 
position  in  its  behalf,  as  if  the  earth 
should,  in  the  case  supposed,  open  its 
bosom,  and  swallow  up  the  swelling 
waters. 

(10)  The  dragon,  still  enraged,  makes 
war  with  all  that  pertain  to  the  woman, 
ver.  17.  Here  we  are  told  literally  who 
are  referred  to  by  the  ‘seed’  of  the  wo¬ 
man.  They  are  those  who  ‘  keep  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  have  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  Christ’  (ver.  17); 
that  is,  the  true  church. 

The  chapter,  therefore,  may  be  re¬ 
garded  as  a  general  vision  of  the  per¬ 
secutions  that  would  rage  against  the 
church.  It  seemed  to  be  about  to  in¬ 
crease  and  to  spread  over  the  world. 
Satan,  always  opposed  to  it,  strives  to 
prevent  its  extension.  The  conflict  is 
represented  as  if  in  heaven,  where  war 
is  waged  between  the  celestial  beings 
and  Satan,  and  where,  being  overcome, 
Satan  is  cast  down  to  the  earth,  and 


testament:  and  there  were  light¬ 
nings,  b and  voices,  and  thunderings, 
and  an  earthquake,  f  and  great  hail. 

6  c.  8.  5.  c  c.  16. 18,  21. 

permitted  to  wage  the  war  there.  The 
church  is  persecuted;  becomes  obscure 
and  almost  unknown,  but  still  is  myste¬ 
riously  sustained,  and  when  most  in 
danger  of  being  wholly  swallowed  up,  is 
kept  as  if  a  miracle  were  wrought  in  its 
defence.  The  detail  —  the  particular 
form  in  which  the  war  would  be  waged 
— is  drawn  out  in  the  following  chapters. 

Ch.  xi.  19.  And  the  temple  of  God  was 
opened  in  heaven.  The  temple  of  God 
at  Jerusalem  was  a  pattern  of  the  hea¬ 
venly  one,  or  of  heaven.  Heb.  viii.  1-5. 
In  that  temple  God  Was  supposed  to 
reside  by  the  visible  symbol  of  his  pre¬ 
sence —  the  Shekinah  —  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  See  Notes  on  Heb.  ix.  7.  Thus 
God  dwells  in  heaven,  as  in  a  holy  tem¬ 
ple,  of  which  that  on  earth  was  the  em¬ 
blem.  When  it  is  said  that  that  was 
‘  opened  in  heaven,’  the  meaning  is,  that 
John  was  permitted,  as  it  were,  to  look 
into  heaven,  the  abode  of  God,  and  to 
see  him  in  his  glory.  And  there  was 
seen  in  his  temple  the  ark  of  his  testament. 
See  Notes  on  Heb.  ix.  4.  That  is,  the 
very  interior  of  heaven  was  laid  open, 
and  John  was  permitted  to  witness  what 
was  transacted  in  its  obscurest  recesses, 
and  what  were  its  most  hidden  mysteries. 
It  will  be  remembered,  as  an  .illustration 
of  the  correctness  of  this  view  of  the 
meaning  of  the  verse,  and  of  its  proper 
place  in  the  divisions  of  the  book — 
assigning  it  as  the  opening  verse  of  a 
new  series  of  visions  —  that  in  the  first 
series  of  visions  we  have  a  statement 
remarkably  similar  to  this,  ch.  iv.  1 :  — 
“After  this  I  looked,  and  behold  a  door 
■was  opened  in  heaven that  is,  there 
was,  as  it  were,  an  openiny  made  into 
heaven,  so  that  John  was  permitted  to 
look  in  and  see  what  was  occurring 
there.  The  same  idea  is  expressed 
substantially  here,  by  saying  that  the 
very  interior  of  the  sacred  temple 
where  God  resides  was  1  opened  in  hea¬ 
ven,’  so  that  John  was  permitted  to 
look  in  and  see  what  was  transacted 
in  his  very  presence.  This,  too,  may 
go  to  confirm  the  idea  suggested  in  the 
Analysis  of  the  book,  Part  Fifth,  that 
this  portion  of  the  Apocalypse  refers 
rather  to  the  interna I  affairs  of  the 


335 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AND  there  appeared  a  great 
°  wonder  in  heaven  ;  a  woman 

a  Or,  sign.  ft  Is.  54.  6- 


church,  or  the  church  itself — for  of  this 
the  temple  was  the  proper  emblem. 
Then  appropriately  follows  the  series 
of  visions  describing,  as  in  the  former 
case,  what  was  to  occur  in  future  times  : 
this  series  referring  to  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  church,  as  the  former  did  mainly 
to  what  would  outwardly  affect  its  form 
and  condition.  And  there  were  light¬ 
nings,  &c.  Symbolic  of  the  awful  pre¬ 
sence  of  God,  and  of  his  majesty  and 
glory,  as  in  the  commencement  of  the 
first  series  of  visions.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
*v-  S'.  The  similarity  of  the  symbols  of 
the  divine  majesty  in  the  two  cases,  may 
also  serve  to  confirm  the  supposition  that 
this  is  the  beginning  of  a  new  series  of 
visions.  f  And  an  earthquake.  Also  a 
symbol  of  the  divine  majesty,  and  per¬ 
haps  of  the  great  convulsions  that  were 
to  occur  under  this  series  of  visions 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  vi.  12.  Thus,  in 
the  sublime  description  of  God  in  the 
18th  Psalm  (ver.  7),  “Then  the  earth 
shook  and  trembled;  the  foundations 
also  of  the  hills  moved  and  were  shaken, 
because  he  was  wroth.”  So  in  Ex.  xix. 
18,  “And  Mount  Sinai  was  altogether  in 
a  smoke  —  and  the  whole  mount  quaked 
greatly.”  Comp.  Amos  viii.  8,  9 ;  Joel 
ii.  10.  ^  And  great  hail.  Also  an  em¬ 

blem  of  the  presence  and  majesty  of 
God,  perhaps  with  the  accompanying 
idea  that  he  would  overwhelm  and  pun¬ 
ish  his  enemies.  So  in  Ps.  xviii.  13,  “  The 
Lord  al«o  thundered  in  the  heavens,  and 
the  Highest  gave  his  voice:  hailstones 
and  coals  of  fire.”  So  also  Job  xxxviii 
22,  23: 


**  fk°u  entered  into  the  treasures  of  snow. 

Or  hast  thou  seen  the  treasures  of  hail  ? 

Which  I  have  reserved  against  the  day  of  trouble. 
Against  the  day  of  battle  and  war?1* 

So  in  Ps.  cv.  32 : 

“  He  gare  them  hail  for  rain. 

And  flaminK  fire  in  their  land.” 

Comp.  Ps.  Ixxviii.  48;  Isa.  xxx.  30; 
Ezek.  xxxviii.  22. 

Ch.  xii.  1.  And  there  appeared  a  great 
wonder  in  heaven.  In  that  heavenly 
world  thus  disclosed ;  in  the  very  pre¬ 
sence  of  God,  he  saw  the  impressive  and 
remarkable  symbol  which  he  proceeds 


b  clothed  with  the  sun,  c  and  the 
moon  under  her  feet,  and  upon  her 
head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars ; 
c  Ps.  84.  11 ;  Mai.  4.  2. 


to  describe.  The  word  wonder — cqyiiow 
properly  means  something  extraordi- 
nary,  °r  miraculous,  and  is  commonly 
rendered  sign.  See  Matt.  xii.  38,  39, 
xvi.  1,  3,  4,  xxiv.  3,  24,  30,  xxvi.  48; 
Mark,  vni.  11,  12,  xiii.  4,  22,  xvi.  17,  20, 
in  all  which,  and  in  numerous  other 
places  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  ren¬ 
dered  sign,  and  mostly  in  the  sense  of 
miracle.  When  used  in  the  sense  of 
a  miracle,  it  refers  to  the  fact  that  the 
miracle  is  a  sign  or  token  by  which  the 
divine  power  or  purpose  is  made  known. 
Sometimes  the  word  is  used  to  denote  a 
si9n  of  future  things  —  a  portent  or  pre¬ 
sage  of  coming  events ;  that  is,  some  re¬ 
markable  appearances  which  foreshadow 
the  future.  Thus  in  Matt.  xvi.  3  :  “signs 
of  the  times;  that  is,  the  miraculous 
events  which  foreshadow  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah  in  his  kingdom.  So  also  in 
Matt.  xxiv.  3,  30 ;  Mark,  xiii.  4 ;  Luke, 
xxi.  7, 11.  This  seems  to  be  the  meaning 
here,  that  the  woman  who  appeared  in 
this  remarkable  manner,  was  a  portent  or 
token  of  what  was  to  occur.  A  woman 
clothed  with  the  sun.  Bright;  splendid; 
glorious,  as  if  the  sunbeams  were  her  rai¬ 
ment.  Comp.  ch.i.  16,  x.l;  Cant.  vi.  10 _ 

a  passage  which,  very  possibly,  was  in 
the  mind  of  the  writer  when  he  penned 
this  description  :  —  “  Who  is  this  that 
looketh  forth  as  the  morning,  fair  as  the 
moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as 
an  army  with  banners.”  And  the 
moon  under  her  feet.  The  moon  seemed 
to  be  under  her  feet.  She  seemed  as  if 
she  stood  on  the  moon,  its  pale  light 
contrasted  with  the  burning  splendor  of 
the  sun,  heightening  the  beauty  of  the 
whole  picture.  The  woman,  beyond  all 
question,  represents  the  church.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  2.  Is  the  splendor  of  the 
sun-light  designed  to  denote  the  bright¬ 
ness  of  the  gospel?  Is  the  moon  de¬ 
signed  to  represent  the  comparatively 
feeble  light  of  the  Jewish  dispensation  ? 

Is  the  fact  that  she  stood  upon  the  moon, 
or  that  it  was  under  her  feet,  designed 
to  denote  the  superiority  of  the  gospol 
to  the  Jewish  dispensation?  Such  a 
supposition  gives  much  beauty  to  the 
symbol,  and  is  not  foreign  to  the  nature 


336 


REVELATION, 


2  And  she  being  with  child, 


of  symbolic  language.  And  upon  her 
head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars.  A  diadem 
in  which  there  were  placed  twelve  stars. 
That  is,  there  were  twelve  sparkling 
gems  in  the  crown  which  she  wore. 
This  would,  of  course,  greatly  increase 
the  beauty  of  the  vision ;  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  number  twelve  here 
is  significant.  If  the  woman  here  is 
designed  to  symbolize  the  church,  then 
the  number  twelve  has,  in  all  probability, 
some  allusion  either  to  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel — as  being  a  number  which  one 
who  was  born  and  educated  as  a  Jew 
would  be  likely  to  use  (comp.  James, 
i.  1),  or,  to  the  twelve  apostles — an  allu¬ 
sion  which  it  may  be  supposed  an  apos¬ 
tle  would  be  more  likely  to  make. 
Comp.  Matt.  xix.  28 ;  Rev.  xxi.  14. 

2.  And  she ,  being  with  child,  cried, 
travailing  in  birth,  &c.  That  is,  there 
would  bo  something  which  would  be 
properly  represented  by  a  woman  in 
such  circumstances. 

The  question  now  is,  what  is  referred 
to  by  this  woman  ?  And  here  it  need 
hardly  be  said  that  there  has  been,  as  in 
regard  to  almost  every  other  part  of  the 
book  of  Revelation,  a  great  variety  of 
interpretations.  It  would  be  endless  to 
undertake  to  examine  them ;  and  would 
not  be  profitable  if  it  could  be  done ;  and 
it  is  better,  therefore,  and  more  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  design  of  these  Notes, 
to  state  briefly  what  seems  to  me  to  be 
the  true  interpretation.  (1)  The  woman 
is  evidently  designed  to  symbolize  the 
church ;  and  in  this  there  is  a  pretty 
general  agreement  among  interpreters. 
The  image,  which  is  a  beautiful  one,  was 
very  familiar  to  the  Jewish  prophets.  See 
N otes  on  Isa.  i.  8,  xlvii.  1 ;  comp.  Ezek.  xvi. 
(2)  But  still,  the  question  arises,  to  what 
time  this  representation  refers  :  whether 
to  the  church  before  the  birth  of  the 
Saviour,  or  after  ?  According  to  the 
former  of  these  opinions,  it  is  supposed 
to  refer  to  the  church  as  giving  birth  to 
the  Saviour,  and  the  '  man-child’  that  is 
born  (ver.  5)  is  supposed  to  refer  to 
Christ,  who  '  sprang  from  the  church 
Kara  adpica’  —  according  to  the  flesh. 
Prof.  Stuart,  ii.  252.  The  church,  ac¬ 
cording  to  this  view,  is  not  simply 
regarded  as  Jewish,  but,  in  a  more 
general  and  theocratic  sense,  as  the  people 


[A.  D.  96. 

cried,  travailing  in  birth,  and 
pained  to  be  delivered. 

of  God.  “  From  the  Christian  church, 
considered  as  Christian,  he  could  not 
spring ;  for  this  took  its  rise  only  after 
the  time  of  his  public  ministry.  But 
from  the  bosom  of  the  people  of  God  the 
Saviour  came.  This  church,  Judaical 
indeed  (at  the  time  of  his  birth)  in 
respect  to  rites  and  forms,  but  to  be¬ 
come  Christian  after  he  had  exercised 
his  ministry  in  the  midst  of  it,  might 
well  be  represented  here  by  the  woman 
which  is  described  in  ch.  xii.”  Prof. 
Stuart.  But  to  this  view  there  are  some, 
as  it  seems  to  me,  unanswerable  objec¬ 
tions.  For  (a)  There  seems  to  be  a 
harshness  and  incongruity  in  repre¬ 
senting  the  Saviour  as  the  Son  of  the 
church,  or,  representing  the  church  as 
giving  birth  to  him.  Such  imagery  is 
not  found  elsewhere  in  the  Bible,  and  is 
not  in  accordance  with  the  languago 
which  is  employed,  where  Christ  is  rather 
represented  as  the  Husband  of  the  church 
than  the  Son.  See  Rev.  xxi.  2,  “  pre¬ 
pared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  hus¬ 
band  ver.  9,  “I  will  show  thee  the 
bride,  the  Lamb’s  wife.”  Comp.  Isa. 
liv.  5,  lxi.  10,  lxii.  5.  (b)  If  this  inter¬ 

pretation  be  adopted,  then  this  must 
refer  to  the  Jewish  church,  and  thus  the 
woman  will  personify  the  Jewish  com¬ 
munity  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  But 
this  seems  contrary  to  the  whole  design 
of  the  Apocalypse,  which  has  reference 
to  the  Christian  church,  and  not  to  the 
ancient  dispensation,  (c)  If  this  inter¬ 
pretation  be  adopted,  then  the  statement 
about  the  dwelling  in  the  wilderness  for  a 
period  of  1260  days  or  years  (ver.  14) 
must  be  assigned  to  the  Jewish  com¬ 
munity  —  a  supposition  every  way  im¬ 
probable  and  untenable.  In  what  sense 
could  this  be  true  ?  When  did  any¬ 
thing  happen  to  the  Jewish  people  that 
could,  with  any  show  of  probability,  be 
regarded  as  the  fulfilment  of  this  ?  (d)  It 
may  be  added,  that  the  statement  about 
the  'man-child’  (ver.  5),  is  one  that  can 
with  difficulty  be  reconciled  to  this  sup¬ 
position.  In  what  sense  was  this  true 
that  the  ‘mem-child’  was  ‘caught  up 
unto  God,  and  to  his  throne  ?’  The  Sa¬ 
viour,  indeed,  ascended  to  heaven,  but  it 
was  not,  as  here  represented,  that  he 
might  be  protected  from  the  danger  of 
being  destroyed ;  and  when  he  did  as- 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XII. 


3  And  there  appeared  another 


337 


cend,  it  was  not  as  a  helpless  and  unpro¬ 
tected  babe,  but  as  a  man  in  the  full  matu- 
nty  of  his  powers.— The  other  opinion  is, 
that  the  woman  here  refers  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian  church,  and  that  the  object  is  to 
represent  that  church  as  about  to  be 
enlarged  — represented  by  the  condition 
of  the  woman,  ver.  2.  A  beautiful  wo¬ 
man  appears,  clothed  with  light  — em¬ 
blematic  of  the  brightness  and  purity  of 
the  church;  with  the  moon  under  her 
feet  the  ancient  and  comparatively 
obscure  dispensation  now  made  subor¬ 
dinate  and  humble;  with  a  glittering 
diadem  of  twelve  stars  on  her  head — the 
stars  representing  the  usual  well-known 
division  of  the  people  of  God  into  twelve 
parts  as  the  stars  in  the  American  flag 
denote  the  original  states  of  the  Union ; 
and  in  a  condition  (ver.  2)  which  showed 
that  the  church  was  to  be  increased. 
The  time  there  referred  to,  is  at  the  early 
period  of  the  history  of  the  church, 
when,  as  it  were,  it  first  appears  on  the 
theatre  of  things,  and  going  forth  in  its 
beauty  and  majesty  over  the  earth. 
John  sees  this  church  as  it  was  about  to 
spread  in  the  world,  exposed  to  a  mighty 
and  formidable  enemy— a  hateful  dragon 
— stationing  itself  to  prevent  its  increase, 
and  to  accomplish  its  destruction.  From 
that  impending  danger  it  is  protected  in 
a  manner  that  would  be  well  represented 
by  the  saving  of  the  child  of  the  woman, 
and  bearing  it  up  to  heaven,  to  a  place 
of  safety— an  act  implying  that,  notwith¬ 
standing  all  dangers,  the  progress  and 
enlargement  of  the  church  was  ulti¬ 
mately  certain.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
woman  herself  flees  into  the  wilderness 
—  an  act  representing  the  obscure  and 
humble  and  persecuted  state  of  tho 
church  till  the  great  controversy  is 
determined  which  is  to  have  the  ascen¬ 
dency  God  or  the  Dragon.  In  favor 
of  this  interpretation,  the  following  con¬ 
siderations  may  be  suggested  : — (a)  It  is 
the  natural  and  obvious  interpretation. 

( b )  If  it  be  admitted  that  John  meant  to 
describe  what  occurred  in  the  world  at 
the  time  when  the  true  church  seemed 
to  be  about  to  extend  itself  over  the 
earth,  and  when  that  *prosperity  was 
checked  by  the  rise  of  the  Papal  power, 
the  symbol  employed  would  be  strikingly 
expressive  and  appropriate,  (c)  It  ac- 
29 


1  wonder  in  heaven ;  and  behold  a 

a  Or,  sign. 


cords  with  the  language  elsewhere  used 
in  the  Scriptures  when  referring  to  the 
increase  of  the  church.  Isa.  lxvi  7  8  • 
“  ^fore  travailed,  she  brought 
forth;  before  her  pain  came,  she  was 
delivered  of  a  man-child.  Who  hath 
eard such  a  thing?  —  As  soon  as  Zion 
travailed,  she  brought  forth  her  child- 

fW  vP3?'  liv‘  O  barren,  thou 

that  didst  not  bear;  for  more  are  the 
children  of  the  desolate  than  the  children 
of  the  married  wife,  saith  the  Lord.” 
Isa.  xlix.  20  :  “The  children  which  thou 
shalt  have,  after  thou  shalt  have  lost  the 
other,  shall  say  again  in  thy  ears,  The 
place  is  too  strait  for  me ;  give  place  to 
me  that  I  may  dwell.”  The  comparison 
of  the  church  to  a  woman  as  the  mother 
of  children,  is  one  that  is  very  common 
in  the  Scriptures,  (d)  The  future  des¬ 
tiny  of  the  child  and  of  the  woman 
agrees  with  this  supposition.  The  child 
is  caught  up  to  heaven  (ver.  5),  em¬ 
blematic  of  the  fact  that  God  will  pro¬ 
tect  the  Church,  and  not  suffer  its 
increase  to  be  cut  off  and  destroyed; 
and  the  woman  is  driven  for  1260  years 
into  the  wilderness  and  nourished  there 
(ver.  14)— emblematic  of  the  longperiod 
of  obscurity  and  persecution  in  the  true 
church,  and  yet  of  the  fact  that  it  would 
be  protected  and  nourished.  The  design 
of  the  whole,  therefore,  I  apprehend,  is 
to  represent  the  peril  of  the  church  at 
the  time  when  it  was  about  to  be  greatly 
enlarged,  or  in  a  season  of  prosperity, 
from  the  rise  of  a  formidable  enemy 
that  would  stand  ready  to  destroy  it. 

I  regard  this,  therefore,  as  referring  to" 
the  time  of  the  rise  of  the  Papacy 
when,  but  for  that  formidable,  cor¬ 
rupting,  and  destructive  power,  it  might 
have  been  hoped  that  the  church  would 
have  spread  all  over  the  world.  In 
regard  to  the  rise  of  that  power,  see 
all  that  I  have  to  say,  or  can  say,  in  the 
Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  24-28. 

3.  And  there  appeared  another  wonder 
in  heaven.  Represented  as  in  heaven. 
Notes  ver.  1.  That  is,  ho  saw  this  as 
occurring  at  the  time  when  the  church 
was  thus  about  to  increase,  And  be¬ 
hold,  a  great  red  dragon.  The  word 
rendered  dragon — Spaxiov — occurs,  in  the 
New  Testament,  only  in  the  book  of 
Revelation,  where  it  is  uniformly  rep- 


338  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


great  red  dragon,  0  having  seven 

a  ver.  9. 

dered  as  "here — dragon.  Ch.  xii.  3,  4,  7, 
9,  13,  16,  17;  xiii.  2,  4,  11;  xvi.  13; 
xx.  2.  In  all  these  places  there  is  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  same  thing.  The  word  pro¬ 
perly  means  a  large  serpent;  and  the 
allusion  in  the  word  commonly  is  to 
some  serpent,  perhaps  such  as  the  ana¬ 
conda,  that  resides  in  a  desert  or  wilder¬ 
ness.  See  a  full  account  of  the  ideas 
that  prevailed  in  ancient  times  respecting 
the  dragon,  in  Bochart,  Hieroz.  Lib.  iii. 
c.  xiv.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  428-440.  There  was 
much  that  was  fabulous  respecting  this 
monster,  and  many  notions  were  attached 
to  the  dragon  which  did  not  exist  in  real¬ 
ity,  and  which  were  ascribed  to  it  by  the 
imagination  at  a  time  when  Natural 
History  was  little  understood.  The 
characteristics  ascribed  to  the  dragon, 
according  to  Bochart,  are,  that  it  was 
distinguished  (a)  for  its  vast  size;  (5) 
that  it  had  something  like  a  beard  or 
dew-lap;  (c)  that  it  had  three  rows  of 
teeth ;  (d)  that  its  color  was  black,  red, 
yellow,  or  ashy ;  (e)  that  it  had  a  wide 
mouth ;  (/)  that  in  its  breathing  it  not 
only  drew  in  the  air,  but  also  birds  that 
were  flying  over  it;  and  (g)  that  its  hiss 
was  terrible.  Occasionally,  also,  feet 
and  wings  were  attributed  to  the  dragon, 
and  sometimes  a  lofty  crest.  The  dra¬ 
gon,  according  to  Bochart,  was  supposed 
to  inhabit  waste  places  and  solitudes 
(comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  xiii.  22),  and  it 
became,  therefore,  an  object  of  great 
terror.  It  is  probable  that  the  original 
of  this  was  a  huge  serpent,  and  that  all 
the  other  circumstances  were  added  by 
the  imagination.  The  prevailing  ideas 
in  regard  to  it,  however,  should  be  borne 
in  mind,  in  order  to  see  the  force  and 
propriety  of  the  use  of  the  word  by 
John.  Two  special  characteristics  are 
stated  by  John  in  the  general  description 
of  the  dragon :  one  is,  its  red  color  ;  the 
other,  that  it  was  great.  In  regard  to 
the  former,  as  above  mentioned,  the 
dragon  was  supposed  to  be  black,  red, 
yellow,  or  ashy.  See  the  authorities 
referred  to  in  Bochart,  ut  sup.  pj>.  435, 
436.  There  was  doubtless  a  reason  why 
the  one  seen  by  John  should  be  repre¬ 
sented  as  red.  As  to  the  other  charac¬ 
teristic — great — the  idea  is,  that  it  was 
a  huge  monster,  and  this  would  properly 
refer  to  some  mighty,  terrible  power 


heads  and  ten  horns,  and  seven 
crowns  upon  his  heads. 

which  would  be  properly  symbolized  by 
such  a  monster.  *[[  Having  seven  heads. 
It  was  not  unusual  to  attribute  many 
heads  to  monsters,  especially  to  fabulous 
monsters,  and  these  greatly  increased 
the  terror  of  the  animal.  “  Thus  Cerbe¬ 
rus  usually  has  three  heads  assigned  to 
him;  but  Hesiod  (Theog.  312)  assigns 
him  fifty,  and  Horace  (Ode  II.  13,  34)  one 
hundred.  So  the  Hydra  of  tbe  Lake 
Lerna,  killed  by  Hercules,  had  fifty 
heads  (Virg.  Aen.  vi.  576);  and  in  Kid- 
dushim,  fol.  29,  2,  Rabbi  Achse  is  said 
to  have  seen  a  demon  like  a  dragon  with 
seven  heads.”  Prof.  Stuart,  in  loe.  The 
seven  heads  would  somehow  denote 
power,  or  seats  of  power.  Such  a  num¬ 
ber  of  heads  increase  the  terribleness, 
and,  as  it  were,  the  vitality  of  the  mon¬ 
ster.  What  is  here  represented  would 
be  as  terrible  and  formidable  as  such  a 
monster;  or,  such  a  monster  would  ap¬ 
propriately  represent  what  was  designed 
to  be  symbolized  here.  The  number 
seven  may  be  used  here  ‘as  a  perfect 
number,’  or  merely  to  heighten  tbe  ter¬ 
ror  of  the  image,  but  it  is  more  natural 
to  suppose  that  there  would  be  some¬ 
thing  in  what  is  here  represented  which 
would  lay  the  foundation  for  the  use  of 
this  number.  There  would  be  something 
either  in  the  origin  of  the  power;  or  in 
the  union  of  various  powers  now  com¬ 
bined  in  the  one  represented  by  the 
dragon;  or  in  the  seat  of  the  power, 
which  this  would  preperly  symbolize. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Daniel  vii.  6.  And 
ten  horns.  Emblems  of  power,  denoting 
that,  in  some  respects,  there  were  ten 
powers  combined  in  this  one.  See  Notes 
on  Dan.  vii.  7,  8,  20,  24.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  John  had  those  passages 
of  Daniel  in  his  eye,  and  perhaps  as  little 
that  the  reference  is  to  the  same  thing. 
The  meaning  is,  that,  in  some  respects, 
there  would  be  a  tenfold  origin  or  divi¬ 
sion  of  the  power  represented  by  the 
dragon.  And  seven  crowns  upon  his 
heads.  Gr.  diadems.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
ix.  7.  There  is  a  reference  here  to  some 
kingly  power,  and  doubtless  John  had 
some  kingdom  or  sovereignty  in  his  eye 
that  would  be  ’  properly  symbolized  in 
this  manner.  The  method  in  which 
these  heads  and  horns  were  arranged  on 
the  dragon  is  not  stated,  and  is  not  ma- 


339 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XII. 


terial.  _  All  that  is  necessary  in  the  ex¬ 
planation  is,  that  there  was  something  in 
the  power  referred  to  that  would  he  pro¬ 
perly  represented  by  the  seven  heads, 
and  something  by  the  ten  horns. 

In  the  application  of  this,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  enquire  what  was  properly 
symbolized  by  these  representations,  and 
to  refer  again  to  these  particulars  with 
this  view. 

(а)  The  dragon.  This  is  explained, 
ver.  9  of  this  chapter :  “  And  the  great 
dragon  was  cast  out,  that  old  serpent, 
called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  de- 
ceiveth  the  whole  world.”  So  again, 
ch.  xx.  2,  “And  he  laid  hold  on  the 
dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the 
Devil.”  Comp.  Bochart,  Hieroz.  ii.  pp. 
439,  440.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  there¬ 
fore,.  that  the  reference  here  is  to  Satan, 
considered  as  the  enemy  of  God,  and  the 
enemy  of  the  peace  of  man,  and  espe¬ 
cially  as  giving  origin  and  form  to  some 
mighty  power  that  would  threaten  the 
existence  of  the  church. 

(б)  Great.  This  will  well  describe  the 
power  of  Satan  as  originating  the  organ¬ 
izations  that  were  engaged  for  so  long  a 
time  in  persecuting  the  church,  and 
endeavouring  to  destroy  it.  It  was  a 
work  of  vast  power,  controlling  kings 
and  princes  and  nations  for  ages,  and 
could  have  been  accomplished  only  by 
one  to  whom  the  appellation  here  used 
could  be  given. 

(c)  Red.  This,  too,  is  an  appellation 
properly  applied  here  to  the  dragon,  or 
Satan,  considered  as  the  enemy  of  the 
church,  and  as  originating  this  perse¬ 
cuting  power,  either  (1)  because  it  well 
represents  the  bloody  persecutions  that 
would  ensue;  or  (2)  because  this  would 
be  the  favorite  color  by  which  this  power 
would  be  manifest.  Comp.  ch.  xvii.  3, 4, 
xviii.  12,  16. 

(d)  The  seven  heads.  There  was  doubt¬ 
less,  as  above  remarked,  something  sig¬ 
nificant  in  these  heads,  as  referring  to 
the  power  designed  to  be  represented. 
On  the  supposition  that  this  refers  to 
Rome,  or  to  the  power  of  Satan  as  mani¬ 
fested  by  Roman  persecution,  there  can 
be  no  difficulty  in  the  application,  and, 
indeed,  it  is  such  an  image  as  the  writer 
would  naturally  use  on  the  supposition 
that  it  had  such  a  designed  reference. 
Rome  was  built,  as  is  well  known,  on 
seven  hills  (comp.  Notes  on  ch.  x.  3), 
and  was  callod  the  seven-hilled  city 


{Septicolis),  from  having  been  originally 
built  on  seven  hills,  though  subsequently 
three  hills  were  added,  making  the  whole 
number  ten.  See  Eschenburg,  Manual 
of  Classical  Literature,  P.  1,  3  53.  Thus 
Ovid : 

**  Sed  quae  de  septem  totum  circumspicit  orbem 
Montibus,  imperii  Roms  De&mque  locus. 

Horace : 

“  Dli  quibus  septem  placuere  colies.” 

Propertius : 

“  Septem  urbs  alta  jugis,  toti  quae  praesidet  orbi.” 

Tertullian  :  “  I  appeal  to  the  citizens  of 
Rome,  the  populace  that  dwell  on  the 
seven  hills.”  Apol.  35.  And  again,  Jer¬ 
ome  to  Marcella,  when  urging  her  to  quit 
Rome  for  Bethlehem :  “  Read  what  is 
said  in  the  Apocalypse  of  the  seven 
hills,”  &c.  The  situation  of  the  city,  if 
that  was  designed  to  be  represented  by 
the  dragon,  would  naturally  suggest  the 
idea  of  the  seven-headed  monster.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ch.xiii.  The  explanation  which 
is  here  given  of  the  meaning  of  the  ‘seven 
heads,’  is  in  fact  one  that  is  given  in  the 
book  of  Revelation  itself,  and  there  can 
be  no  danger  of  error  in  this  part  of  the 
interpretation.  See  ch.  xvii.  9 :  “  The 
seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on 
which  the  woman  sitteth.”  Comp.  ver.  18. 

(e)  The  ten  horns.  These  were  em¬ 
blems  of  power,  denoting  that  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  that  power  there  were,  in  some 
respects,  ten  sources.  The  same  thing 
is  referred  to  here  which  is  in  Dan.  vii. 
7,  8,  20,  24.  See  the  Notes  on  Dan.  vii. 
24,  where  this  subject  is  fully  considered. 
The  creature  that  John  saw  was  indeed 
a  monster,  and  we  are  not  to  expect 
entire  congruity  in  the  details.  It  is 
sufficient  that  the  main  idea  is  preserved, 
and  that  would  be,  if  the  reference  was 
to  Rome  considered  as  the  place  where 
the  energy  of  Satan,  as  opposed  to  God 
and  the  church,  was  centered. 

if)  The  seven  crowns.  This  would 
merely  denote  that  kingly  or  royal  au¬ 
thority  was  claimed. 

The  general  interpretation  which  re¬ 
fers  this  vision  to  Rome  may  receive 
confirmation  from  the  fact  that  the 
dragon  was  at  one  time  the  Roman 
standard,  as  is  represented  by  the  fol¬ 
lowing  cut  from  Montfaucon.  Ammianus 
Marcellinus  (xvi.  10)  thus  describes  this 
standard:  “  The  dragon  was  covered  with 
purple  cloth,  and  fastened  to  the  end  of 
a  pike  gilt  and  adorned  with  precious 


340 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


4  And  his  tail 0  drew  the  third 

a  Is.  9. 15. 


stones.  It  opened  its  wide  throat,  and 
the  wind  blew  through  it ;  and  it  hissed 


part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  did 
cast  them  to  the  earth:  and  the 


as  if  in  a  rage,  with  its  tail  floating  in 
several  folds  through  the  air.”  He  else- 


EOMAN  ENSIGN 

where  often  gives  it  the  epithet  of  pur¬ 
pureas — purple-red  :  purpureum  signum 
draconis,  <fcc.  With  this  the  description 
of  Claudian  well  agrees  also : — 

44  Hi  volucres  tollent  aqailas  ;  hi  picta  draconum 
Colla  levant :  niultumque  tumet  per  nubila  serpens, 
Iratus  stimulante  noto,  vivitque  receptis 
Flatibus,  et  vario  mentitur  sibila  flatu.” 

The  dragon  was  first  used  as  an  ensign 
near  the  close  of  the  second  century  of 
the  Christian  era,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  third  century  that  its  use  had  become 
common,  and  the  reference  here,  accord¬ 
ing  to  this  fact,  would  be  to  that  period 
of  the  Roman  power  when  this  had 
become  a  common  standard,  and  when 
the  applicability  of  this  image  would  be 
readily  understood.  It  is  simply  Borne 
that  is  referred  to — Rome  the  great  agent 
of  accomplishing  the  purposes  of  Satan 
towards  the  church.  The  eagle  was  the 
common  Roman  ensign  in  the  time  of 


—  THE  DRAGON. 

the  Republic  and  in  the  earlier  periods 
of  the  empire,  but  in  later  periods  the 
dragon  became  also  a  standard  as  com¬ 
mon  and  as  well-known  as  the  eagle. 
“  In  the  third  century  it  had  become 
almost  as  notorious  among  Roman  en¬ 
signs  as  the  eagle  itself;  and  is  in  the 
fourth  century  noted  by  Prudentius, 
Vegetius,  Chrysostom,  Ammianus,  &c. ; 
in  the  fifth,  by  Claudian  and  others.” 
Elliott,  ii.  14. 

4.  And  Ms  tail  drew  the  third  part  of 
the  stars  of  heaven.  The  word  rendered 
drew — avpui — means  to  draw,  drag,  haul. 
Prof.  Stuart  renders  it  ‘  drew  along;’  and 
explains  it  as  meaning  that  “  the  danger 
is  represented  as  being  in  the  upper 
region  of  the  air,  so  that  his  tail  may  be 
supposed  to  interfere  with  and  sweep 
down  the  stars,  which,  as  viewed  by  the 
ancients,  were  all  set  in  the  visible 
expanse  or  welkin.”  So  Daniel  (viii.  10), 


CHAPTER  XII. 


341 


A.  D.  96.] 


dragon  stood  before  the'  woman 
which  was  ready  to  be  delivered, 
for  to  devour  her  child  as  soon  as 
it  was  born. 

5  And  “  she  brought  forth  a 


speaking  of  che  little  horn,  says  that  “  it 
waxed  great,  even  to  the  host  of  heaven, 
and  it  cast  down  some  of  the  host  and 
of  the  stars  to  the  ground.”  See  Notes 
on  that  passage.  The  main  idea  here 
undoubtedly  is  that  of  power,  and  the 
object  of  John  is  to  show  that  the  power 
of  the  dragon  was  as  if  it  extended  to 
the  stars,  and  as  if  it  dragged  down  a 
third  part  of  them  to  the  earth,  or  swept 
them  away  with  its  tail,  leaving  two- 
thirds  unaffected.  A  power  that  would 
sweep  them  all  away  would  be  universal ; 
a  power  that  would  sweep  away  one- 
third  only  would  represent  a  dominion 
of  that  extent  only.  The  dragon  is 
represented  as  floating  in  the  air  —  a 
monster  extended  along  the  sky  —  and 
one-third  of  the  whole  expanse  was  sub¬ 
ject  to  his  control.  Suppose,  then,  that 
the  dragon  here  was  designed  to  repre¬ 
sent  the  Roman  Pagan  power;  suppose 
that  it  referred  to  that  power  about  to 
engage  in  the  work  of  persecution,  and 
at  a  time  when  the  church  was  about  to 
be  greatly  enlarged,  and  to  fill  the 
world ;  suppose  that  it  referred  to  a  time 
when  but  one-third  part  of  the  Roman 
world  was  subject  to  Pagan  influence, 
and  the  remaining  two-thirds  were,  for 
some  cause,  safo  from  this  influence,  all 
the  conditions  here  referred  to  would  be 
fulfilled.  Now  it  so  happens  that  at  a 
time  when  the  ‘dragon’  had  become  a 
common  standard  in  the  Roman  armies, 
and  had  in  some  measure  superseded 
the  eagle,  a  state  of  things  did  exist 
which  well  corresponds  with  this  repre¬ 
sentation.  There  were  times  under  the 
emperors  when,  in  a  considerable  part  of 
the  empire,  after  the  establishment  of 
Christianity,  the  church  enjoyed  protec¬ 
tion,  and  the  Christian  religion  was 
tolerated,  while  in  other  parts  Pagan¬ 
ism  still  prevailed,  and  waged  a  bitter 
warfare  with  the  church.  “Twice,  at 
least,  before  the  Roman  empire  became 
divided  permanently  into  the  two  parts, 
the  Eastern  and  the  Western,  there  was 
a  tripartite  division  of  the  empire.  The 
first  occurred  A.  D.  311,  when  it  was 
divided  between  Constantine,  Licinius, 
29* 


man  child,  who  1  was  to  rule  all 
nations  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  her 
child  was  caught  up  unto  God,  and 
to  his  throne. 

a  Is.  7. 14.  b  Ps.  2. 10. 


and  Maximin ;  the  other  A.  D.  337,  on 
the  death  of  Constantine,  when  it  was 
divided  between  his  three  sons,  Constan¬ 
tine,  Constans,  and  Constantius.  “  In 
two-thirds  of  the  empire,  embracing  its 
whole  European  and  African  territory, 
Christians  enjoyed  toleration;  in  the 
other,  or  Asiatic  portion,  they  were  still, 
after  a  brief  and  uncertain  respite,  ex¬ 
posed  to  persecution,  in  all  its  bitterness 
and  cruelty  as  before.”  Elliott,  ii.  17. 
I  do  not  deem  it  absolutely  essentia], 
however,  in  order  to  a  fair  exposition 
of  this  passage,  that  we  should  be  able 
to  refer  to  minute  historical  facts  with 
names  and  dates.  A  sufficient  fulfilment 
is  found,  if  there  was  a  period  when 
the  church,  bright,  glorious,  and  pros¬ 
perous,  was  appareutly  about  to  become 
greatly  enlarged,  but  when  the  mon¬ 
strous  Pagan  power  still  held  its  sway 
over  a  considerable  part  of  the  world, 
exposing  the  church  to  persecution. 
Even  after  the  establishment  of  the 
church  in  the  empire,  and  the  favor 
shown  to  it  by  the  Roman  government, 
it  was  long  before  the  Pagan  power 
ceased  to  rage,  and  before  the  church 
could  be  regarded  as  safe.  And  the 
dragon  stood  before  the  woman  ready  to 
be  delivered,  for  to  devour  her  child.  To 
prevent  the  increase  and  spread  of  the 
church  in  the  world. 

5.  And  she  brought  forth  a  man-child. 
Representing,  according  to  the  view 
above  taken,  the  church  in  its  increase 
and  prosperity — as  if  a,  child  were  bom 
that  was  to  rule  over  all  nations.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  2.  f  Who  was  to  ride  all 
nations.  That  is,  according  to  this  view, 
the  church  thus  represented  was  des¬ 
tined  to  reign  in  all  the  earth,  or  all  tho 
earth  was  to  becgme  subject  to  its  laws. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Daniel,  vii.  13,  14. 

IT  With  a  rod  of  iron.  The  language 
here  used  is  derived  from  Ps.  ii.  9  : 

“  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod 
of  iron.”  The  form  of  the  expression 
here  used  ‘who  was  to  rule’ — its  yiWet 
•noiyatvuv  —  is  derived  from  the  Septua- 
gint  translation  of  the  Psalm — noiyaiveis 
—  ‘thou  shalt  rule  them;’  to  wit,  as  a 


342 


REVELATION, 


shepherd  does  his  flock.  The  reference 
is  to  such  control  as  a  shepherd  em¬ 
ploys  in  relation  to  his  flock  —  protect¬ 
ing,  guarding,  and  defending  them,  with 
the  idea  that  the  flock  is  under  his 
care ;  and,  on  the  supposition  that  this 
refers  to  the  church,  it  means  that  it 
would  yet  have  the  ascendency  or  the 
dominion  over  the  earth.  The  meaning 
in  the  phrase,  ‘with  a  rod  of  iron,’  is, 
that  the  dominion  would  be  strong  or 
irresistible  —  as  an  iron  sceptre  is  one 
that  cannot  be  broken  or  resisted.  The 
thoughts  here  expressed,  therefore,  are 
(o)  that  the  church  would  become  uni¬ 
versal —  or  that  the  principles  of  truth 
and  righteousness  would  prevail  every¬ 
where  on  the  earth ;  (6)  that  the  ascend¬ 
ency  of  religion  over  the  understandings 
and  consciences  of  men  would  be  irre¬ 
sistible —  as  firm  as  a  government  ad¬ 
ministered  under  a  sceptre  of  iron ;  yet 
(c)  that  it  would  be  rather  of  a  character 
of  protection  than  of  force  or  violence, 
like  the  sway  which  a  shepherd  wields 
over  his  flock.  I  understand  the  ‘  man- 
child’  here,  therefore,  to  refer  to  the 
church  in  its  Increase  under  the  Messiah, 
and  the  idea  to  be,  that  that  church  was, 
at  the  time  referred  to,  about  to  be  en¬ 
larged,  and  that,  though  its  increase  was 
opposed,  yet  it  was  destined  ultimately 
to  assert  a  mild  sway  over  all  the  world. 
The  time  here  referred  to  would  seem  to 
be  some  period  in  the  early  history  of 
the  church  when  religion  was  likely  to 
be  rapidly  propagated,  and  when  it  was 
opposed  and  retarded  by  violent  perse¬ 
cution —  perhaps  the  last  of  the  perse¬ 
cutions  under  the  Pagan  Roman  empire. 

And  her  child  was  caught  up  unto  God. 
This  is  evidently  a  symbolical  repre¬ 
sentation.  Some  event  was  to  occur,  or 
some  divine  interposition  was  to  take 
place,  as  if  the  child  thus  born  were 
caught  up  from  the  earth  to  save  it  from 
death,  and  was  rendered  secure  by  being 
in  the  presence  of  God,  and  near  his 
throne.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  any 
thing  like  this  would  literally  occur. 
Any  divine  interposition  to  protect  the 
church  in  its  increase,  or  to  save  it  from 
being  destroyed  by  the  dragon  —  the 
fierce  Pagan  power — would  be  properly 
represented  by  this.  Why  may  we  not 
suppose  the  reference  to  be  to  tho  times 
of  Constantine  when  the  church  came 
under  his  protection ;  when  it  was  effec- 
aally  and  finally  saved  from  Pagan 


[A.  D.  96. 

persecution ;  when  it  was  rendered  safe 
from  the  enemy  that  waited  to  destroy  it  ? 
On  the  supposition  that  this  refers  to  an 
increasing  but  endangered  church,  in 
whose  defence  a  civil  power  was  raised 
up,  exalting  Christianity  to  the  throne, 
and  protecting  it  from  danger,  this  would 
be  well  represented  by  the  child  caught 
up  to  heaven.  This  view  may  derive 
confirmation  from  some  well-known 
facts  in  history.  The  old  Pagan  power 
was  concentrated  in  Maximin,  who  was 
emperor  from  the  Nile  to  the  Bosphorus, 
and  who  raged  against  the  gospel  and 
the  church  “  with  Satanic  enmity.” 
“  Infuriate  at  the  now  imminent  pros¬ 
pect  of  the  Christian  body  attaining 
establishment  in  the  empire,  Maximin 
renewed  the  persecution  against  Chris¬ 
tians  within  the  limits  of  his  own  domi¬ 
nion  ;  prohibing  their  assemblies,  and 
degrading,  and  even  killing  their  bish¬ 
ops.”  Comp.  Gibbon,  i.  325,  326.  The 
last  struggle  of  Pagan  Rome  to  destroy 
the  church  by  persecution,  before  the 
triumph  of  Constantine,  and  the  public 
establishment  of  the  Christian  religion, 
might  be  well  represented  by  the  at¬ 
tempt  of  the  dragon  to  destroy  the 
child ;  and  the  safety  of  the  church,  and 
its  complete  deliverance  from  Pagan  per¬ 
secution,  by  the  symbol  of  a  child  caught 
up  to  heaven,  and  placed  near  the 
throne  of  God.  The  persecution  under 
Maximin  was  the  last  struggle  of  Pa¬ 
ganism  to  retain  the  supremacy,  and  to 
crush  Christianity  in  the  empire.  “  Be¬ 
fore  the  decisive  battle,”  says  Milner, 
“  Maximin  vowed  to  Jupiter  that,  if  vic¬ 
torious,  he  would  abolish  the  Christian 
name.  The  contest  between  Jehovah 
and  Jupiter  was  now  at  its  height,  and 
drawing  to  a  crisis.”  The  result  was 
the  defeat  and  death  of  Maximin,  and 
the  termination  of  the  efforts  of  Pagan¬ 
ism  to  destroy  Christianity  by  force. 
Respecting  this  event,  Mr.  Gibbon  re¬ 
marks,  “  The  defeat  and  death  of  Max¬ 
imin  soon  delivered  the  church  from  tho 
last  and  most  implacable  of  her  ene¬ 
mies.”  i.  326.  Christianity  was,  after 
that,  rendered  safe  from  Pagan  persecu¬ 
tion.  Mr.  Gibbon  says,  The  gratitude 
of  the  church  has  exalted  the  virtues  of 
the  generous  patron  who  seated  Chris¬ 
tianity  oil  the  throne  of  the  Roman 
world.”  If,  however,  it  should  be  re¬ 
garded  as  a  forced  and  fanciful  inter¬ 
pretation  to  suppose  that  the  passage 


CHAPTER  XII. 


A.  D.  96.] 


343 


6  And  the  woman  fled  into  the 
wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place 
prepared  of  God,  that  they  should 


before  us  refers  to  this  specific  event, 
yet  the  general  circumstances  of  the 
times  would  furnish  a  fulfilment  of  what 
is  here  said,  (a)  The  church  would  be 
well  represented  by  the  beautiful  woman. 
(6)  The  prospect  of  its  increase  and  uni¬ 
versal  dominion  would  be  well  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  birth  of  the  child,  (c)  The 
furious  opposing  Pagan  power  would  be 
well  represented  by  the  dragon  in  its 
attempts  to  destroy  the  child,  (d)  The 
safety  of  the  church  would  be  well 
represented  by  the  symbol  of  the  child 
caught  up  to  God,  and  placed  near  his 
throne. 

6.  And  the  woman.  The  woman  re¬ 
presenting  the  church.  Notes  ver.  1. 
If  Fled.  That  is,  she  fled  in  the  man¬ 
ner,  and  at  the  time,  stated  in  ver.  14. 
John  here  evidently  anticipates,  by  a 
summary  statement,  what  he  relates 
more  in  detail  in  vs.  14-17.  He  had 
referred  (vs.  2-5)  to  what  occurred  to 
the  child  in  its  persecutions,  and  he  here 
alludes,  in  general,  to  what  befell  the 
true  church  as  compelled  to  flee  into 
obscurity  and  safety.  Having  briefly 
referred  to  this,  the  writer  (vs.  7-13) 
gives  an  account  of  the  efforts  of  Satan 
consequent  on  the  removal  of  the  child 
to  heaven.  *[  Into  the  wilderness.  On 
the  meaning  of  the  word  wilderness  in 
the  New  Testament,  see  Notes  on  Matt, 
iii.  1.  It  means  a  desert  place,  a  place 
where  there  are  few  or  no  inhabitants ; 
a  place,  therefore,  where  one  might  be 
concealed  and  unknown — remote  from 
the  habitations  and  the  observation  of 
men.  This  would  well  represent  the 
fact  that  the  true  church  became  for  a 
time  obscure  and  unknown — as  if  it  had 
fled  away  from  the  habitations  of  men, 
and  had  retired  to  the  solitude  and  lone¬ 
liness  of  a  desert.  Yet  even  there  (vs. 
14,  16),  it  would  be  mysteriously  nou¬ 
rished,  though  seemingly  driven  out 
into  wastes  and  solitudes,  and  having  its 
abode  among  the  rocks  and  sands  of  a 
desert.  Where  she  hath  a  place  pre¬ 
pared  of  God.  A  place  where  she  might 
be  safe,  and  might  be  kept  alive.  The 
meaning  is,  that  during  that  time,  the 
true  church,  though  obscure  and  almost 


feed  her  there  a  a  thousand  two 
hundred  and  threescore  days. 

7  And  there  was  war  in  heaven : 

a  c.  11.  3. 


unknown,  would  be  the  object  of  the 
divine  protection  and  care  —  a  beautiful 
representation  of  .the  church  during  the 
corruptions  of  the  Papacy  and  the  dark¬ 
ness  of  the  Middle  Ages.  That  they 
should  feed  her.  That  they  should  nou¬ 
rish  or  sustain  her — rphpuaiv — to  wit,  as 
specified  in  vs.  14,  16.  Those  who  were 
to  do  this,  represented  by  the  word  ‘  they,’ 
are  not  particularly  mentioned,  and  the 
simple  idea  is  that  she  would  be  nou¬ 
rished  during  that  time.  That  is,  stripped 
of  the  figure,  the  church  during  that  time 
would  find  true  friends,  and  would  be 
kept  alive.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  this  has  in  fact  occurred  in  the 
darkest  periods  of  the  history  of  the 
church.  A  thousand  two  hundred  and 
threescore  days.  That  is,  regarding  these 
as  prophetic  days,  in  which  a  day  de¬ 
notes  a  year,  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years.  The  same  period  evidently  is 
referred  to  in  ver.  14,  in  the  words  ‘  for 
a  time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time.'  And 
the  same  period  is  undoubtedly  referred 
to  in  Daniel  vii.  25,  “And  they  shall  be 
given  into  his  hand  until  a  time,  and 
times,  and  the  dividing  of  time.”  For  a 
full  consideration  of  the  meaning  of  this 
language,  and  its  application  to  the  Pa¬ 
pacy,  see  Notes  on  Daniel  vii.  25.  The 
full  investigation  there  made  of  the 
meaning  and  application  of  the  lan¬ 
guage,  renders  its  consideration  here 
unnecessary.  I  regard  it  here,  as  I  do 
there,  as  referring  to  the  proper  continu¬ 
ance  of  the  Papal  power,  during  which 
the  true  church  would  remain  in  com¬ 
parative  obscurity,  as  if  driven  into  a 
desert.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xi.  2.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  during  that  period 
the  true  church  would  not  become  whol¬ 
ly  extinct.  It  would  have  an  existence 
upon  the  earth,  but  its  final  triumph 
would  be  reserved  for  the  time  when  this 
great  enemy  should  be  finally  over¬ 
thrown.  Comp.  Notes  on  vs.  14-17. 

7.  And  there  was  war  in  heaven. 
There  was  a  state  of  things  existing  in 
regard  to  the  woman  and  the  child — the 
church  in  the  condition  in  which  it  would 
then  be — which  would  be  well  represent¬ 
ed  by  a  war  in  heaven;  that  is,  by  a 


344 


RE  VELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


Michael  and  his  angels  fought 
against  the  dragon ;  and  the  dra¬ 
gon  fought  and  his  angels, 


conflict  between  the  powers  of  good  and 
evil,  of  light  and  darkness.  Of  course, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  understand  this 
literally,  any  more  than  the  other  sym¬ 
bolical  representations  in  the  book.  All 
that  is  meant  is,  that  a  vision  passed 
before  the  mind  of  John  as  if  there  was 
a  conflict,  in  regard  to  the  church,  be¬ 
tween  the  angels  in  heaven  and  Satan. 
There  is  a  vision  of  the  persecuted  church 
— of  the  woman  fleeing  into  the  desert — 
and  the  course  of  the  narrative  is  here 
interrupted  by  going  back  (vs.  7-13)  to 
describe  the  conflict  which  led  to  this 
result,  and  the  fact  that  Satan,  as  it  were 
cast  out  of  heaven,  and  unable  to  achieve 
a  victory  there,  was  suffered  to  vent  his 
malice  against  the  church  on  earth. 
The  seat  of  this  warfare  is  said  to  be 
heaven.  This  language  sometimes  refers 
to  heaven  as  it  appears  to  us — the  sky — 
the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
some  have  supposed  that  that  was  the 
place  of  the  contest.  But  the  language 
in  ch.  xi.  19,  xii.  1  (see  Notes  on  those 
places),  would  rather  lead  us  to  refer  it 
to  heaven  considered  as  lying  beyond 
the  sky.  This  accords  too  with  other 
representations  in  the  Bible,  where  Satan 
is  described  as  appearing  before  God, 
and  among  the  sons  of  God.  See  Notes 
on  J ob  i.  6.  Of  course,  this  is  not  to  be 
understood  as  a  real  transaction,  but  as 
a  symbolical  representation  of  the  con¬ 
test  between  good  and  evil  —  as  if  there 
was  a  war  waged  in  heaven  between 
Satan  and  the  leader  of  the  heavenly 
hosts.  f  Michael.  There  have  been 
very  various  opinions  as  to  who  Michael 
is.  Many  Protestant  interpreters  have 
supposed  that  Christ  is  meant.  The 
reasons  usually  alleged  for  this  opinion, 
many  of  which  are  very  fanciful,  may  be 
seen  in  Hengstenburg  {Die  Offenbarung 
des  heiliges  Johannes),  i.  611-622.  The 
reference  to  , Michael  here  is  probably 
derived  from  Daniel  x.  13,  xii.  1.  In 
those  places  he  is  represented  as  the 
Guardian  Angel  of  the  people  of  God, 
and  it  is  in  this  sense,  I  apprehend,  that 
the  passage  is  to  be  understood  here. 
There  is  no  evidence  in  the  name  itself, 
or  in  the  circumstances  referred  to,  that 
Christ  is  intended,  and  if  he  had  been  it 


8  And  prevailed  not;  neither 
was  their  place  found  any  more  in 
heaven. 


is  inconceivable  why  he  was  not  referred 
to  by  his  own  name,  or  hy  some  of  the 
usual  appellations  which  John  gives  him. 
Michael,  the  Archangel,  is  here  repre¬ 
sented  as  the  Guardian  of  the  church, 
and  as  contending  against  Satan  for  its 
protection.  Comp.  Notes  on  Dan.x.  13. 
This  representation  accords  with  the 
usual  statements  in  the  Bible  respecting 
the  interposition  of  the  angels  in  behalf 
of  the  church  (See  Notes  on  Heb.  i.  14), 
and  is  one  which  cannot  be  proved  to  be 
unfounded.  All  the  analogies  which 
throw  any  light  on  the  subject,  as  well 
as  the  uniform  statements  of  the  Bible, 
lead  us  to  suppose  that  good  beings  of 
other  worlds  feel  an  interest  in  the  wel¬ 
fare  of  the  redeemed  church  below. 

And  his  angels.  The  angels  under 
him.  Michael  is  represented  as  tho 
Archangel,  and  all  the  statements  in  the 
Bible  suppose  that  the  heavenly  hosts 
are  distributed  into  different  ranks  and 
orders.  See  Notes  on  Jude  9,  Eph.  i.  21. 
If  Satan  is  permitted  to  make  war  against 
the  church,  there  is  no  improbability  in 
supposing  that,  in  those  higher  regions 
where  the  war  is  carried  on,  and  in  those 
aspects  of  it  which  lie  beyond  the  power 
and  the  knowledge  of  man,  good  angels 
should  be  employed  to  defeat  his  plans. 

Fought.  See  Notes  on  Jude  9. 

Against  the  dragon.  Against  Satan. 
Notes  ver.  3.  And  the  dragon  fought 
and  his  angels.  That  is,  the  master¬ 
spirit —  Satan,  and  those  under  him. 
See  Notes  on  Matt.  iv.  1.  Of  the  nature 
of  this  warfare,  nothing  is  definitely 
stated.  Its  whole  sphere  lies  beyond 
mortal  vision,  and  is  carried  on  in  a 
manner  of  which  we  can  have  little  con¬ 
ception.  What  weapons  Satan  may  use 
to  destroy  tho  church,  and  in  what  way 
his  efforts  may  be  counteraetecf  by  holy 
angels,  are  points  on  which  we  can  have 
little  knowledge.  It  is  sufficient  to  know 
that  the  fact  of  such  a  struggle  is  not 
improbable,  and  that  Satan  is  success, 
fully  resisted  by  the  leader  of  the  hea¬ 
venly  host. 

8.  And  prevailed  not.  Satan  and  his 
angels  failed  in  their  purpose.  Neither 
was  their  place  found  any  more  inheaven. 
They  were  cast  out,  and  were  seen  there 


CHAPTER  XII. 


345 


A.  D.  96.] 

9  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast 
out,  that  old  serpent,  “  called  the 
Devil,  b  and  Satan, c  which  deceiv¬ 
es  Ge.  3. 1,  4.  6  Jno.  8.  44.  c  Zee.  3.  1. 


no  more.  The  idea  is,  that  they  were 
defeated  and  driven  away,  though  for  a 
time  they  were  suffered  to  carry  on  the 
warfare  elsewhere. 

9.  And  the  great  dragon  teas  cast  out. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  3.  That  there  may  be 
an  allusion  in  the  language  here  to  what 
actually  occurred  in  some  far-distant 
period  of  the  past,  when  Satan  was 
ejected  from  heaven,  there  can  be  no 
reason  to  doubt.  Our  Saviour  seems  to 
refer  to  such  an  event  in  the  language 
which  he  uses  when  he  says  (Luke  x.  18), 
“  I  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from 
heaven;”  and  Jude  perhaps  (ver.  6) 
may  refer  to  the  same  event.  All  that 
we  know  on  the  subject  leads  us  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  at  some  time  there  was  a  revolt 
among  the  angels,  and  that  the  rebel¬ 
lious  part  were  cast  out  of  heaven,  for 
an  allusion  to  this  is  not  unfrequent  in 
the  Scriptures.  Still,  the  event  here 
referred  to  is  a  symbolical  representation 
of  what  would  occur  at  a  later  period, 
when  the  church  would  be  about  to 
spread  and  be  triumphant,  and  when 
Satan  would  wage  a  deadly  war  against 
it.  That  opposition  would  be  as  if  he 
made  war  on  Michael  the  Archangel, 
and  the  heavenly  hosts,  and  his  failure 
would  be  as  great  as  if  he  were  van¬ 
quished  and  cast  out  of  heaven.  That 
old  serpent.  This  doubtless  refers  to  the 
serpent  that  deceived  Eve  (Gen.  iii.  1- 
11;  Rev.  xx.  2;  comp.  Notes  on  2  Cor. 
xi.  3) ;  and  this  passage  may  be  adduced 
as  a  proof  that  the  real  tempter  of  Eve 
was  the  devil,  who  assumed  the  form  of 
a  serpent.  The  word  old  here  refers  to 
the  fact  that  his  appearance  on  earth 
was  at  an  early  stage  of  the  world’s  his¬ 
tory,  and  that  he  had  long  been  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  work  which  is  here 
attributed  to  him  —  that  of  opposing  the 
church.  Called  the  Devil.  To  whom 
the  name  Devil  is  given.  That  is,  this 
is  the  same  being  that  is  elsewhere  and 
commonly  known  by  that  name.  See 
Notes  on  Matt.  iv.  1.  And  Satan. 
Another  name  given  to  the  same  being ; 
a  name,  like  the  other,  designed  to  refer 
to  something  in  his  character.  See  it 
explained  in  the  Notes  on  Job  i.  6. 


eth  the  whole  world ;  he  was  cast 
out  into  the  earth,  and  his  angels 
were  cast  out  with  him. 

10  And  I  heard  a  loud  voice  say- 


1T  Which  deceiveth  the  whole  world. 
Whose  character  is  that  of  a  dcoeiver; 
whose  agency  extends  over  all  the  earth. 
See  Notes  on  John  viii.  44,  and  1  John 
v.  19. .  He  was  cast  out  into  the  earth. 
That  is,  he  was  not  suffered  to  pursue 
his  designs  in  heaven,  but  was  cast  down 
to  the  earth,  where  he  is  permitted  for 
a  time  to  carry  on  his  warfare  against 
the  church.  According  to  the  interpre¬ 
tation  proposed  above,  this  refers  to  the 
period  when  there  were  indications  that 
God  was  about  to  set  up  his  kingdom  on 
the  earth.  The  language,  however,  is 
such  as  would  be  used  on  the  supposition 
that  there  had  been,  at  some  period,  a 
rebellion  in  heaven,  and  that  Satan  and 
his  followers  had  been  cast  out  to  return 
there  no  more.  It  is  difficult  to  explain 
this  language  except  on  that  supposition; 
and  such  a  supposition  is,  in  itself,  no 
more  improbable  than  the  apostacy  and 
rebellion  of  man.  *[f  And  his  angels 
were  cast  out  with  him.  They  shared 
the  lot  of  their  leader.  As  applicable  to 
the  state  of  things  to  which  this  refers, 
the  meaning  is,  that  all  were  overthrown  ; 
that  no  enemy  of  the  church  would  re¬ 
main  unsubdued ;  that  the  victory  would 
be  final  and  complete.  As  applicable  to 
the  event  from  which  the  language  is 
supposed  to  have  been  derived  —  the 
revolt  in  heaven  —  the  meaning  is,  that 
the  followers  in  the  revolt  shared  the 
lot  of  the  leader,  and  that  all  who 
rebelled  were  ejected  from  heaven.  The 
first  and  the  only  revolt  in  heaven  was 
quelled;  and  the  result  furnished  to  the 
universe  an  impressive  proof  that  none 
who  rebelled  there  would  be  forgiven — ■ 
that  apostasy  so  near  the  throne  could 
not  be  pardoned. 

10.  And  I  heard  a  loud  voice  saying  in 
heaven.  The  great  enemy  was  expelled ; 
the  cause  of  God  and  truth  was  triumph¬ 
ant;  and  the  conquering  hosts  united  in 
celebrating  the  victory.  This  repre¬ 
sentation  of  a  song,  consequent  on  vic¬ 
tory,  is  in  accordance  with  the  usual 
representations  in  the  Bible.  See  the 
Song  of  Moses  at  the  Red  Sea,  Ex.  xv. ; 
the  Song  of  Deborah,  Judges  v. ;  the 
Song  of  David  when  the  Lord  had 


346 


REVELATION, 


ing  in  heaven,  Now  °  is  come  sal¬ 
vation  and  strength,  and  the  king- 
a  c.  11. 15. 


delivered  him  out  of  the  hand  of  all  his 
enemies,  2  Sam.  xxii.,  and  Isa.  xii.  xxv. 
On  no  occasion  could  such  a  song  be 
more  appropriate  than  on  the  complete 
routing  and  discomfiture  of  Satan  and 
his  rebellious  hosts.  Viewed  in  reference 
to  the  tune  here  symbolized,  this  would 
relate  to  the  certain  triumph  of  the 
church  and  of  truth  on  the  earth ;  in 
reference  to  the  language,  there  is  an 
allusion  to  the  joy  and  triumph  of  the 
heavenly  hosts  when  Satan  and  his 
apostate  legions  were  expelled.  f  Now 
is  come  salvation.  That  is,  complete 
deliverance  from  the  power  of  Satan. 

And  strength.  That  is,  now  is  the 
mighty  power  of  God  manifested  in 
casting  down  and  subduing  the  great 
enemy  of  the  church.  *[f  And  the  king¬ 
dom  of  our  God.  The  reign  of  our  God. 
See  Notes  on  Matt.  iii.  2.  That  is  now 
established  among  men,  and  God  will 
henceforward  rule.  This  refers  to  the 
certain  ultimate  triumph  of  his  cause  in 
the  world,  And  the  poicer  of  his 
Christ.  His  anointed;  that  is,  the  king¬ 
dom  of  Christ  as  the  Messiah,  or  as 
anointed  and  set  apart  to  rule  over  the 
world.  See  Notes  on  Matt.  i.  1.  For 
the  accuser  of  our  brethen  is  cast  down. 
The  phrase  ‘  our  brethren’  shows  by 
whom  this  song  is  celebrated.  It  is 
sung  in  heaven ;  but  it  is  by  those  who 
belonged  to  the  redeemed  church,  and 
whose  brethren  were  still  suffering  per¬ 
secution  and  trial  on  the  earth.  It  shows 
the  tenderness  of  the  tie  which  unites  all 
the  redeemed  as  brethren  whether  on 
earth  or  in  heaven ;  and  it  shows  the 
interest  which  they  ‘who  have  passed 
the  flood’  have  in  the  trials,  the  sorrows, 
and  the  triumphs  of  those  who  are  still 
upon  the  earth.  We  have  here  another 
appellation  given  to  the  great  enemy  : — 
‘accuser  of  our  brethren.’  The  word 
here  used — Kartjyopos,  in  later  editions  of 
the  New  Testament  Kanrjywp — means  pro¬ 
perly  an  accuser ;  one  who  blames  an¬ 
other  or  charges  another  with  crime. 
The  word  occurs  in  John  viii.  10;  Acts 
xxiii.  30,  35,  xxiv.  8,  xxv.  16,  18 ;  Rev. 
xii.  10,  in  all  which  places  it  is  rendered 
accuser  or  accusers,  though  only  in  the 
latter  place  applied  to  Satan.  The  verb 


[A.  D.  96. 

dom  of  our  God,  and  the  power  of 
his  Christ:  for  the  accuser  of  our 
brethren  is  cast  down,  which  ac- 


frequently  occurs,  Matt.  xii.  10,  xxvii. 
12 ;  Mark  iii.  2,  xv.  3,  et  al.  The 
description  of  Satan  as  an  accuser  ac¬ 
cords  with  the  opinion  of  the  ancient 
Hebrews  in  regard  to  his  character. 
Thus  he  is  represented  in  Job  i.  9-11, 
ii.  4,  5 ;  Zech.  iii.  1,  2 ;  1  Chron.  xxi.  1. 
The  phrase  ‘  of  the  brethren’  refers  to 
Christians,  or  to  the  people  of  God ;  and 
the  meaning  here  is,  that  one  of  the 
characteristics  of  Satan — a  characteristic 
so  well-known  as  to  make  it  proper  to 
designate  him  by  it — is  that  he  is  an  ac¬ 
cuser  of  the  righteous;  that  he  is  em¬ 
ployed  in  bringing  against  them  charges 
affecting  their  character  and  destroying 
their  influence.  The  propriety  of  this 
appellation  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is,  as 
it  has  always  been,  one  of  the  charac¬ 
teristics  of  Satan  —  one  of  the  means  by 
which  he  keeps  up  his  influence  in  the 
world — to  bring  accusations  against  the 
people  of  God.  Thus,  under  his  sug¬ 
gestions,  and  by  his  agents,  they  are 
charged  with  hypocrisy;  with  insin¬ 
cerity;  with  being  influenced  by  bad 
motives ;  with  pursuing  sinistor  designs 
under  the  cloak  of  religion;  with  secret 
vices  and  crimes.  Thus  it  was  that  the 
martyrs  were  accused;  thus  it  is  that 
unfounded  accusations  are  often  brought 
against  ministers  of  the  gospel,  palsying 
their  power  and  diminishing  their  influ¬ 
ence,  or  that  when  a  professed  Christian 
falls  the  church  is  made  to  suffer  by  an 
effort  to  cast  suspicion  on  all  who  bear 
the  Christian  name.  Perhaps  the  most 
skilful  thing  that  Satan  does,  and  the 
thing  by  which  he  most  contributes  to 
diminish  the  influence  of  the  church,  is 
in  thus  causing  ‘  accusations’  to  be 
brought  against  the  people  of  God. 

Is  cast  down:  The  period  here  re¬ 
ferred  to  was,  doubtless,  the  time  when 
the  church  was  about  to  be  established 
and  to  flourish  in  the  world,  and  when 
accusations  would  be  brought  against 
Christians  by  various  classes  of  calum¬ 
niators  and  informers.  It  is  well-known 
that  in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity 
crimes  of  the  most  horrid  nature  were 
charged  on  Christians,  and  that  it  was 
by  these  slanders  that  tho  effort  was 
made  to  prevent  the  extension  of  the 


A-D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XII. 


347 


cused  them  before  our  God  day 
and  night. 

11  And  they  overcame  °  him  by 
the  blood  of  the.  Lamb,  and  by 
the  word  of  their  testimony;  and 


Christian  church.  f  Which  accused 
them  before  our  God.  See  Notes  on  Job  i. 
9,  10.  The  meaning  is,  that  he  accused 
them,  as  it  were,  in  the  very  presence 
of  God.  Day  and  night.  He  never 
ceased  bringing  these  accusations,  and 
sought  by  the  perseverance  and  con¬ 
stancy  with  which  they  were  urged,  to 
convince  the  world  that  there  was  no 
sincerity  in  the  church,  and  no  reality 
in  religion. 

11.  And  they  overcame  him.  That  is, 
he  was  foiled  in  his  attempt  thus  to 
destroy  the  church.  The  reference  here, 
undoubtedly,  is  primarily  to  the  martyr 
age,  and  to  the  martyr  spirit ;  and  the 
meaning  is,  that  religion  had  not  become 
extinct  by  these  accusations,  as  Satan 
hoped  it  would  be,  but  lived  and  tri¬ 
umphed.  By  their  holy  lives ;  by  their 
faithful  testimony ;  by  their  patient  suf¬ 
ferings,  they  showed  that  all  these  ac¬ 
cusations  were  false,  and  that  the  religion 
which  they  professed  was  from  God, 
and  thus  in  fact  gained  a  victory  over 
their  accuser.  Instead  of  being  them¬ 
selves  subdued,  Satan  himself  was  van¬ 
quished,  and  the  world  was  constrained 
to  acknowledge  that  the  persecuted 
religion  had'  a  heavenly  origin.  No 
design  was  ever  more  ineffectual  than 
that  of  crushing  the  church  by  persecu¬ 
tion  ;  no  victory  was  ever  more  signal 
than  that  which  was  gained  when  it 
could  be  said  that  ‘the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church.1  By 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The  Lord  Jesus 
—  the  Lamb  of  God.  Notes,  ch.  v.  6  ; 
comp.  Notes  on  John  i.  29.  The  blood 
of  Christ  was  that  by  which  they  were 
redeemed,  and  it  was  in  virtue  of  the 
efficacy  of  the  atonement  that  they  were 
enabled  to  achieve  the  victory.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Phil.  iv.  13.  Christ  himself 
achieved  a  victory  over  Satan  by  his 
death  (see  Notes  on  Col.  ii.  15 ;  Heb.  ii. 
15),  and  it  is  in  virtue  of  the  victory 
which  he  thus  achieved,  that  we  are 
now  able  to  triumph  over  our  great  foe. 

u  I  ask  tliem  whence  their  victory  came; 

They,  with  united  breath, 

Ascribe  their  conquest  to  the  Lamb, 

Thsir  triumph  to  his  death.” 


they  loved  not  their  lives  unto  6  the 
death. 

12  Therefore  e  rejoice,  ye  hea¬ 
vens,  and  ye  that  dwell  in  them. 

a  Ro.  8.  33,  37.  b  Lu.  14.  26. 

_ c  Ps.  96. 11;  Is.  49, 13. 

IT  And  by  the  word  of  their  testimony.  The 
faithful  testimony  which  they  bore  to 
the  truth.  That  is,  they  adhered  to  the 
truth  in  their  sufferings ;  they  declared 
their  belief  in  it,  even  in  the  pains  of 
martyrdom,  and  it  was  by  this  that  they 
overcame  the  great  enemy ;  that  is,  by 
this  that  the  belief  in  the  gospel  was 
established  and  maintained  in  the  world. 
The  reference  here  is  to  the  effects  of 
persecution,  and  to  the  efforts  of  Satan 
to  drive  religion  from  the  world  by  per¬ 
secution.  J ohn  says  that  the  result,  as 
he  saw  it  in  vision,  was  that  the  perse¬ 
cuted  church  bore  a  faithful  testimony 
to  the  truth,  and  that  the  great  enemy 
was  overcome.  Because  they  loved  not 
their  lives  unto  the  death.  They  did  not 
so  love  their  lives  that  they  were  un¬ 
willing  to  die  as  martyrs.  They  did  not 
shrink  back  when  threatened  with  death, 
but  remained  firm  in  their  attachment 
to  their  Saviour,  and  left  their  dying 
testimony  to  the  truth  and  power  of  re¬ 
ligion.  It  was  by  these  means  that 
Christianity  was  established  in  the 
world,  and  John,  in  the  scene  before 
us,  saw  it  thus  triumphant,  and  saw  the 
angels  and  the  redeemed  in  heaven 
celebrating  the  triumph.  The  result  of 
the  attempts  to  destroy  the  Christian 
religion  by  persecution  demonstrated 
that  it  was  to  triumph.  No  more 
mighty  power  could  be  employed  ta 
crush  it  than  was  employed  by  the  Ro¬ 
man  emperors,  and  when  it  was  seen 
that  Christianity  could  survive  those 
efforts  to  crush  it,  it  was  certain  that  it 
was  destined  to  live  for  ever. 

12.  Therefore,  rejoice,  ye  heavens.  It 
is  not  unusual  in  the  Scripture  to  call  on 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  to  sympa¬ 
thize  with  the  events  that  occur.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Isa.  i.  2.  Here  the  heavens 
are  called  on  to  rejoice  because  of  the 
signal  victory  which  it  was  seen  would 
be  achieved  over  the  great  enemy. 
Heaven  itself  was  secure  from  any 
further  rebellion  or  invasion,  and  the 
foundation  was  laid  for  a  final  viotory 
over  Satan  every  where.  And  ye  that 
dwell  in  them.  The  angels  and  the  ra- 


348 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


Woe  °  to  the  inhabiters  of  the 
earth,  and  of  the  sea !  for  the  devil 
is  come  down  unto  you,  having 
great  wrath  because  b  he  knoweth 
that  he  hath  but  a  short  time. 

13  And  when  the  dragon  saw 

a  c.  8. 13.  b  c.  10.  6. 


deemed.  This  is  an  instance  of  the 
sympathy  of  the  heavenly  inhabitants — 
the  unfallen  and  holy  beings  before  the 
throne  —  with  the  church  on  earth,  and 
with  all  that  may  affect  its  welfare. 
Comp.  Notes  on  1  Pet.  i.  12.  ^  Woe  to 
the  inhabiters  of  the  earth.  This  is  not 
an  imprecation,  or  a  wish  that  woe  might 
come  upon  them,  but  a  prediction  that 
it  would.  The  meaning  is  this  : — Satan 
would  ultimately  be  entirely  overcome — 
a  fact  that  was  symbolized  by  his  being 
cast  out  of  heaven ;  but  there  would 
be  still  temporary  woe  upon  the  earth, 
as  if  he  were  permitted  to  roam  over  the 
world  for  a  time,  and  to  spread  woe  and 
sorrow  there.  And  of  the  sea.  Those 
who  inhabit  the  islands  of  the  sea,  and 
those  who  are  engaged  in  commerce. 
The  meaning  is,  that  the  world  as  such 
would  have  occasion  to  mourn  —  the 
dwellers  both  on  the  land  and  on  the 
sea.  For  the  devil  is  come  down  to 
you.  As  if  cast  out  of  heaven.  Having 
great  wrath.  Wrath  shown  by  the  sym¬ 
bolical  war  with  Michael  and  his  angels 
(ver.  7);  wrath  increased  and  inflamed 
because  he  has  been  discomfited ;  wrath 
the  more  concentrated  because  he  knows 
that  his  time  is  limited.  Because  lie 
knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a  short  time. 
That  is,  he  knows  that  the  time  is 
limited  in  which  he  will  be  permitted 
to  wage  war  with  the  saints  on  the 
earth.  There  is  allusion  elsewhere  to 
the  fact  that  the  time  of  Satan  is  limited, 
and  that  he  is  apprised  of  that.  Thus 
in  Matt.  viii.  29,  “Art  thou  come  to 
torment  us  before  the  time  1”  See  Notes 
on  that  passage.  Within  that  limited 
space,  Satan  knows  that  he  must  do  all 
that  he  ever  can  do  to  destroy  souls,  and 
to  spread  woe  through  the  earth,  and 
hence  it  is  not  unnatural  that  he  should 
be  represented  as  excited  to  deeper 
wrath,  and  as  arousing  all  his  energy  to 
destroy  the  church. 

13.  And  when  the  dragon  saw  that  he 
teas  cast  out  unto  the  earth.  That  is, 


that  he  was  cast  unto  the  earth, 
he  persecuted  the  woman  which 
brought  forth  the  man  child. 

14  And  to  the  woman  were  given 
two  wings  c  of  a  great  eagle  that 
she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness, 
c  Is.  40.  31. 


when  Satan  saw  that  he  was  doomed  to 
discomfiture  and  overthrow,  as  if  he  had 
been  cast  out  of  heaven ;  when  he  saw 
that  his  efforts  must  be  confined  to  the 
earth,  and  that  only  for  a  limited  time, 
he  ‘persecuted  the  woman,’  and  was 
more  violently  enraged  against  the 
church  on  earth.  He  persecuted  the 
woman  which  brought  forth  the  man- 
child.  See  Notes  on  ver.  5.  The  child 
is  represented  as  safe;  that  is,  the  ulti¬ 
mate  progress  and  extension  of  the 
church  was  certain.  But  Satan  was 
permitted  still  to  wage  a  warfare  against 
the  church — represented  here  by  his 
wrath  against  the  woman,  and  by  her 
being  constrained  to  flee  into  the  wil¬ 
derness.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say 
that,  after  the  Pagan  persecutions 
ceased,  and  Christianity  was  firmly  es¬ 
tablished  in  the  empire ;  after  Satan 
saw  that  all  hope  of  destroying  the 
church  in  that  manner  was  at  an  end, 
his  enmity  was  vented  in  another  form  — 
in  the  rise  of  the  Papacy,  and  in  the  per¬ 
secutions  under  that — an  opposition  to 
spiritual  religion  no  less  determined  and 
deadly  than  that  which  had  been  waged 
by  Paganism. 

14.  And  to  the  looman  were  given  two 
wings  of  a  great  eagle.  The  most  pow¬ 
erful  of  birds,  and  among  the  most  rapid 
in  flight.  See  Notes  on  eh.  iv.  7.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  the  woman  is  rep¬ 
resented  as  prepared  for  a  rapid  flight; 
so  prepared  as  to  be  able  to  outstrip  her 
pursuer,  and  to  reach  a  place  of  safety. 
Divested  of  the  figure,  the  sense  is,  that 
the  church,  when  exposed  to  this  form 
of  persecution,  would  be  protected  as 
if  miraculously  supplied  with  wings. 

That  she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness. 
There  is  here  a  more  full  description  of 
what  is  briefly  stated  in  ver.  6.  A  wil¬ 
derness  or  desert  is  often  represented  as 
a  place  of  safety  from  pursuers.  Thus 
David  (1  Sam.  xxiii.  14,  15)  is  repre¬ 
sented  as  fleeing  into  the  wilderness 
from  the  persecutions  of  Saul.  So  Elijah 


CHAPTER  XII. 


349 


A.  D.  96.] 

into  her  place,  where  she  is  nou¬ 
rished  for  a  time,  and  times,  and  half 
a  time,  from  the  face  of  the  serpent. 

(1  Kings  six.  4)  fled  into  the  wilderness 
from  the  persecutions  of  Jezebel.  The 
simple  idea  here  is,  that  the  church,  in 
the  opposition  which  would  come  upon 
it,  would  find  a  refuge,  Into  her 
place.  A  place  appointed  for  her,  that 
is,  a  place  where  she  could  be  safe. 
If  Where  she  is  nourished.  The  word 
here  rendered  nourished  is  the  same  — 
rpi<t> (o — which  occurs  in  ver.  6,  and  which 
is  there  rendered  feed.  It  means  to  feed, 
nurse,  or  nourish,  as  the  young  of  ani¬ 
mals  (Matt.  vi.  26,  xxv.  37;  Luke  xii. 
24;  Acts  xii.  20);  that  is,  to  sustain  by 
proper  food.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
the  church  would  be  kept  alive.  It  is 
not  indeed  mentioned  by  whom  this 
would  be  done,  but  it  is  evidently  im¬ 
plied  that  it  would  be  by  God.  During 
this  long  period  in  which  the  church 
would  be  in  obscurity,  it  would  not  be 
suffered  to  become  extinct.  Comp.  1 
Kings  xvii.  3-6.  For  a  time,  and 
times,  and  half  a  time.  A  year,  two 
years,  and  half  a  year ;  that  is,  forty-two 
months  (see  Notes  on  ch.  xi.  2),  or,  reck¬ 
oning  the  month  at  thirty  days,  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  days ;  and  regarding 
these  as  prophetic  days,  in  which  a  day 
stands  for  a  year,  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty  years.  For  a  full  discussion  of  the 
meaning  of  this  language,  see  Notes  on 
Daniel  vii.  25.  For  the  evidence,  also, 
that  the  time  thus  speeified  refers  to  the 
Papacy,  and  to  the  period  of  its  contin¬ 
uance,  see  the  Notes  on  that  place.  The 
full  consideration  given  to  the  subject 
there,  renders  it  unnecessary  to  discuss 
it  here.  For,  it  is  manifest  that  there  is 
an  allusion  here  to  the  passage  in  Dan¬ 
iel  ;  that  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
days  refer  to  the  same  thing ;  and  that 
the  true  explanation  must  be  made  in 
the  same  way.  The  main  difiiculty,  as 
is  remarked  in  the  Notes  on  that  pas¬ 
sage,  is  in  determining  the  time  when 
the  Papacy  properly  commenced.  If 
that  could  be  ascertained  with  certainty, 
there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  deter¬ 
mining  when  it  would  come  to  an  end. 
But  though  there  is  considerable  uncer¬ 
tainty  as  to  the  exact  time  when  it  arose, 
and  though  different  opinions  have  been 
entertained  on  that  point,  yet  it  is  true 
that  all  the  periods  assigned  for  the  rise 
30 


.  15  And  the  serpent  cast  out  of 
his  mouth  water  as  a  flood,  °  after 
a  Is.  59. 19. 

of  that  power  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  time  of  its  downfall  cannot  be  remote. 
The  meaning  in  tho  passage  before  us 
is,  that  during  all  the  time  of  the  con¬ 
tinuance  of  that  formidable,  persecuting 
power,  the  true  church  would  not  in  fact 
become  extinct.  It  would  be  obscure 
and  comparatively  unknown,  but  it  would 
still  live.  The  fulfilment  of  this  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  during  all  the  time  here 
referred  to,  there  has  been  a  true  church 
on  the  earth.  Pure,  spiritual  religion — 
the  religion  of  the  New  Testament — has 
never  been  wholly  extinct.  In  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Waldenses  and  Albigenses, 
the  Bohemian  brethren,  and  kindred 
people;  in  deserts  and  places  of  ob¬ 
scurity;  among  individuals  and  among 
small  and  persecuted  sects;  here  and 
there  in  the  cases  of  individuals  in  mon¬ 
asteries,®  the  true  religion  has  been  kept 
up  in  the  wbrld,  as  in  the  days  of  Elijah 
God  reserved  seven  thousand  men  who 
had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal ;  and  it 
is  possible  now  for  us,  with  a  good  de¬ 
gree  of  certainty,  to  show,  even  during 
the  darkest  ages,  and  when  Rome  seemed 
to  have  entirely  the  ascendency,  where 
the  true  church  was.  To  find  out  this, 
was  the  great  design  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
History  of  Milner;  it  has  been  done,  also, 
with  great  learning  and  skill,  by  Nean- 
der.  From  the  face  of  the  serpent. 
The  dragon  —  or  Satan  represented  by 
the  dragon.  Notes  ver.  3.  The  refer¬ 
ence  here  is  to  the  opposition  which 
Satan  makes  to  the  true  church  under 
the  persecutions  and  corruptions  of  the 
Papacy. 

15.  And  the  serpent  cast  out  of  his 
mouth  water,  as  a  flood.  This  is  pecu¬ 
liar  and  uncommon  imagery,  and  it  is 

*  An  affecting  instance  of  this  kind— -perhaps  one  of 
many  cases  that  existed  —  is  mentioned  by  D’Aubigne 
(B.  I,  p.  79,  Eng.  Trans.),  which  came  to  light  on  the 
pulling  down,  in  the  year  1776,  of  an  old  building  that 
had  formed  a  part  of  the  Carthusian  convent  at  Basle. 

A  poor  Carthusian  brother,  by  the  name  of  Martin,  had 
written  the  following  confession,  which  he  had  placed 
in  a  wooden  box,  and  enclosed  in  a  hole  which  he  had 
made  in  the  wall  of  his  cell,  where  it  was  found  : — 
“O  most  merciful  God,  I  know  that  I  can  only  be 
saved,  and  satisfy  thy  righteousness,  by  the  merit,  the 
innocent  suffering,  and  death  of  thy  well-beloved  Son. 
Holy  Jesus  !  my  salvation  is  in  thy  hands.  Thou  canst 
not  withdraw  the  hands  of  thy  love  from  me  ;  for  they 
have  created  and  redeemed  me.  Thou  hast  inscribed 
my  name  with  a  pen  of  iron  in  rich  mercy,  and  so  as 
nothing  can  efface  it,  on  thy  side,  thy  hands,  and  thy 
feet,”  Sic. 


350 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


the  woman,  that  he  might  cause 
her  to  be  carried  away  of  the 
flood. 

16  And  the  earth  helped  the 
woman,  and  the  earth  opened  her 
mouth,  and  swallowed  up  the  flood 

not  necessary  to  suppose  that  any  thing 
like  this  literally  occurs  in  nature.  Some 
serpents  are  indeed  said  to  eject  from 
their  mouths  poisonous  hile  when  they 
are  enraged,  in  order  to  annoy  their  pur¬ 
suers,  and  some  sea-monsters,  it  is 
known,  spout  forth  large  quantities  of 
water ;  but  the  representation  here  does 
not  seem  to  be  taken  from  either  of  those 
cases.  It  is  the  mere  product  of  the 
imagination,  but  the  sense  is  clear.  The 
woman  is  represented  as  having  wings, 
and  as  being  able  thus  to  escape  from 
the  serpent.  But,  as  an  expression  of 
his  wrath,  and  as  if  with  the  hope  of 
destroying  her  in  her  flight  by  a  deluge 
of  water,  he  is  represented  as  pouring  a 
flood  from  hit  mouth,  that  he  might,  if 
possible,  sweep  her  away.  The  figure 
here  would  well  represent  the  continued 
malice  of  the  Papal  body  against  the 
true  church,  in  those  dark  ages  when  it 
was  sunk  in  obscurity,  and,  as  it  were, 
driven  out  into  the  desert.  That  malice 
never  slumbered,  but  was  continually 
manifesting  itself  in  some  new  form,  as 
if  it  were  the  purpose  of  Papal  Rome 
to  sweep  it  entirely  away.  That  he 
might  cause  her  to  be  carried  away 
of  the  flood.  Might  cause  the  church 
wholly  to  he  destroyed.  The  truth 
taught  is,  that  Satan  leaves  no  effort 
untried  to  destroy  the  church. 

16.  And  the  earth  helped  the  woman. 
The  earth  seemed  to  sympathize  with  the 
woman  in  her  persecutions,  and  to  inter¬ 
pose  to  save  her.  The  meaning  is,  that 
a  state  of  things  would  exist  in  regard 
to  the  church  thus  driven  into  obscurity, 
which  would  be  well  represented  by 
what  is  here  said  to  occur.  It  was  cut 
off  from  human  aid.  It  was  still  in 
danger;  still  persecuted.  In  this  state, 
it  was  nourished  from  some  unseen 
source.  It  was  enabled  to  avoid  the 
direct  attacks  of  the  enemy,  and  when 
he  attacked  it  in  a  new  form,  a  new 
mode  of  intervention  in  its  behalf  was 
granted,  as  if  the  earth  should  open  and 
swallow  up  a  flood  of  water.  Wo  are 
not,  therefore,  to  look  for  any  literal  ful- 


which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his 
mouth. 

17  And  the  dragon  was  wroth 
with  the  woman,  °  and  went  to 
make  war  with  the  remnant  of  her 
a  Go.  3. 15. 


filment  of  this,  as  if  the  earth  interposed 
in  some  marvellous  way  to  aid  the 
church.  The  sense  is,  that,  in  that  state 
of  obscurity  and  solitude,  the  divine 
interposition  was  manifested,  in  an  un¬ 
expected  manner,  as  if  when  an  impe¬ 
tuous  stream  was  rolling  along  that 
threatened  to  sweep  every  thing  away,  a 
chasm  should  suddenly  open  in  the 
earth  and  absorb  it.  During  the  dark 
ages,  many  such  interventions  occurred, 
saving  the  church  from  utter  destruc¬ 
tion.  Overflowing  waters  are  often  in 
the  Scriptures  an  emblem  of  mighty 
enemies.  Ps.  cxxiv.  2-5,  “  If  it  had  not 
been  the  Lord  who  was  on  our  side, 
when  men  rose  up  against  us ;  then  they 
had  swallowed  us  up  quick,  when  their 
wrath  was  kindled  against  us  :  then  the 
waters  had  overwhelmed  us,  the  stream 
had  gone  over  our  soul :  then  the  proud 
waters  had  gone  over  our  soul.”  Ps. 
xviii.  16,  “He  sent  me  from  above,  he 
took  me,,  he  drew  me  out  of  many 
waters.”  Jer.  xlvii.  2,  “Behold,  waters 
rise  up  out  of  the  north,  and  shall 
be  an  overflowing  flood,  and  shall  over¬ 
flow  the  land,”  &c.  Comp.  Jer.  xlvi.  7, 
8,  and  Notes  on  Isa.  viii.  7,  8.  And  the 
earth  opened  her  mouth.  A  chasm  was 
made  sufficient  to  absorb  the  waters. 
That  is,  John  saw  that  the  church  was 
safe  from  this  attack,  and  that,  in  order 
to  preserve  it,  there  was  an  interposi¬ 
tion  as  marked  and  wonderful  as  if  the 
earth  should  suddenly  open  and  swallow 
up  a  mighty  flood. 

17.  And  the  dragon  was  wroth  with 
the  iDoman.  This  wrath  had  been  vented 
by  his  persecuting  her  (ver.  13) ;  by  his 
pursuing  her ;  aud  by  his  pouring  out 
the  flood  of  water  to  sweep  her  away 
(ver.  15.),  and  the  same  wrath  was  now 
vented  against  her  children.  As  he 
could  not  reach  and  destroy  the  woman 
herself,  he  turned  his  indignation  against 
all  who  were  allied  to  her.  Stripped  of 
the  imagery,  the  meaning  is,  that  as  he 
could  not  destroy  the  church  as  such,  he 
vented  his  malice  against  all  who  were 
the  friends  of  the  church,  and  endea- 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPT] 

seed,  which  kept  the  coinmand- 


vored  to  destroy  them.  “  The  church, 
as  such,  he  could  not  destroy ;  therefore 
he  turned  his  wrath  against  individual 
Christians,  to  bring  as  many  of  them  as 
possible  to  death.”  De  Wette.  f  And 
went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  of  her 
seed.  No  mention  is  made  before  of  his 
persecuting  the  children  of  the  woman 
except  his  opposition  to  the  ‘  man-child,’ 
which  she  bore,  vs.  1—4.  The  ‘  woman’ 
represents  the  church,  and  the  phrase 
‘the  remnant  of  her  seed’  must  refer 
to  her  scattered  children,  that  is,  to 
the  scattered  members  of  the  church, 
wherever  they  could  be  found.  The 
reference  here  is  to  persecutions  against 
individuals,  rather  than  a  general  perse¬ 
cution  against  the  church  itself,  and  all 
that  is  here  said  would  find  an  ample 
fulfilment  in  the  vexations  and  troubles 
of  individuals  in  the  Roman  communion 
in  the  dark  ages,  when  they  evinced  the 
spirit  of  pure,  evangelical  piety;  in  the 
cruelties  practised  in  the  Inquisition  on 
individual  Christians  under  the  plea  that 
they  were  heretics;  and  in  the  perse¬ 
cutions  of  such  men  as  Wiclif,  John 
Huss,  and  Jerome  of  Prague.  This  war¬ 
fare  against  individual  Christians  was 
continued  long  in  the  Papal  church,  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  true  friends  of  the 
Saviour  suffered  every  form  of  cruelty 
and  wrong  as  the  result,  Which  keep 
the  commandments  of  God.  Who  were 
true  Christians.  This  phrase  charac¬ 
terizes  correctly  those  who,  in  the  dark 
ages,  were  the  friends  of  God,  in  the 
midst  of  abounding  corruption,  And 
have  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ.  That 
is,  they  bore  a  faithful  testimony  to 
his  truth,  or  were  real  martyrs.  See 
ch.  ii.  13. 

The  scene,  then,  in  this  chapter  is 
this:  —  John  saw  a  most  beautiful  wo¬ 
man,  suitably  adorned,  representing  the 
church  as  about  to  be  enlarged,  and  to 
become  triumphant  in  the  earth.  Then 
he  saw  a  great  red  monster,  representing 

Satan  about  to  destroy  the  church  : _ 

the  Pagan  power,  infuriated,  and  putting 
forth  its  utmost  energyfor  its  destruction, 
lie  then  saw  the  child  caught  up  into 
heaven,  denoting  that  the  church  would 
be  ultimately  safe,  and  would  reign  over 
all  the  world.  Another  vision  appears. 

It  is  that  of  a  contest  between  Michael, 


R  XIII.  351 

ments  of  God,  and  have  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  Jesus  Christ. 

the  protecting  angel  of  the  people  of 
God,  and  the  great  foe,  in  which  victory 
declares  in  favor  of  the  'former,  and 
Satan  suffers  a  discomfiture,  as  if  ho 
were  cast  from  heaven  to  earth.  Still, 
however,  he  is  permitted  for  a  time  to 
carry  on  a  warfare  against  the  church, 
though  certain  that  he  would  be  ulti¬ 
mately  defeated.  lie  puts  forth  his 
power,  and  manifests  his  hostility,  in 
another  form— that  of  the  Papacy— and 
commences  a  new  opposition  against  the 
spiritual  church  of  Christ.  The  church 
is,  however,  safe  from  that  attempt  to 
destroy  it,  for  the  woman  is  represented 
as  fleeing  to  the  wilderness  beyond  the 
power  of  the  enemy,  and  is  there  kept 
alive.  Still  filled  with  rage,  though  in¬ 
capable  of  destroying  the  true  church 
itself,  he  turns  his  wrath,  under  the 
form  of  Papal  persecutions,  against  in¬ 
dividual  Christians,  and  endeavors  to 
cut  them  off  in  detail. 

This  is  the  general  representation  in 
this  chapter,  and  on  the  supposition  that 
it  was  designed  to  represent  the  various 
forms  of  opposition  which  Satan  would 
make  to  the  church  of  Christ,  under 
Paganism  and  the  Papacy,  it  must  be 
admitted,  I  think,  that  no  more  ex¬ 
pressive  or  appropriate  symbols  could 
have  been  chosen.  This  fact  should  be 
allowed  to  have  due  influence  in  confirm¬ 
ing  the  interpretation  suggested  above; 
and  if  it  be  admitted  to  be  a  correct  inter¬ 
pretation,  it  is  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  book.  Further  details 
of  this  opposition  of  Satan  to  the  church 
under  the  Papal  form  of  persecution  are 
made  in  the  subsequent  chapters. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  is  closely  connected  with 
ch.  xii.,  which  is  properly  introductory 
to  this  and  to  the  subsequent  portions 
of  the  book  to  ch.  xx.  See  the  Analysis 
of  the  book.  The  vision  in  this  chapter 
is  of  two  distinct  ‘beasts,’  each  with 
peculiar  characteristics,  yet  closely  re¬ 
lated,  deriving  their  power  from  a  com¬ 
mon  source;  aiding  each  other  in  the 
accomplishment  of  the  same  object,  and 
maniifestly  relating  to  the  same  power 
under  different  forms.  To  see  the  design 


352 


REVELATION, 


of  the  chapter,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
exhibit  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the 
two  ‘  beasts,’  and  the  points  in  which 
they  resemble  each  other,  and  sustain 
each  other. 

I.  The  characteristics  of  the  beasts. 

A.  The  characteristics  of  the  first 
beast,  vs.  1-10. 

(a)  It  comes  up  out  of  the  sea  (ver. 
1)  —  out  of  the  commotion,  the 
agitation  of  nations — a  new  power 
that  springs  up  from  those  dis¬ 
turbed  elements. 

(b)  It  has  seven  heads,  and  ten 
horns,  and  upon  its  horns  ten 
crowns  or  diadems,  ver.  1. 

(c)  In  its  general  form,  it  resembles 
a  leopard ;  its  feet  are  like  those 
of  a  bear ;  its  mouth  like  that  of 
a  lion.  Its  connexion  with  the 
great  'dragon’ — with  Satan — is 
indicated  by  the  statement  that 
it  derives  its  ‘power,  and  its 
seat,  and  its  authority’ from  him; 
a  striking  representation  of  the 
fact  that  the  civil  or  secular  Ro¬ 
man  power  which  supported  the 
church  of  Rome  through  all  its 
corrupt  and  bloody  progress,  was 
the  putting  forth  of  the  power  of 
Satan  on  the  earth.  Yer.  2. 

(d)  One  of  the  heads  of  this  beast 
is  ‘wounded  to  death;’  that  is, 
with  a  wound  that  is  in  itself 

•mortal.  This  wound  is,  however, 
in  some  way  as  yet  unexplained, 
so  healed  that  the  vitality  yet 
remains,  and  all  the  world  pays 
homage  to  the  beast,  ver.  3.  A 
blow  is  aimed  at  this  authority 
which  seems  to  be  fatal ;  but  there 
is  some  healing  or  restorative 
process,  by  which  its  power  is 
recovered,  and  by  which  the  uni¬ 
versality  of  its  dominion  and  in¬ 
fluence  is  again  restored. 

(c)  The  effect  of  this  is,  that  the 
world  renders  homage  really  to 
the  ‘dragon,’  the  source  of  this 
power,  though  in  the  form  of  ado¬ 
ration  of  the  ‘  beast,’  ver.  4.  That 
is,  while  the  outward  homage  is 
rendered  to  the  ‘beast,’  the  real 
worship  is  that  of  the  ‘dragon,’ 
or  Satan.  This  beast  is  regarded 
as  (1)  incomparable  —  ‘Who  is 
like  unto  the  ‘beast?’  and  (2)  in¬ 
vincible —  ‘  Who  is  able  to  war 
with  him  ?’ 


[A.  D.  96. 

(/)  In  this  form  the  beast  is  en¬ 
dowed  with  a  mouth  that  ‘speaks 
great  things  and  blasphemies,’ 
ver.  5;  thjh  is,  the  power  here 
referred  to  is  arrogant,  and  reviles 
the  God  of  heaven. 

(gY  The  time  during  which  he  is 
to  continue  is  ‘forty  and  two 
months  ;’  that  is,  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty  days,  or  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty  years.  Notes  ch.  xi.  2. 

(h)  The  characteristics  of  this  beast, 
and  of  his  dominion,  are  these : 

1.  He  opens  his  mouth  in  blas¬ 
phemy  against  God,  and  his 
church,  and  all  holy  beings, 
ver.  6. 

2.  He  makes  war  with  the 
saints  and  overcomes  them, 
ver.  7. 

3.  He  asserts  his  power  over 
all  nations,  ver.  7. 

4.  He  is  worshipped  by  all  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  whose 
names  are  not  in  the  book 
of  life,  ver.  8. 

(i)  All  are  called  on  to  hear — as  if 
the  announcement  were  important 
for  the  church,  ver.  9. 

(j)  The  result  or  issue  of  the  power 
represented  by  this  monster,  ver. 
10.  It  had  led  others  into  cap¬ 
tivity,  it  would  itself  be  made 
captive  ;  it  had  been  distinguished 
for  slaying  others,  it  would  itself 
feel  the  power  of  the  sword.  Un¬ 
til  this  is  accomplished,  the  pa¬ 
tience  and  faith  of  the  saints 
must  be  sorely  tried,  ver.  10. 

B.  The  characteristics  of  the  second 
beast,  vs.  11-18. 

(а)  It  comes  out  of  the  earth  (ver. 
11)  —  having  a  different  origin 
from  the  former;  not  springing 
from  troubled  elements,  as  of  na¬ 
tions  at  strife,  but  from  that  which 
is  firm  and  established  —  like  the 
solid  earth. 

(б)  It  has  two  horns  like  a  lamb, 
but  it  speaks  as  a  dragon  (ver. 
11).  It  is  apparently  mild,  gentle, 
lamb-like,  and  inoffensive  ;  but  it 
is  in  fact  arrogant,  haughty,  and 
imperative. 

(c)  Its  dominion  is  co-extensive 
with  that  of  the  first  beast,  and 
the  effect  of  its  influence  is  to  in¬ 
duce  the  world  to  do  homage  to 
the  first  beast,  ver.  12. 


CIIAPTEK  XIII. 


353 


A.  D.  96.] 


(d)  It  has  the  power  of  performing 
great  wonders,  and  particularly 
of  deceiving  the  world  by  the 
‘miracles’  which  it  performs. 
This  power  is  particularly  mani¬ 
fested  in  restoring  what  might  be 
regarded  as  an  ‘image’  of  the 
beast  which  was  wounded,  though 
not  put  to  death,  and  by  giving 
life  to  that  image,  and  causing 
those  to  be  put  to  death  who  will 
not  worship  it,  vs.  13-15. 

(e)  This  beast  causes  a  certain  mark 
to  be  affixed  to  all,  small  and  great, 
and  attempts  a  jurisdiction  over 
all  persons,  so  that  none  may  buy 


or  sell,  or  engage  in  any  business, 
who  have  not  the  mark  affixed  to 
them ;  that  is,  the  power  repre¬ 
sented  attempts  to  set  up  a  con¬ 
trol  over  the  commerce  of  the 
world,  vs.  16,  17. 

(/)  The  way  by  which  the  power 
here  referred  to  may  be  known, 
is  by  some  proper  application 
of  the  number  666.  This  is 
stated  in  an  enigmatical  form, 
and  yet  with  such  clearness  that 
it  is  supposed  that  it  would  be 
sufficient  to  indicate  the  power 
here  referred  to. 


II.  Points  in  which  the  two  beasts  resemble  or  sustain  each  other. 

It  is  manifest  on  the  slightest  inspection  of  the  characteristics  of  the  ‘beasts’ 
referred  to  in  this  chapter,  that  they  have  a  close  relation  to  each  other;  that, 
in  important  respects,  the  one  is  designed  to  sustain  the  other,  and  that  both 
are  manifestations  or  embodiments  of  that  one  and  the  same  power  represented 
by  the  ‘dragon,’  ver.  4.  He  is  the  great  original  source  of  power  to  both, 
and  both  are  engaged  in  accomplishing  his  purposes,  and  are  combined  to  keep 
up  his  dominion  over  the  earth.  The  points  of  resemblance  which  it  is  very 
important  to  notice  are  the  following : — 

(1)  They  have  the  same  origin ;  that  is,  they  both  owe  their  power  to  the 
‘dragon,’  and  are  designed  to  keep  up  his  ascendency  in  human  affairs,  chs  xii 
3,  xiii.  2,  4,  12. 

(2)  They  have  the  same  extent  of  power  and  dominion. 


FIRST  BEAST. 

The  world  wonders  after  the  beast, 
ver.  3.  They  worship  the  dragon  and 
the  beast,  ver.  4,  and  all  that  dwell 
upon  the  earth  shall  worship  him, 
ver.  8. 


(3)  They  do  the  same  things. 

FIRST  BEAST. 

The  dragon  gives  power  to  the  beast, 
ver.  4.  There  is  given  unto  him  a 
mouth  speaking  great  things  and  blas¬ 
phemies,  ver.  5.  He  opens  his  mouth 
in  blasphemy  against  God,  ver  6.  It 
is .  given  him  to  make  war  with  the 
saints,  and  to  overcome  them,  ver.  7. 


FIRST  BEAST. 

One  of  his  heads  is,  as  it  were,  wound¬ 
ed  to  death :  —  a  wound  that  would  be 
mortal  if  it  were  not  healed,  ver.  3. 


SECOND  BEAST. 

He  exercises  all  the  power  of  the 
first  beast,  ver.  12.  He  causes  the 
earth  and  them  which  dwell  therein  to 
worship  the  first  beast,  ver.  12.  He  has 
power  to  give  life  unto  the  image  of  the 
beast,  ver.  15.  He  sets  up  jurisdiction 
over  the  commerce  of  the  world,  vs. 


SECOND  BEAST. 

He  exercises  all  the  power  of  the 
first  beast,  ver.  12.  He  does  great  won¬ 
ders,  ver.  13.  He  makes  fire  come  down 
from  heaven  in  the  sight  of  men,  ver.  13. 
He  performs  miracles,  ver.  14.  He  causes 
that  as  many  as  would  not  worship  the 
first  beast  should  be  killed,  ver.  15.  He 
claims  dominion  over  all,  vs.  16, 17. 

of  the  other,  and  of  re- 
SECOND  BEAST. 

Has  power  to  heal  the  wound  of  the 
first  beast  (ver.  12) ;  for  it  is  manifest 
that  the  healing  comes  from  some  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  second  beast. 


(4)  The  one  is  tho  means  of  healing  the  wounded  head 
storing  its  authority. 


30* 


354 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AND  I  stood  upon  the  sand  of 
the  sea,  and  saw  a  beast  “  rise 
up  out  of  the  sea,  having  b  seven 


heads  and  ten  horns,  and  upon  his 
horns  ten  crowns,  and  upon  his 
heads  the  name'  of  blasphemy. 

a  Da.  7.  2,  &c.  b  c.  12. 13 ;  17.  3,  9, 12. 
c  Or,  names. 


(5)  The  one  restores  life  to  the  other  when  dying. 


FIRST  BEAST. 

Is  wounded  (ver.  3),  and  his  power 
manifestly  becomes  exhausted. 


SECOND  BEAST. 

Causes  an  ‘  image’  of  the  first  beast — 
something  that  should  resemble  that,  or 
be  the  same  power  revived,  to  be  made, 
and  to  be  worshipped,  ver.  15. 


6)  They  have  the  same  general  characteristics. 


FIRST  BEAST. 

Has  a  mouth  given  him  to  speak  great 
things  and  blasphemies,  ver.  5 ;  opens 
his  mouth  in  blasphemy,  ver.  6 ;  blas¬ 
phemes  the  name  of  God,  and  his  taber¬ 
nacle,  and  his  people,  ver.  6 ;  makes  war 
with  the  saints  and  overcomes  them, 
ver.  7. 


SECOND  BEAST. 

Speaks  like  a  dragon,  ver.  11 ;  deceives 
those  that  dwell  upon  the  earth,  ver. 
14;  is  a  persecuting  power  —  causing 
those  who  would  not  worship  the  image 
of  the  first  beast  to  be  killed,  ver.  15. 


From  this  comparison  of  the  two  beasts,  the  following  things  are  plain  : — 


(1)  That  the  same  general  power  is 
referred  to,  or  that  they  are  both  modi¬ 
fications  of  one  general  dominion  on  the 
earth :  having  the  same  origin,  having 
the  same  locality,  and  aiming  at  the 
same  result. 

(2)  It  is  the  same  general  domination 
prolonged  ;  that  is,  the  one  is,  in  another 
form,  but  the  continuation  of  the  other. 

(3)  The  one  becomes  weak,  or  is  in 
some  way  likely  to  lose  its  authority 
and  power,  and  is  revived  by  the  other; 
that  is,  the  other  restores  its  waning 
authority,  and  sets  up  substantially  the 
same  dominion  again  over  the  earth,  and 
causes  the  same  great  power  to  be  ac¬ 
knowledged  on  the  earth. 

(4)  The  one  runs  into  the  other;  that 
is,  one  naturally  produces,  or  is  follow¬ 
ed  by  the  other. 

(5)  One  sustains  the  other. 

(6)  They  therefore,  have  a  very  close 
relation  to  each  other : — having  the  same 
object;  possessing  the  same  general  cha¬ 
racteristics  ;  and  accomplishing  substan¬ 
tially  the  same  thing  on  the  earth. 
What  this  was,  will  be  better  seen  after 
the  exposition  of  the  chapter  shall  have 
been  made.  It  may  be  sufficient  here 
to  remark  that  on  the  very  face  of  this 
statement,  it  is  impossible  not  to  have 
the  Roman  power  suggested  to  the 
mind,  as  a  mighty  persecuting  power,  in 
the  two  forms  of  the  civil  and  ecclesi¬ 


astical  authority,  both  having  the  same 
origin;  aiming  at  the  same  object;  the 
one  sustaining  the  other;  anctboth  com¬ 
bined  to  keep  up  the  dominion  of  the 
great  enemy  of  God  and  man  upon  the 
earth.  It  is  impossible,  also,  not  to  be 
struck  with  the  resemblance,  in 'many 
particulars,  between  this  vision  and  that 
of  Daniel  (ch.  vii.),  and  to  be  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  they  are  in¬ 
tended  to  refer  to  the  same  kingdom  in 
general,  and  to  the  same  events.  But 
this  will  be  made  more  manifest  in  the 
exposition  of  the  chapter. 

1.  And  I  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the 
sea.  The  sand  upon  the  shore  of  the 
sea.  That  is,  he  seemed  to  stand  there, 
and  then  had  a  vision  of  a  beast  rising 
out  of  the  waters.  The  reason  of  this 
representation,  may,  perhaps,  have  been 
that  among  the  ancients  the  sea  was  re¬ 
garded  as  the  appropriate  place  for  the 
origin  of  huge  and  terrible  monsters. 
Prof.  Stuart,  in  loc.  This  vision  strongly 
resembles  that  in  Daniel  vii.  2,  seq., 
where  the  prophet  saw  four  beasts 
coming  up  in  succession  from  the  sea. 
See  Notes  on  that  place.  In  Daniel,  the 
four  winds  of  heaven  are  described  as 
striving  upon  the  great  sea  (ver.  2),  and 
the  agitated  ocean  represented  the  na¬ 
tions  in  commotion,  or  in  a  state  of  dis¬ 
order  and  anarchy,  and  the  four  beasts 
represent  four  successive  kingdoms  that 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPT] 

2  And  the  beast  which  I  saw® 

a  Da.  7.  4-7. 

would  spring  up.  See  Notes  on  Dan. 
vii.  2.  In  the  passage  before  us,  John 
indeed  describes  no  storm  or  tempest, 
but  the  sea  itself,  as  compared  with  the 
land  (see  Notes  on  ver.  11)  represents 
an  agitated  or  unsettled  state  of  things, 
and  we  should  naturally  look  for  that  in 
the  rise  of  the  power  here  referred  to. 
If  the  reference  be  to  the  civil  or  secular 
Roman  power  that  has  always  appeared 
in  connexion  with  the  Papacy,  and  that 
has  always  followed  its  designs,  then  it 
is  true  that  it  rose  amidst  the  agitations 
of  the  world,  and  from  a  state  of  com¬ 
motion  that  might  well  be  represented 
by  the  restless  ocean.  The  sea  in  either 
case  naturally  describes  a  nation  or 
people,  for  this  image  is  frequently  so 
employed  in  the  Scriptures.  Comp,  as 
above,  Dan.  vii.  2,  and  Ps.  lxv.  7  ,•  Jer. 
_xi.  42  ;  Isa.  lx.  5 ;  Rev.  x.  2.  The  natural 
idea,  therefore,  in  this  passage  would  be, 
that  the  power  that  was  represented  by 
the  ‘  beast’  would  spring  up  among  the 
nations,  when  restless  or  unsettled,  like 
the  waves  of  the  ocean.  And  saw  a 
beast.  Daniel  saw  four  in  successioif 
(ch.  vii.  3-7),  all  different,  yet  succeed¬ 
ing  each  other ;  J ohn  saw  two  in  suc¬ 
cession,  yet  strongly  resembling  each 
other,  vs.  1.  11.  On  the  general  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  word  beast — Srjptov, — see  Notes 
on  ch.  xi.  7.  The  beast  here  is  evidently 
a  symbol  of  some  power  or  kingdom 
that  would  arise  in  future  times.  See 
Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  3.  Having  seven 
heads.  So  also  the  dragon  is  represent¬ 
ed  in  ch.  xii.  3.  See  Notes  on  that  pas¬ 
sage.  The  representation  there  is  of 
Satan,  as  the  source  of  all  the  power 
lodged  in  the  two  beasts  that  John  sub¬ 
sequently  saw  In  ch.  xvii.  9,  referring 
substantially  to  the  same  vision,  it  is 
said  that  ‘the  seven  heads  are  seven 
mountains;’  and  there  can  be  no  diffi¬ 
culty,  therefore,  in  referring  this  to  the 
seven  hills  on  which  the  city  of  Rome 
was  built  (comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xii.  3), 
and  consequently  this  must  be  regarded 
as  designed,  in  some  way,  to  be  a  repre¬ 
sentation  of  Rome.  And  ten  horns. 
See  this  also  explained  in  the  Notes  on 
ch.  xii.  3 ;  comp,  also  the  more  extended 
illustration  in  the  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  25, 
seq.  The  reference  here  is  to  Rome,  or 
the  one  Roman  power,  contemplated  as 


R  XIII.  355 

was  like  unto  a  leopard,  and  his 

made  up  of  ten  subordinate  kingdoms, 
and  therefore  subsequently  to  the  inva¬ 
sions  of  the  Northern  hordes,  and  to  the 
time  when  the  Papacy  was  about  to  rise. 
Comp.  Rev.  xvii.  12,  “And  the  ten 
horns  which  thou  sawest  are  ten  kings 
[rnarg.  kingdoms],  which  have  received 
no  kingdom  as  yet,  but  receive  power  as 
kings  with  the  beast.”  For  a  full  illus¬ 
tration  of  this,  see  the  copious  Notes  at 
the  close  of  the  seventh  chapter  of 
Daniel.  And  upon  his  horns  ten  crowns. 
Greek,  ten  diadems .  See  Notes  on  ch. 
xii.  3.  These  indicated  dominion  or 
authority.  In  ch.  xii.  3,  the  ‘  dragon  is 
represented  as  having  seven  diadems  on 
his  head;  here,  the  beast  is  represented 
as  having  ten.  The  dragon  there  repre¬ 
sents  the  Roman  domination  as  such,  the 
seven-hilled,  or  seven-headed  power,  and, 
therefore  properly  described  as  having 
seven  diadems ;  the  beast  here  represents 
tho  Roman  power,  as  now  broken  up 
into  the  ten  dominations  which  sprung 
up  (see  Notes  on  Daniel  as  above)  from 
the  one  original  Roman  power,  and  that 
became  henceforward  the  supporters  of 
the  Papacy,  and,  therefore,  properly  re¬ 
presented  here  as  having  ten  diadems. 
K  And  upon  his  heads  the  name  of  blas¬ 
phemy.  That  is,  the  whole  power  was 
blasphemous  in  its  claims  and  preten¬ 
sions.  The  word  blasphemy  here  seems 
to  be  used  in  the  sense  that  titles  and 
attributes  were  claimed  by  it  which  be¬ 
longed  only  to  God.  On  the  meaning 
of  the  word  blasphemy,  see  Notes  on 
Matt.  ix.  3,  xxvi.  65.  The  meaning 
here  is,  that  each  one  of  these  heads 
appeared  to  have  a  frontlet,  with  an  in¬ 
scription  that  was  blasphemous,  or  that 
ascribed  some  attribute  to  this  power 
that  properly  belonged  to  God;  and  that 
the  whole  power  thus  assumed,  was  in 
derogation  of  the  attributes  and  claims 
of  God.  In  regard  to  the  propriety  of 
this  description  considered  as  applicable 
to  the  Papacy,  see  Notes  on  2  Thess. 
ii.  4. 

2.  And  the  beast  which  I  saw  was  like 
unto  a  leopard.  For  a  description  of  the 
leopard,  see  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  6.  It  is 
distinguished  for  blood-thirstiness  and 
cruelty,  and  thus  becomes  an  emblem  of 
a  fierce,  tyrannical  power.  In  its  gene¬ 
ral  character  it  resembles  a  lion,  and  the 


356 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


feet  were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  and 
his  mouth  as  the  mouth  of  a  lion : 
and  the  dragon  “  gave  him  his 

a  o.  12.  9.  b  c.  16. 10.  c  Slain. 


lion  and  the  leopard  are  often  referred 
to  together.  In  this  description,  it  is 
observable  that  John  has  combined  in 
one  animal  or  monster,  all  those  which 
Daniel  brought  successively  on  the  scene 
of  action,  as  representing  different  em¬ 
pires.  Thus  in  Daniel  (vii.  2-7),  the 
lion  is  introduced  as  the  symbol  of  the 
Babylonian  power;  the  bear,  as  the  sym¬ 
bol  of  the  Medo-Persian ;  the  leopard,  as 
the  symbol  of  the  Macedonian;  and  a 
nondescript  animal,  fierce,  cruel,  and 
mighty,  with  t^e  horns,  as  the  symbol 
of  the  Romatfl  See  Notes  on  that  pas¬ 
sage.  In  John,  there  is  one  animal  rep¬ 
resenting  the  Roman  power,  as  if  it  were 
made  up  of  all  these :  a  leopard  with  the 
feet  of  a  bear,  and  the  mouth  of  a  lion, 
!  °  "With:  -two  horns,  and  with  the  general 
description  of  a  fierce  monster.  There 
was  an  obvious  propriety  in  this,  in 
speaking  of  the  Roman  power,  for  it  was 
in  fact  made  up  of  the  empires  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  other  symbols  in  Daniel, 
and  “  combined  in  itself  all  the  elements 
of  the  terrible  and  the  oppressive,  which 
had  existed  in  the  aggregate  in  the  other 
great  empires  that  preceded  it.”  At  the 
same  time,  there  was  an  obvious  pro¬ 
priety  in  the  symbol  itself;  for  the  blood¬ 
thirstiness  and  cruelty  of  the  leopard 
would  well  represent  the  ferocity  and 
cruelty  of  the  Roman  power,  especially 
as  John  saw  it  here  as  the  great  antago¬ 
nistic  power  of  the  true  church,  sustain¬ 
ing  the  Papal  claim,  and  thirsting  for 
blood.  And  his  feet  were  as  the  feet 
of  a  bear.  See  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  5. 
The  idea  here  seems  to  be  that  of  strength, 
as  the  strength  of  the  bear  resides  much 
in  its  feet  and  claws.  At  the  same  time, 
there  is  the  idea  of  a  combination  of 
fierce  qualities — as  if  the  blood-thirsti¬ 
ness,  the  cruelty,  and  the  agility  of  the 
leopard  were  united  with  the  strength 
of  the  bear.  And  his  mouth  as  the 
mouth  of  the  lion.  See  Notes  on  Dan.  vii. 
4.  The  mouth  of  the  lion  is  made  to 
seize  and  hold  its  prey,  and  is  indicative 
of  the  character  of  the  animal  as  a  beast 
of  prey.  J ohn  has  thus  brought  together 
the  qualities  of  activity,  blood-thirsti¬ 
ness,  strength,  ferocity,  all  as  symbolical 


power,  and  his  seat, 4  and  great  au¬ 
thority. 

3  And  I  saw  one  of  his  heads,  as 
it  were  wounded  c  to  death ;  and  his 


of  the  power  that  was  intended  to  be 
represented.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say  that  this  description  is  one  that 
would  apply  well,  in  all  respects,  to 
Rome;  nor  is  it  necessary  to  say  that  if 
it  be  supposed  that  he  meant  to  refer  to 
Rome,  this  is  such  a  description  as  he 
would  have  adopted.  And  the  dragon. 
Notes  ch.  xii.  3.  *[[  Gave  him  his  power. 

Satan  claimed,  in  the  time  of  the  Saviour, 
all  power  over  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  and  asserted  that  he  could  give 
them  to  whomsoever  he  pleased.  See 
Notes  on  Matt.  iv.  8,  9.  How  far  the 
power  of  Satan  in  this  respect  may  ex¬ 
tend,  it  may  not  be  possible  to  deter¬ 
mine  ;  but  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
Roman  power  seemed  to  have  such  an 
origin,  and  that  in  the  main  it  was  such 
as,  on  that  supposition,  it  would  be.  In 
its  arrogance  and  haughtiness;  in  its 
thirst  for  dominion ;  in  its  persecutions, 
it  had  such  characteristics  as  we  may 
suppose  Satan  would  originate.  If, 
therefore,  as  the  whole  connexion  leads 
us  to  suppose,  this  refers  to  the  Roman 
secular  power,  considered  as  the  support 
of  the  Papacy,  there  is  the  most  evident 
propriety  in  the  representation.  And 
the  seat.  Spdvov.  Hence  our  word  throne. 
The  word  properly  means  a  seat;  then  a 
high  seat;  then  a  throne,  as  that  on 
which  a  king  sits.  Here  it  refers  to  this 
power  as  exercising  dominion  on  the 
earth.  And  great  authority.  The  au¬ 
thority  was  great.  It  extended  over  a 
large  part  of  the  earth,  and  alike  in  its 
extent  and  character,  it  was  such  as  we 
may  suppose  Satan  would  set  up  in  the 
world. 

3.  And  I  saw  one  of  his  heads,  as  it 
were  wounded  to  death.  The  phrase 
‘wounded  to  death’  means  properly  that  it 
received  a  mortal  wound;  that  is,  that  the 
wound  would  have  been  mortal  if  it  had 
not  been  healed.  A  blow  was  struck  that 
would  be  naturally  fatal,  but  there  was 
something  that  prevented  the  fatal  result. 
John  does  not  say,  however,  by  whom 
the  wound  was  inflicted,  nor  does  he  de¬ 
scribe  farther  the  nature  of  the  wound. 
He  says  that  ‘  one  of  the  heads’ — that  is, 
one  of  the  seven  heads,  was  thus  wound- 


A.  D.  96.] 

deadly  wound  was  healed :  and  all 

a  c  17.  8. 


ed.  In  ch.  xvii.  9,  he  says  that  “  the 
seven  heads  are  seven  mountains  on 
which  the  woman  sitteth.”  In  ch.  xvii. 
10,  he  says,  “  there  are  seven  kings.” 
And  this  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that 
there  were  ‘seven’  administrations,  or 
forms  of  dominion,  or  dynasties,  that 
were  presented  to  the  eye  of  John ;  and 
that  while  the  number  ‘  seven,’  as  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  ‘heads,’  so  far  identified  the 
power  as  to  fix  its  location  on  the  seven 
‘hills,’  (ch.  xvii.  9),  in  another  respect 
also  the  number  ‘seven’  suggested  forms 
of  administration  or  dynasties,  ch.  xvii. 
10.  What  is  meant  by  saying  that  one 
of  these  heads  was  wounded  to  death, 
has  been  among  the  most  perplexing  of 
all  the  enquiries  pertaining  to  the  book 
of  Revelation.  The  use  of  the  word 
seven,  and  the  explanation  in  ch.  xvii. 
9,  make  it  morally  certain  that  Rome, 
in  some  form  of  its  administration,  is 
referred  to.  Of  this  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  and  in  this  all  are  agreed.  It  is 
not,  however,  the  Papal  power  as  such, 
that  is  here  referred  to ;  for  (a)  the  Pa¬ 
pal  power  is  designated  under  the  image 
of  the  second  beast;  (6)  the  descriptions 
pertaining  to  the  first  beast  are  all  appli¬ 
cable  to  a  secular  power;  and  (c)  there 
was  no  form  of  the  Papal  spiritual  do¬ 
minion  which  would  properly  correspond 
with  what  is  said  in  ch.  xvii.  10.  The 
reference  in  this  place  is,  therefore,  to, 
Rome  considered  as  a  civil  or  secular 
power,  yet  Rome  regarded  as  giving 
support  to  the  second  beast — the  Papal 
power.  The  general  idea  here  is,  that  a 
state  of  things  would  exist  in  regard  to 
that  power,  at  the  time  referred  to,  as  if 
one  of  the  seven  heads  of  the  monster 
should  receive  a  wound  which  would  be 
fatal,  if  it  were  not  healed  in  some  way. 
That  is,  its  power  would  be  weakened; 
its  dominion  would  be  curtailed,  and  that 
portion  of  its  power  would  have  come  to 
an  end,  if  there  had  not  been  something 
which  would,  as  it  were,  restore  it,  and 
save  it  from  the  wrath  that  was  impend¬ 
ing.  The  great  point  of  difficulty  relates 
to  the  particular  application  of  this;  to 
the  facts  in  history  that  would  corres¬ 
pond  with  the  symbol.  On  this  there 
have  been  almost  as  many  opinions  as 
there  have  been  interpreters  of  the  Apoc- 


357 

the  world  wondered  °  after  the 
beast. 


alypse,  and  there  is  no  impropriety  in 
saying  that  none  of  the  solutions  are 
wholly  free  from  objection.  The  main 
difficulty,  so  far  as  the  interpretation 
proposed  above  is  concerned,  is,  in  the 
fact  that  ‘one’  of  the  seven  heads  is  re¬ 
ferred  to  as  wounded  unto  death;  as  if 
just  one-seventh  part  of  the  power  was 
endangered.  I  confess  I  am  not  able 
wholly  to  solve  this  difficulty ;  but,  after 
all,  is  it  certain  that  the  meaning  is  that 
just  one-seventh  part  of  the  power  was 
in  peril ;  that  the  blow  affected  just  such 
a  portion  that  it  might  be  described  as 
the  one-seventh  part?  Is  not  the  num¬ 
ber  seven  so  used  in  the  Scriptures  as  to 
denote  a  considerable  portion  ;  a  portion 
quite  material  and  important?  And 
may  not  all  that  is  intended  here  be, 
that  John  saw  a  wound  inflicted  on  that 
mighty  power,  which  would  have  been  fa¬ 
tal  if  it  had  not  been  marvellously  healed  ? 
And  was  it  not  true  that  the  Roman  civil 
and  secular  power  was  so  waning  and 
decaying  that  it  might  properly  be  rep¬ 
resented  as  if  one  of  the  seven  heads  of 
the  monster  had  received  a  fatal  wound, 
until  its  power  was  restored  by  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  spiritual  domination  of  the 
church  of  Rome  ?  If  this  be  the  correct 
exposition,  then  what  is  implied  hero 
maybe  thus  stated: — (a)  The  general 
subject  of  the  representation  is  the 
Roman  power,  as  seen  at  first  in  its  vigor 
and  strength  ;  ( b )  then  that  power  is  said 
to  be  greatly  weakened,  as  if  one  of  its 
heads  were  smitten  with  a  deadly  wound; 
(c)  then  the  wound  was  healed  —  this 
power  was  restored  —  by  being  brought 
into  alliance  with  the  Papacy;  that  is, 
the  whole  Roman  power  over  the  world 
would  have  died  away,  if  it  had  not  been 
restored  and  perpetuated  by  means  of 
this  new  and  mighty  influence.  Ver.  12. 
Under  this  new  form,  Rome  had  all  the 
power  which  it  had  ever  had,  and  was 
guilty  of  all  the  atrocities  of  which  it 
had  ever  been  guilty:  it  was  Rome  still. 
Every  wound  that  was  inflicted  on  that 
power  by  the  incursion  of  Barbarians, 
and  by  the  dividing  off  of  parts  of  the 
empire,  was  healed  by  the  Papacy,  and 
under  this  form  its  dominion  became  as 
wide  and  as  formidable  as  under  its  an¬ 
cient  mode  of  administration.  If  a  more 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


358 


REVEL 


4  And  they  worshipped  the  dra¬ 
gon  which  gave  power  unto  the 
beast:  and  they  worshipped  the 


•particular  application  of  this  is  sought 
for,  1  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it 
may  be  found  in  the  quite  common  in¬ 
terpretation  of  the  passage  given  by 
Protestants,  that  the  reference  is  to 
V'  the  forms  of  administration  under  which 
this  power  appeared  in  the  world.  The 
forms  of  government  which  the  Roman 
power  assumed,  from  first  to  last,  were 
the  following :  kings,  consuls,  dictators, 
decemvirs,  military  tribunes,  emperors. 
These  seven  forms  of  administration 
were,,  at  least,  sufficiently  prominent  and 
marked  to  be  represented  by  this  sym¬ 
bol,  or  to  attract  the  attention  of  one 
contemplating  this  formidable  power — • 
for  it  was  under  these  forms  that  its  con¬ 
quests  had  been  achieved,  and  its  do¬ 
minion  set  up  over  the  earth.  In  the 
time  of  John,  and  the  time  contemplated 
in  this  vision,  all  these  had  passed  away 
but  the  imperial.  That  too  was  soon  to 
be  smitten  with  a  deadly  wound  by  the 
invasion  of  the  Northern  hordes;  and 
that  would  have  wholly  and  for  ever 
ceased  if  it  had  not  been  restored — the 
deadly  wound  being  healed — by  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  the  Papal  power,  giving  Rome 
its  former  ascendency.  See  Notes  at 
the  close  of  ver.  15.  And  his  deadly 
wound  was  healed.  That  is,  as  explained 
above,  the  waning  Roman  secular  power 
was  restored  by  its  connexion  with  the 
spiritual  power — the  Papacy.  This  was 
(a)  a  simple  matter  of  fact,  that  the 
waning  secular  power  of  Rome  was  thus 
restored  by  connecting  itself  with  the 
spiritual  or  ecclesiastical  power,  thus 
prolonging  what  might  properly  be  called 
the  Roman  domination  far  beyond  what 
it  would  otherwise  have  been;  and  ( b ) 
this  would  be  properly  represented  by 
just  the  symbol  employed  here — the 
fatal  wound  inflicted  on  the  head,  and 
the  healing  of  that  wound,  or  preventing 
what  would  naturally  be  the  effects.  On 
the  fulfilment  of  this,  see  Notes  on  ver. 
15,  at  the  close.  And  all  the  icorld 
wondered  after  the  beast.  The  word  here 
used — Savyafa  —  means  properly  to  be 
astonished ;  to  be  amazed ;  then  to  won¬ 
der  at;  then  to  admire  and  follow.  Rob. 
Lex.  In  ver.  4,  it  is  said  that  the  world 


AT  ION,  [A.D.96. 

beast,  saying,  Who  is  like  unto  the 
beast?  who  a  is  able  to  make  war 
with  him  ? 

a  c.  17.  14. 


‘ worshipped ’  the  beast;  and  the  general 
idea  is,  that  the  beast  received  such  a 
universal  reverence,  or  inspired  such  uni¬ 
versal  awe,  as  to  be  properly  called  wor 
ship  or  adoration.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  propriety  of  this,  considered  as 
applicable  to  that  secular  Roman  power 
which  sustained  the  Papacy.  The  homage 
was  as  wide  as  the  limits  of  the  Roman 
empire  had  ever  been,  and  might  be  said 
to  embrace  ‘  all  the  world.’ 

4.  And  they  worshipped  the  dragon 
which  gave  power  unto  the  beast.  Notes 
ch.  xii.  3,  xiii.  2.  That  is,  they  in  fact 
worshipped  him.  The  word  worship — 
irpooKvviu > — is  not  always,  howevel,  used 
in  a  religious  sense.  It  means,  properly, 
to  kiss ;  to  kiss  towards  any  one ;  that 

is,  to  kiss  his  own  hand  and  to  extend 
it  towards  a  person,  in  token  of  respect 
and  homage.  Rob.  Lex.  Comp.  Job 
xxxi.  27.  Then  it  means  to  show  respect 
to  one  who  is  our  superior ;  to  kings  and 
princes;  to  parents;  and  pre-eminently 
to  God.  See  Notes  on  Matt.  ii.  2.  The 
word  may  be  used  here  to  mean  that 
homage  or  reverence,  as  to  a  higher 
power,  was  rendered  to  the  ‘  dragon ;’ 
not  strictly  that  he  was  openly  wor¬ 
shipped  in  a  religious  sense  as  God. 
Can  any  one  doubt  that  this  was  the 
case  under  Papal  Rome;  that  the  power 
which  was  set  up  under  that  entire  domi¬ 
nation,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  was  such 
as  Satan  approved,  and  such  as  he  sought 
to  have  established  on  the  earth  ?  And 
can  any  one  doubt  that  the  homage  thus 
rendered,  so  contrary  to  the  law  of  God, 
and  so  much  in  derogation  of  his  claims, 
was  in  fact  homage  rendered  to  this 
presiding  spirit  of  evil?  *f[  And  they 
icorshipped  the  beast.  That  is,  they  did 

it,  as  is  immediately  specified,  by  saying 
that  he  was  incomparable  and  invincible  ; 
in  other  words,  that  he  was  superior  to 
all  others,  and  that  he  was  almighty. 
For  the  fulfilment  of  this,  see  Notes  on 
2  Thess.  ii.  4.  Who  is  like  unto  the 
beast?  That  is,  he  is  to  be  regarded  as 
unequalled  and  as  supreme.  This  was, 
in  fact,  ascribing  honors  to  him  which 
belonged  only  to  God ;  and  this  was  the 
manner  in  which  that  civil  and  secular 


359 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTI 

5  And  there  was  given  unto  him 
a  mouth  °  speaking  great  things 
and  blasphemies ;  and  power  was 


power  was  regarded  in  the  period  here 
supposed  to  be  referred  to.  It  was  the 
policy  of  rulers  and  princes  in  those 
times  to  augment  in  every  way  possible 
the  respect  in  which  they  were  held ;  to 
maintain  that  they  were  the  vicegerents 
of  heaven ;  to  claim  for  themselves  sa¬ 
credness  of  character  and  of  person ;  and 
to  secure  from  the  people  a  degree  of 
reverence  which  was  in  fact  idolatrous. 
Never  was  this  more  marked  than  in  the 
times  when  the  Papacy  had  the  ascend- 
ency,  for  it  was  its  policy  to  promote 
reverence  for  the  power  that  sustained 
itself,  and  to  secure  for  itself  the  idola¬ 
trous  veneration  of  the  people.  «|f  Who 
is  able  to  make  war  with  him  ?  That  is, 
he  is  invincible.  They  thus  attributed 
v  to  him  omnipotence  —  an  attribute  be¬ 
longing  only  to  God.  This  found  a  ful¬ 
filment  in  the  honor  shown  to  the  civil 
authority  which  sustained  the  Papacy ; 
for  the  policy  was  to  impress  the  public 
mind  with  the  belief  that  that  power  was 
invincible.  In  fact  it  was  so  regarded. 
Nothing  was  able  to  resist  that  absolute 
despotism,  and  the  authority  of  princes 
and  rulers  that  were  allied  with  the 
Papal  rule  was  of  the  most  absolute 
kind,  and  the  subjugation  of  the  world 
was  complete.  There  was  no  civil,  as 
there  was  no  religious  liberty ;  and  the 
whole  arrangement  was  so  ordered  as  to 
subdue  the  world  to  an  absolute  and 
uncontrollable  power. 

5.  And  there  was  given  him  a  mouth 
speaking  great  things.  John  does  not 
say  by  whom  this  was  given,-  but  we 
may  suppose  that  it  was  by  the  '  dragon,’ 
who  is  said  (ver.  2)  to  have  given  him 
his  power,  and  seat,  and  authority.  The 
fulfilment  of  this  is  found  in  the  claims 
set  up  by  the  princes  and  rulers  here 
referred  to — that  mighty  secular  power 
that  sustained  the  Papacy,  and  that  was, 
in  some  sort,  a  part  of  the  Papacy  itself. 
These  arrogant  claims  consisted  in  the 
assertion  of  a  divine  right ;  in  the  power 
assumed  over  the  liberty,  the  property, 
and  the  consciences  of  the  people;  in 
the  arbitrary  commands  that  were  is¬ 
sued  ;  and  in  the  right  asserted  of  giving 
absolute  law.  The  language  here  used 
i»  the  same  as  that  which  is  found  in 


R  XIII. 

given  unto  him  to  b  continue  forty  • 
and  two  months. 

a  Da.  7.  8, 11,  25;  11.  36. 
b  Or,  make  war.  c  c.  11.  2,  3;  12.  6. 

Daniel  (vii.  8),  when  speaking  of  the 
'little  horn "In  this  horn  were  eyes 
like  the  eyes  of  a  man,  and  a  mouth 
speaking  great  things.”  For  an  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  meaning  of  this,  see  Notes 
on  that  passage.  Comp.  Notes  on  Dan. 
vii.  25.  And  blasphemies.  That  is, 
the  whole  power  represented  by  the 
'beast’  will  be  blasphemous.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  1.  Comp.  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  25. 
If  And  power  was  given  unto  him  to  con¬ 
tinue  forty  and  two  months.  Three  years 
and  an  half,  reckoned  as  months;  or 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  reckon¬ 
ing  thirty  days  for  a  month ;  or  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years,  regarding  the 
days  as  prophetic  days.  For  tho  evi¬ 
dence  that  this  is  to  be  so  regarded,  see 
Notes  on  Daniel  vii.  25.  This  is  the 
same  period  that  we  meet  with  in  ch.  xi. 
2,  and  in  ch.  xii.  6.  See  Notes  on  those 
places.  This  fact  proves  that  the  same 
power  is  referred  to  in  these  places  and 
in  Daniel ;  and  this  fact  may  be  regarded 
as  a  confirmation  of  the  views  here  taken 
that  the  power  here  referred  to  is  de¬ 
signed  to  have  a  connexion  in  some 
form  with  the  Papacy.  The  duration 
of  the  existence  of  this  power  is  the  same 
as  that  which  is  everywhere  ascribed  to 
the  Papacy,  in  the  passages  which  refer 
to  it;  and  all  the  circumstances,  as  before 
remarked,  show  that  the  same  general 
power  is  referred  to  by  the  two  ‘  beasts’ 
which  are  described  in  this  chapter.  If 
so,  the  continuance  or  duration  may  be 
supposed  to  be  the  same;  and  this  is 
indicated  in  the  passage  before  us,  where 
it  is  said  that  it  would  be  twelve  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  years.  In  regard  to  the 
application  of  this  to  tho  Papal  power, 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  calculation 
is  to  be  made  of  the  duration  of  that 
power,  see  the  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  25, 
and  the  remarks  at  the  end  of  that  chap¬ 
ter.  The  meaning  in  the  passage  beforo 
us  I  take  to  be,  that  the  Papal  power, 
considered  as  a  civil  or  'Secular  institu¬ 
tion,  will  have,  from  the  time  when  that 
properly  commenced,  a  duration  of 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years.  In  the 
Scriptures  there  is  nothing  more  defi¬ 
nite  in  regard  to  any  future  event  than 


360 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


6  And  he  opened  his  mouth  in 

blasphemy  against  God,  to  blas¬ 
pheme  his  name  and  his  taberna¬ 
cle,  “  and  them  that  b  dwell  in 
heaven.  » 

7  And  it  was  given  unto  him  to 
make  war  c  with  the  saints,  and  to 

a  Col.  2.  9;  He.  9. 11,  24.  b  He.  12.  22,  23. 
c  Da.  7.  21;  c.  11.  7;  12.17. 


6.  And  he  opened  Ms  mouth  in  blas¬ 
phemy  against  God,  to  blaspheme  his 
name.  By  his  own  arrogant  claims ;  by 
his  assumed  authority  in  matters  of  con¬ 
science  ;  by  setting  aside  the  divine  au¬ 
thority  ;  and  by  impious  declarations  in 
derogation  of  the  divine  claims.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  1.  And  his  tabernacle. 
Literally,  ‘his  tent’ — aKrjvriv.  This  is  the 
word  which  is  commonly  applied  to  the 
sacred  tent  or  tabernacle  among  the 
Hebrews,  in  which  the  ark  was  kept,  and 
which  was  the  seat  of  the  Jewish  wor¬ 
ship  before  the  building  of  the  temple. 
It  is  thus  used  to  denote  a  place  of  wor¬ 
ship,  considered  as  the  dwelling-place 
of  God,  and  is,  in  this  sense,  applied  to 
heaven,  Heb.  viii.  2,  ix.  11 ;  Rev.  xv.  5. 
It  seems  to  be  used  here  in  a  general 
sense  to  denote  the  place  where  God  was 
worshipped;  and  the  meaning  is,  that 
there  would  be  a  course  of  conduct  in 
regard  to  the  true  church — the  dwelling- 
place  of  God  on  the  earth — which  could 
properly  be  regarded  as  blasphemy.  Let 
any  one  remember  the  anathemas  and 
excommunications  uttered  against  the 
Waldenses  and  Albigenses,  and  those 
of  kindred  spirit  that  appeared  in  the 
long  period  of  the  Papal  rule,  and  he 
will  find  no  difficulty  in  perceiving-  a 
complete  fulfilment  of  all  that  is  here 
said.  And  them  that  dwell  therein. 
The  true  worshippers ;  the  members  of 
the  true  church,  represented  as  dwelling 
in  this  holy  tabernacle.  No  one  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  reproaches  cast  on  the 
devoted  and  sincere  followers  of  the 
Saviour  during  the  dark  periods  of  the 
Papal  rule,  can,  fail  to  see  that  there  was, 
in  that,  a  complete  fulfilment  of  all  that 
is  here  predicted. 

7.  And  it  was  given  unto  him.  By  the 
same  power  that  taught  him  to  blas¬ 
pheme  God  and  his  church.  Notes  on 
vs.  2,  5.  To  make  war  with  the  saints. 
See  this  fully  illustrated  in  the  Notes  on 


overcome  them:  and  power  d  was 
given  bim  over  all  kindreds,  and 
tongues,  and  nations. 

8  And  all  that  dwell  upon  the 
earth  shall  worship  him,  whose 
names  are  not  written  in  the  book  • 
of  life  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  f  the 
foundation  of  the  world. 
d  Du.  4.  6.  e  Da.  12. 1 ;  c.  21.  27.  /  c.  17. 8. 


the  parallel  passage  in  Daniel  vii.  21, 
and  at  The  end  of  that  chapter  (/). 

And  to  overcome  them.  In  those  wars. 
This  was  abundantly  fulfilled  in  the 
wars  with  the  Waldenses,  the  Albigen¬ 
ses,  and  the  other  sincere  followers  of 
the  Saviour  in  the  time  of  the  Papal 
persecutions.  .The  language  here  used 
is  the  same  as  that  which  is  found  in 
Dan.  vii.  21 :  “  The  same  horn  made  war 
with  the  saints,  and  prevailed  against 
them.”  See  Notes  on  that  passage. 

And  power  teas  given  him.  See  Notes 
on  ver.  2.  Over  all  kindreds,  and 
tongues,  and  nations.  For  the  meaning 
of  these  words,  see  Notes  on  ch.  vii.  9. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  this  dominion 
was  set  up  over  the  world.  Comp.  Dan. 
vii.  25.  The  fact  that  so  large  a  portibn 
of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  was  under 
the  influence  of  the  Papacy,  and  sus¬ 
tained  it;  and  the  claim  which  it  set  up 
to  universal  dominion,  and  to  the  right 
of  deposing  kings,  and  giving  away 
kingdoms,  corresponds  entirely  with  the 
language  here  used. 

8.  And  all  that  dwell  upon  the  earth 
shall  worship  him.  That  is,  as  imme¬ 
diately  stated,  all  whose  names  are  not 
in  the  book  of  life.  On  the  word  wor¬ 
ship,  see  Notes  on  ver.  4.  Whose 
names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life 
of  the  Lamb.  That  is,  of  the  Lord  Je¬ 
sus —  the  Lamb  of  God.  See  Notes  on 
Phil.  iv.  3.  Comp.  Notes  on  John  i.  29. 
The  representation  here  is,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  keeps  a  book  or  register,  in  which 
are  recorded  the  names  of  all  who  shall 
obtain  everlasting  life,  Slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  toorld.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  v.  6.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  iii.  5.  The 
meaning  here  is,  not  that  he  was  actually 
put  to  death  ‘from  the  foundation  of  the 
world/  but  that  the  intention  to  give 
him  for  a  sacrifice  was  formed  then,  and 
that  it  was  so  certain  that  it  might  be 
spoken  of  as  actually  then  occurring. 


361 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPT 

9  If  any  man  have  an  ear,  let 
him  hear. 

10  He  “  that  leadeth  into  cap- 


See  Rom.  iv.  17.  The  purpose  was  so 
certain  ;  it  was  so  constantly  represented 
by  bloody  sacrifices  from  the  earliest 
ages,  all  typifying  the  future  Saviour, 
chat  it  might  be  said  that  he  was  ‘slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.’  Prof. 
Stuart,  however  (com.  in  loe.),  supposes 
that  this  phrase  should  be  connected 
with  the  former  member  of  the  sentence 
—  “  whose  names  are  not  written,  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  in  the  life- 
book  of  the  Lamb  which  was  slain.” 
Either  construction  makes  good  sense ; 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  that  which  is 
found  in  our  common  version  is  the 
most  simple  and  natural. 

9.  If  any  man  have  an  ear,  let  him 
hear.  See  Notes  on  ch.  ii.  7.  The  idea 
here*  is,  that  what  was  here  said  re¬ 
specting  the  ‘beast’  was  worthy  of  spe¬ 
cial  attention,  as  it  pertained  to  most 
important  events  in  the  history  of  the 
church. 

10.  He  that  leadeth  into  captivity. 
This  is  clearly  intended  to  refer  to  the 
power  or  government  which  is  denoted 
by  the  beast.  The  form  of  the  expres¬ 
sion  here  in  the  Greek  is  peculiar — ‘If 
any  one  leadeth  into  captivity,’  &c. — 
E«  tis  ai^/jaXenrlav  trvvdyct.  The  state¬ 
ment  is  general,  and  it  is  intended  to 
make  use  of  a  general  or  prevalent  truth 
with  reference  to  this  particular  case. 
The  general  truth  is,  that  men  will,  in 
the  course  of  things,  be  dealt  with  ac¬ 
cording  to  their  character  and  their 
treatment  of  others;  that  nations  cha¬ 
racterized  by  war  and  conquest,  will  be 
subject  to  the  evils  of  war  and  conquest 
— or  that  they  may  expect  to  share  the 
same  lot  which  they  have  brought  on 
others.  This  general  statement  accords 
with  what  the  Saviour  says  in  Matt, 
xxvi.  52,  “  All  they  that  take  the  sword, 
shall  perish  with  the  sword.”  This  has 
been  abundantly  illustrated  in  the  world; 
and  it  is  a  very  important  admonition 
to  nations  not  to  indulge  in  the  purposes 
of  conquest,  and  to  individuals  not  to 
engage  in  strife  and  litigation.  The 
particular  idea  here  is,  that  it  would  be 
a  characteristic  of  the  power  here  re¬ 
ferred  to,  that  it  would  ‘  lead  others  into 
captivity.’  This  would  be  fulfilled  if  it 

31 


!R  XIII. 

tivity  shall  go  into  captivity: 
he  4  that  killeth  with  the  sword 

a  Is.  33. 1.  b  Go.  9.  6. 


was  the  characteristic  of  this  power  to 
invade  other  countries  and  to  make  their 
inhabitants  prisoners  of  war;  if  it  made 
slaves  of  other  people;  if  it  set  up  an 
unjust  dominion  over  other  people;  or 
if  it  was  distinguished  for  persecuting 
and  imprisoning  the  innocent,  or  for  de¬ 
priving  the  nations  of  liberty.  It  is  un¬ 
necessary  to  say  that  this  is  strikingly 
descriptive  of  Rome  —  considered  in  any 
and  every  point  of  view — whether  under 
the  republic  or  the  empire;  whether 
secular  or  ecclesiastical ;  whether  Pagan 
or  Papal.  In  the  following  forms  there 
has  been  a  complete  fulfilment  under 
that  mighty  power  of  what  is  here  said: 
(a)  In  the  desire  of  conquest,  or  of  ex¬ 
tending  its  dominion,  and,  of  course, 
leading  others  captive  as  prisoners  of 
war,  or  subjecting  them  to  slavery. 
(5)  In  its  persecutions  of  true  Chris¬ 
tians  —  alike  pursued  under  the  Pagan 
and  the  Papal  form  of  the  administra¬ 
tion.  (c)  Especially  in  the  imprison¬ 
ments  practised  under  the  Inquisition — 
where  tens  of  thousands  have  been  re¬ 
duced  to  the  worst  kind  of  captivity.  In 
every  way  this  description  is  applicable 
to  Rome,  as  seeking  to  lead  the  world 
captive,  or  to  subject  it  to  its’ own  abso¬ 
lute  sway.  Shall  go  into  captivity. 
As  a  just  recompense  for  subjecting 
others  to  bondage,  and  as  an  illustra¬ 
tion  of  a  general  principle  of  the  divine 
administration.  This  is  yet,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  be  fulfilled;  and,  as  I  un¬ 
derstand  it,  it  discloses  the  manner  in 
which  the  Papal  secular  power  will  come 
to  an  end.  It  will  be  by  being  subdued, 
so  that  it  might  seem  to  be  made  captive, 
and  led  off  by  some  victorious  host.  Rome 
now  is  practically  held  in  subjection  by 
foreign  arms,  and  has  no  true  inde¬ 
pendence;  perhaps  this  will  be  more 
and  more  so  as  its  ultimate  fall  ap¬ 
proaches.  He  that  killeth  with  the 
sword.  See  Notes,  as  above,  on  Matt, 
xxvi.  52.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
this  is  applicable  to  Rome  in  all  the 
forms  of  its  administration  considered  as 
a  Pagan  power,  or  considered  as  a  nomi¬ 
nally  Christian  power;  either  with  re¬ 
ference  to  its  secular  or  its  spiritual 
dominion.  Compute  the  numbers  of 


362 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


must  be  killed  with  the  sword. 
Here  is  the  patience  “  and  the  faith 
of  the  saints. 

11  And  I  beheld  another  1  beast 


human  beings  that  have  been  put  to 
death  by  that  Roman  power;  and  no 
better  language  could  havo  been  chosen 
to  characterize  it  than  that  which  is  here 
used — ‘killeth  with  the  sword.’  Comp. 
Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  24-28,  II.  (3),  (</). 

Must  be  killed  with  the  sword.  This 
domination  must  be  brought  to  an  end 
by  war  and  slaughter.  Nothing  is  more 
probable  than  this  in  itself;  nothing 
could  be  more  in  accordance  with -the 
principles  of  the  divine  dealings  in  the 
world.  Such  a  power  as  that  of  Rome 
wilh&ot  be  likely  to  be  overcome  but  by 
tlurfeijee  of  arms;  and  the  probability 
is/  That  it  will  ultimately  be  over¬ 
thrown  in  a-  bloody  revolution,  or  by 
foreign  conquest.  Indeed,  there  are  not 
a  few  intimations  now  that  this  result  is 
hagiftgsiag  on.  Italy  is  becoming  irn- 
pat5gn§3of  the  secular  power  swayed  in 
with  the  Papacy,  and  sighs 
fbr'' freedom ;  and  it  is  every  way  pro¬ 
bable  that  that  land  would  have  been 
free,  and  that  the  secular  power  of  the 
Papacy,  if  not  every  form  of  the  Papacy 
itself,  would  have  come  to  an  end,  in 
the  late  convulsion  (1848)  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  intervention  of  Prance 
and  Austria.  The  period  designated  by 
prophecy  for  the  final  overthrow  of  that 
power  had  not  arrived ;  but  nothing  can 
secure  its  continuance  for  any  very  con¬ 
siderable  period  longer,  Here  is  the 
patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints. 
That  is,  the  trial  of  their  patience  and 
of  their  faith.  Nowhere  on  earth  have 
the  patience  and  the  faith  of  the  saints 
been  put  to  a  severer  test  than  under 
the  Roman  persecutions.  The  same  idea 
occurs  in  ch.  xiv.  12. 

11.  And  I  beheld  another  beast.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ver.  1.  This  was  so  distinct 
from  the  first  that  its  characteristics  could 
be  described,  though  as  shown  in  the 
Analysis  of  the  chapter,  there  was,  in 
many  points,  a  strong  resemblance  be¬ 
tween  them.  The  relations  between  the 
two  will  be  more  fully  indicated  in  the 
Notes.  ^  Coming *  up  out  of  the  earth. 
Prof.  Stuart  renders  this,  ascending 
from  the  land.”  The  former  was  repre¬ 
sented  as  rising  up  out  of  the  sea  (ver. 


coming  up  out  of  the  earth ;  and  he 
had  two  horns  like  a  lamb,  and  he 
spake  as  a  dragon. 

a  He.  6. 12.  b  c.  11. 7. 


1) ;  indicating  that  the.  power  was  to 
rise  from  a  perturbed  or  unsettled  state 
of  affairs  —  like  the  ocean.  This,  from 
that  which  was  more  settled  and  stable 
—  as  the  land  is  more  firm  than  the 
waters.  It  may  not  be  necessary  to 
carry  out  this  image ;  but  the  natural 
idea  as  applied  to  the  two  forms  of  the 
Roman  power  supposed  to  be  here  re¬ 
ferred  to,  would  be  that  the  former — the 
secular  power  that  sustained  the  Pa¬ 
pacy — rose  out  of  the  agitated  state  of 
the  nations  in  the  invasions  of  the 
Northern  hordes,  and  the  convulsions 
and  revolutions  of  the  falling  empire  of 
Rome ;  and  that  the  latter,  the  spiritual 
power  itself — represented  by  the  beast 
coming  up  from  the  land — grew  up  under 
the  more  settled  and  stable  order  of 
things.  It  was  comparatively  calm  in 
its  origin,  and  had  less  the  appearance 
of  a  frightful  monster  rising  up  from  the 
agitated  ocean.  Comp.  Notes  on  ver.  1. 

And  he  had  two  horns  like  a  lamb. 
In  some  respects  he  resembled  a  lamb ; 
that  is,  he  seemed  to  be  a  mild,  gentle, 
inoffensive  animal.  It  is  hardly  neces¬ 
sary  to  say  that  this  is  a  most  striking 
representation  of  the  actual  manner  in 
which  the  power  of  the  Papacy  has 
always  been  put  forth  —  putting  on  the 
apparent  gentleness  of  the  lamb;  or 
laying  claim  to  great  meekness  and 
humility,  even  ■when  deposing  kings, 
and  giving  away  crowns,  and  driving 
thousands  to  the  stake,  or  throwing 
them  into  the  dungeons  of  the  Inqui¬ 
sition.  ^  And  he  spake  as  a  dragon. 
See  Notes  on  cb.  xii.  3.  The  meaning 
here  is,  that  he  spake  in  a  harsh,  haughty, 
proud,  arrogant  tone — as  we  should  sup¬ 
pose  a  dragon  would  if  he  had  the  power 
of  utterance.  The  general  sense  is,  that 
while  this  ‘beast’  had,  in  one  respect — 
in  its  resemblance  to  a  lamb  —  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  great  gentleness,  meekness, 
and  kindness,  it  had,  in  another  respect, 
a  haughty,  imperious,  and  arrogant 
spirit.  How  appropriate  this  is,  as  a 
symbol,  to  represent  the  Papacy,  con¬ 
sidered  as  a  spiritual  power,  it  is  un- 
neeesssary  to  say.  It  will  be  admitted, 
whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  design 


363 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


A.  D.  96.] 

12  And  he  exerciseth  all  the 
power  of  the  first  beast  before  him, 
and  causeth  the  earth  and  them 


of  this  symbol,  that  if  it  was  in  fact 
intended  to  refer  to  the  Papacy,  a  more 
appropriate  one  could  not  have  been 
chosen. 

12.  And  he  exerciseth  all  the  power  of 
the  first  beast  before  him.  The  same 
amount  of  power ;  the  same  kind  of 
power.  This  shows  a  remarkable  rela¬ 
tionship  between  these  two  beasts;  and 
proves  that  it  was  intended  to  refer  to 
the  same  power  substantially,  though 
manifested  in  a  different  form.  In  the 
fulfilment  of  this,  we  should  naturally 
look  for  some  government  whose  autho¬ 
rity  extended  far,  and  which  was  abso¬ 
lute  and  arrogant  in  its  character,  for 
this  is  the  power  attributed  to  the  first 
beast.  See  Notes  on  verses  2,  3,  4,  7,  8. 
This  description  had  a  remarkable  fulfil¬ 
ment  in  the  Papacy,  considered  as  a 
spiritual  dominion.  Tho  relation  to  the 
secular  power  is  the  same  as  would  be 
indicated  by  these  two  beasts;  the  do¬ 
minion  was  as  wide-spread;  the  authority 
was  as  absolute  and  arrogant.  In  fact, 
on  these  points  they  have  been  identical! 
The  one  has  sustained  the  other;  either 
one  would  long  since  have  fallen  if  it 
had  not  been  upheld  by  the  other.  The 
Papacy,  considered  as  a  spiritual  domi¬ 
nation,  was  in  fact  a  new  power  starting 
up  in  the  same  place  as  the  old  Roman 
dominion,  to  give  life  to  that  as  it  was 
tending  to  decay,  and  to  continue  its 
ascondoncy  over  the  world.  These  two 
things,  the  secular  and  the  spiritual 
power,  constituting  the  Papacy  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  term,  are  in  fact  but 
the  continuance  or  the  prolongation  of 
tho  old  Roman  dominion  —  the  fourth 
kingdom  of  Daniel — united  so  as  to  con¬ 
stitute  in  reality  but  one  kingdom,  and 
yet  so  distinct  in  their  origin,  and  in 
their  manifestations,  as  to  be  capable  of 
separate  contemplation  and  description, 
and  thus  properly  represented  by  the 
two  'beasts’  that  were  shown  in  vision  to 
John.  And  causeth  the  earth  and  them 
ichich  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first 
beast.  That  is,  to  respect,  to  reverence, 
to  honor.  The  word  worship  here  refers 
to  civil  respect,  and  not  to  religious  ado¬ 
ration.  See  Notes  on  ver.  4.  The  mean- 


which  dwell  therein  to  worship  the 
first  beast,  whose  deadly  wound 
was  healed.® 

a  ver.  3. 


ing  here,  according  to  the  interpretation 
proposed  all  along  in  this  chapter,  is, 
that  the  Papacy,  considered  in  its  reli¬ 
gious  influence,  or  as  a  spiritual  power _ 

represented  by  the  second  beast — secured 
for  the  civil  or  secular  power — repre¬ 
sented  by  the  first  beast— the  homage 
of  the  world.  It  was  the  means  of  keep- 
ing  up  that  dominion,  and  of  giving  it 
its  ascendency  among  the  nations  oflhe 
earth.  The  truth  of  this,  as  an  historical 
fact,  is  well  known.  The  Roman  civil 
power  would  have  long  ago  lost  all  its 
influence  and  been  unknown,  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  Papacy;  and,  in  fact, 
all  the  influence  which  it  has  had  since 
the  irruption  of  the  Northern  barbarians, 
and  the  changes  which  their  invasion 
produced,  can  be  traced  to  that  new 
power  which  aroso  in  the  form  of  the 
Papacy— represented  in  Daniel  (ch.  vii. 
$)?  by  the  'little  horn.’  That  new  power 
gave  life  and  energy  to  the  declining  in¬ 
fluence  of  Rome,  and  brought  the  world 
again  to  respect  and  honor  its  authority. 
If  Whose  deadly  wound  was  healed.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  3.  That  is,  was  healed  by 
the  influence  of  this  new  power  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  second  beast.  A  state  of 
things  occurred,  on  the  rije  of  that  new 
power,  as  if  a  wound  in  the  head,  other¬ 
wise  fatal,  was  healed.  The  striking 
applicability  of  this  to  the  decaying 
Roman  power— smitten  as  with  a  deadly 
wound  by  the  blows  inflicted  by  the 
Northern  hordes,  and  by  internal  dissen¬ 
sions — will  occur  to  every  ono.  It  was 
as  if  a  healing  process  had  been  imparted 
by  some  life-giving  power,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  the  Roman  dominion — the 
prolongation  of  Daniel’s  fourth  kingdom 
—has  continued  to  the  present  time. 
Other  kingdoms  passed  away — the  Assy¬ 
rian,  the  Babylonian,  the  Medo-Persian, 
the  Macedonian ;  Rome  alone,  of  all  the 
ancient  empires,  has  prolonged  its  power 
over  men.  In  all  changes  elsewhere,  an 
influence  has  gone  forth  from  the  seven- 
hilled  city  as  wide  and  as  fearful  as  it 
was  in  the  brightest  days  of  the  republic, 
the  triumvirate,  or  the  empire,  and  a 
large  part  of  the  world  still  listens  reve¬ 
rently  to  the  mandates  which  issue  from 


364 


REVEL 

13  And  he  doeth  great  wonders,0 
so  that  he  maketh  fire  come  down 
from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the 
sight  of  men, 

a  Matt.  24.24.  2Th.  2.  9,  10. 


the  seat  which  so  long  gave  law  to 
mankind.  The  fact  that  it  is  so  is  to  he 
traced  solely  to  the  influence  of  that 
power  represented  here  by  the  second 
beast  that  appeared  in  vision  to  John — 
the  Papacy. 

13.  And  he  doeth  great  iconders. 
Signs — onyiia — the  word  commonly  em¬ 
ployed  to  denote  miracles  (Comp.  Notes 
on  Acts  ii.  19);  and' the  representation 
here  is,  that  the  power  referred  to  by 
the  second  beast  would  found  its  claim 
on  pretended  miracles,  and  would  ac¬ 
complish  an  effect  on  the  world  as  if  it 
actually  did  work  miracles.  The  appli¬ 
cability  of  this  to  Papal  Rome  no  one 
can  doubt.  See  Notes  on  2  Thess.  ii.  9. 
Comp.  ver.  14.  ^  That  he  maketh  fire  come 
down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the 
sight  of  men.  That  is,  he  pretends  to  do 
this  ;  he  accomplishes  an  effect  as  if  he 
did  it.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
that  he  actually  did  this,  any  more  than 
it  is  to  suppose  that  he  actually  per¬ 
formed  the  other  pretended  miracles  re¬ 
ferred  to  in  other  places.  John  describes 
him  as  he  saw  him  in  the  vision ;  and  he 
saw  him  laying  claim  to  this  power,  and 
actually  producing  an  effect  as  if  by  a 
miracle  he  actually  made  fire  descend 
from  heaven  upon  the  earth.  This  is  to 
be  understood  as  included  in  what  the 
Apostle  Paul  (2  Thess.  ii.  9)  calls  ‘signs 
and  lying  wonders,’  as  among  the  things 
by  which  the  ‘  man  of  sin  and  the  son 
of  perdition’  would  be  characterized,  and 
by  which  he  would  be  sustained.  See 
Notes  on  that  passage.  Why  this  par¬ 
ticular  pretended  miracle  is  specified 
here  is  not  certain.  It  may  be  because 
this  would  be  among  the  most  striking 
and  impressive  of  the  pretended  miracles 
wrought — as  if  lying  beyond  all  human 
power — as  Elijah  made  fire  come  down 
from  heaven  to  consume  the  sacrifice, 
(1  Kings  xviii.  37,  38),  and  as  the  apos¬ 
tles  proposed  to  do  on  the  Samaritans, 
(Luke  ix.  54),  as  if  fire  were  called  down 
on  them  from  heaven.  The  phrase  ‘in 
the  sight  of  men’  implies  that  this 
would  be  done  publicly,  and  is  such 
language  as  would  be  used  of  pretended 


AT  ION,  [A.  D.  96. 

14  And  deceiveth  them  that  dwell 

on  the  earth  by  the  means  of  those 
miracles  which  he  had  power  to  do 
in  the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying  to 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  that 


miracles  designed  for  purposes  of  os¬ 
tentation.  Amidst  the  multitudes  of 
pretended  miracles  of  the  Papacy,  it 
would  probably  not  be  difficult  to  find 
instances  in  which  the  very  thing  here 
described  was  attempted,  in  which  va¬ 
rious  devices  of  pyrotechnics  were  shown 
off  as  miracles.  For  an  illustration  of 
the  wonders  produced  in  the  dark  ages 
in  reference  to  fire,  having  all  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  miracles,  and  regarded  as 
miracles  by  the  masses  of  men,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  Dr.  Brewster’s  Letters  on 
Natural  Magic,  particularly  Letter  xii. 

14.  And  deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on 
the  earth  by  the  means  of  those  miracles. 
Nothing  could  possibly  be  more  descrip¬ 
tive  of  the  Papacy  than  this.  It  has 
been  kept  up  by  deception  and  delusion, 
and  its  pretended  miracles  have  been, 
and  are  to  this  day,  the  means  by  which 
this  is  done.  Any  one  in  the  slightest 
degree  acquainted  with  the  pretended 
miracles  practised  at  Rome,  will  see  the 
propriety  of  this  description  as  applied 
to  the  Papacy.  The  main  fact  here 
stated,  that  the  Papacy  would  endeavor 
to  sustain  itself  by  pretended  miracles, 
is  confirmed  by  an  incidental  remark  of 
Mr.  Gibbon,  when,  speaking  of  the  Pon¬ 
tificate  of  Gregory  the  Great,  he  says, 
“  The  credulity,  or  the  prudence  of  Gre¬ 
gory,  was  always  disposed  to  confirm  the 
truths  of  religion  by  the  evidence  of 
ghosts,  miracles,  and  resurrections.” 
Dec.  and  Fall.  iii.  210.  Even  within 
a  month  of  the  time  that  I  am  writing 
(Oct.  5,  1S50),  intelligence  has  been 
received  in  this  country  of  extraordinary 
privileges  conferred  on  some  city  in 
Italy,  because  the  eyes  of  a  picture  of 
the  Virgin  in  that  city  have  miraculously 
moved — greatly  to  the  “  confirmation  of 
the  faithful.”  Such  things  are  constantly 
occurring;  and  it  is  by  these  that  the 
supremacy  of  the  Papacy  has  been,  and 
is,  sustained.  The  ‘Breviary’  teems 
with  examples  of  miracles  wrought  by 
the  saints.  For  instance :  St.  Francis 
Xavier  turned  a  sufficient  qualitity  of 
salt  water  into  fresh  to  save  the  lives 
of  five  hundred  travellers  who  were 


365 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


A.  D.  96.] 

they  should  make  an  image  to  the 

a  ver.  3,  12. 

dying  of  thirst,  enough  being  left  to 

allow  a  large  exportation  to  different 
parts  of  the  world,  where  it  wrought 
astonishing  cures.  St.  Raymond  de 
Pennafort  laid  his  cloak  on  the  sea,  and 
sailed  from  Majorca  to  Barcelona,  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  in 
six  hours.  St.  Juliana  lay  on  her  death¬ 
bed  ;  her  stomach  rejected  all  solid  food, 
and  in  consequence  she  was  prevented 
from  receiving  the  eucharist.  In  com¬ 
pliance  with  her  earnest  solicitations, 
the  consecrated  wafer  was  laid  on  her 
breast;  the  priest  prayed;  the  wafer 
vanished,  and  Juliana  expired.  Many 
pages  might  be  filled  with  accounts  of 
modern  miracles,  of  the  most  ridiculous 
description,  yet  believed  by  Roman 
Catholics;  —  the  undoubted  means  by 
which  Papal  Rome  1  deceives  the  world,’ 
a,nd  keeps  up  its  ascendency  in  this  age. 
See  Porsyth’s  Italy,  ii.  pp.  154-157; 
Rome  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  i.  p.  40, 
86,  ii.  p.  356,  iii.  pp.  193-201;  Lady 
Morgan’s  Italy,  ii.  p.  306,  iii.  p.  189; 
Graham’s  Three  Months’  Residence,  <fcc., 
p.  241.  f  Saying  to  them  that  dwell  on 
the  earth.  That  is,  as  far  as  its  influence 
would  extend.  This  implies  that  there 
would  be  authority,  and  that  this  author¬ 
ity  would  be  exercised  to  secure  this 
object.  That  they  should  make  an 
image  to  the  beast.  That  is,  something 
that  would  represent  the  beast,  and  that 
might  be  an  object  of  worship.  The 
word  rendered  image — cikuiv — means  pro¬ 
perly  (a)  an  image,  effigy,  figure,  as  an 
idol  image  or  figure;  (b)  a  likeness, 
resemblance,  similitude.  Here  the  mean¬ 
ing  would  seem  to  be,  that,  in  order  to 
secure  the  acknowledgment  of  the  beast, 
and  the  homage  to  be  rendered  to  him, 
there  was  something  like  a  statue  made, 
or  that  John  saw  in  vision  such  a  repre¬ 
sentation  ;  that  is,  that  a  state  of  things 
existed  as  if  such  a  statue  were  made, 
and  men  were  constrained  to  acknow¬ 
ledge  this.  All  that  is  stated  here  would 
be  fulfilled  if  the  old  Roman  civil  power 
should  become  to  a  large  extent  dead, 
or  cease  to  exert  its  influence  over  men, 
and  if  then  tho  Papal  spiritual  power 
should  cause  a  form  of  domination  to 
exist,  strongly  resembling  the  former  in 
its  general  character  and  extent,  and  if 
it  should  secure  this  result  —  that  the 
31  * 


beast,  which  had  the  °  wound  by  a 
sword,  and  did  live. 


world  would  acknowledge  its  sway,  or 
render  it  homage  as  it  did  to  the  old 
Roman  government.  This  would  receive 
its  fulfilment  if  it  be  supposed  that  the 
first  ‘beast’  represented  the  ancient  Ro¬ 
man  civil*iower  as  such ;  that  this  died 
away  as  if  the  head  had  received  a 
fatal  wound;  that  it  was  again  revived 
under  the  influence  of  the  Papacy;  and 
that,  under  that  influence,  a  civil  govern¬ 
ment  strongly  resembling  the  old  Roman 
dominion  was  caused  to  exist,  depending 
for  its  vital  energy  on  the  Papacy,  and, 
m  its  turn,  lending  its  aid  to  support  tho 
Papacy.  All  this  in  fact  occurred  in  the 
decline  of  the  Roman  power  after  the 
time  of  Constantine,  and  its  final  appa¬ 
rent  extinction,  as  if  ‘  wounded  to  death,’ 
in  the  exile  of  the  last  of  the  emperors, 
the  son  of  Orestes,  who  assumed  the 
names  of  Romulus  and  Augustus,  names 
which  were  corrupted,  the  former  by  the 
Greeks  into  Momyllus,  and  the  latter  by 
the  Latins  “  into  the  contemptible  dim¬ 
inutive,  Augustulus.”  See  Gibbon,  ii.  381. 
Under  him  the  empire  ceased,  until  it 
was  revived  in  the  days  of  Charlemagne.  -. 
In  the  empire  which  then  sprung  up,  and 
which  owed  much  of  its  influence  to  the 
sustaining  aid  of  the  Papacy,  and  which 
seems  to  have  been  made  to  sustain  the 
Papacy,  we  discern  the  ‘image’  of  the 
former  Roman  power;  the  prolongation 
of  the  Roman  ascendency  over  the  world. 
On  the  exile  of  the  feeble  son  of  Orestes' 
D.  476),  the  government  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Odoacer,  “the  first  Barba¬ 
rian  who  reigned  in  Italy”  (Gibbon),  and 
then  the  authority  was  divided  among 
the  sovereignties  which  sprang  up  after 
the  conquests  of  the  Barbarians,  until  the 
‘empire’  was  again  restored  in  the  time 
and  the  person  of  Charlemagne.  See 
Gibbon,  iii.  344,  seq.  Which  had  the 
wound  by  a  sword,  and  did  live.  Which 
had  a  wound  that  was  naturally  fatal, 
but  whose  fatal  consequences  were  pre¬ 
vented  by  the  intervention  of  another 
power.  Notes  on  ver.  3.  That  is,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  explanation  given  above, 
the  Roman  imperial  power  was  ‘wounded 
with  a  fatal  wound’  by  the  invasions  of 
the  Northern  hordes  —  the  sword  of  the 
conquerors.  Its  power,  however,  was 
restored  by  tho  Papacy,  giving  life  to 
that  which  resembled  essentially  tho 


366 


REVELATION, 


15  And  he  had  power  to  give 
°  life  unto  the  image  of  the  beast, 
that  the  image  of  the  beast  should 

a  Breath. 


Roman  civil  jurisdiction  —  the  ‘image’ 
of  the  former  beast;  and  that  power, 
thus  restored,  asserted  its  ^dominion 
again,  as  the  prolonged  Roman  domin¬ 
ion —  the  fourth  kingdom  of  Daniel  (see 
Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  19,  seq.)  —  over  the 
world. 

15.  And  he  had  power  to  give  life  unto 
the  image  of  the  beast.  That  is,  that 
image  of  the  beast  would  be  naturally 
powerless,  or  would  have  no  life  in  itself. 
This  second  heast,  however,  had  power 
to  impart  life  to  it,  so  that  it  would  he 
invested  with  authority,  and  would  ex¬ 
ercise  that  authority  in  the  manner  spe¬ 
cified.  If  this  refers,  as  is  supposed,  to 
the  Roman  civil  power — the  power  of 
the  empire  restored — it  would  find  a  ful- 
ment  in  some  act  of  the  Papacy  by  which 
the  empire  that  resembled  in  the  extent 
of  its  jurisdiction,  and  in  its  general 
character,  the  former  Roman  empire, 
received  some  vivifying  impulse,  or  was 
invested  with  new  power.  That  is,  it 
would  have  power  conferred  on  it  through 
the  Papacy  which  it  would  not  have  in 
itself,  and  which  would  confirm  its  juris¬ 
diction.  How  far  events  actually  oc¬ 
curred  corresponding  with  this,  will  be 
considered  in  the  Notes  at  the  close  of 
this  verse,  That  the  image  of  the  beast 
should  both  speak.  Should  give  signs 
of  life ;  should  issue  authoritative  com¬ 
mands.  The  speaking  here  referred  to 
pertains  to  that  which  is  immediately 
specified  in  issuing  a  command  that  they 
who  ‘would  not  worship  the  image  of  the 
beast  should  be  killed.’  And  cause  that 
as  many  as  toould  not  worship  the  image  of 
the  beast.  Would  not  honor  it,  or  acknow¬ 
ledge  its  authority.  The  ‘worship’  here 
referred  to  is  civil,  not  religious  homage. 
See  Notes  onver.4.  The  meaning  is,  that 
what  is  here  called  the  ‘image  of  the 
beast,’  had  power  given  it,  by  its  con¬ 
nexion  with  the  second  ‘boast,’  to  set  up 
its  jurisdiction  over  men,  and  to  secure 
their  allegiance  on  pain  of  death.  The 
power  by  which  this  was  done  was  de¬ 
rived  from  the  second  beast ;  the  obe¬ 
dience  and  homage  demanded  was  of  the 
most  entire  and  submissive  character; 
the  nature  of  the  government  was  in  a 


[A.  D.  96. 

both  speak,  and  cause  that  as  many 
as  would  not  worship  1  the  image 
of  the  beast  should  be  killed. 

b  c.  16.  2. 


high  degree  arbitrary;  and  the  penalty 
enforced  for  refusing  this  homage  was 
death.  The  facts  that  we  are  to  look  for 
in  the  fulfilment  of  this,  are  (1)  that  the 
Roman  imperial  power  was  about  to 
expire — as  if  wounded  to  death  by  the 
sword;  (2)  that  this  was  revived  in  tho 
form  of  what  is  here  called  the  ‘image 
of  the  beast’ — that  is,  in  a  form  closely 
resembling  the  former  power;  (3)  that 
this  was  done  by  the  agency  of  the  Papal 
power,  represented  by  the  second  beast; 
(4)  that  the  effect  of  this  was  to  set  up 
over  men  a  wide-extended  secular  juris¬ 
diction,  of  a  most  arbitrary  and  absolute 
kind,  where  the  penalty  of  disobedience 
to  its  laws  was  death — and  where  the 
infliction  of  this  was,  in  fact,  to  be  traced 
to  the  influence  of  the  second  beast — 
that  is,  the  Papal  spiritual  power.  The 
question  now  is,  whether  facts  occurred 
that  corresponded  with  this  emblematic 
representation.  Now  as  to  the  leading 
fact — the  decline  of  the  Roman  imperial 
power — the  fatal  wound  inflicted  on  that 
by  the  ‘sword,’  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
In  the  time  of  ‘  Augustulus,’  as  above 
stated,  it  had  become  practically  extinct 
— ‘  wounded  as  it  were  to  death,’  and  so 
wounded  that  it  would  never  have  been 
revived  again  had  it  not  been  for  some 
foreign  influence.  It  is  true,  also,  that 
when  the  Papacjr  arose,  the  necessity 
was  felt  of  allying  itself  with  some  wide- 
extended  civil  or  secular  dominion,  that 
might  be  under  its  own  control,  and  that 
would  maintain  its  spiritual  authority. 
It  is  true,  also,  that  the  empire  was  re¬ 
vived —  the  very  ‘image’  or  copy,  so  far 
as  it  could  be,  of  the  former  Roman  v 
power,  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne,  and 
that  the  power  which  was  wielded  in 
what  was  called  the  ‘  empire,’  was  that 
which  was,  in  a  great  measure,  derived 
from  tho  Papacy,  and  was  designed  to 
sustain  the  Papacy,  and  was  actually 
employed  for  that  purpose.  These  are 
the  main  facts,  I  suppose,  which  are 
here  referred  to,  and  a  few  extracts  from 
Mr.  Gibbon  will  show  with  what  propri¬ 
ety  and  accuracy  the  symbols  here  em¬ 
ployed  .were  used,  on  the  supposition 
that  this  was  the  designed  reference. 


367 


A-  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XIII. 


(a)  The  rise,  or  restoration  of  this  impe¬ 
rial  power  in  the  time  and  the  person  of 
Charlemagne.  Mr.  Gibbon  says  (iii.  362), 
“It  was  after  the  Nicene  Synod,  and 
under  the  reign  of  the  pious  Irene,  that 
the  Popes  consummated  the  separation 
of  Rome  and  Italy  [from  the  Eastern 
empire]  by  the  translation  of  the  empire 
to  the  less  orthodox  Charlemagne.  They 
were  compelled  to  choose  between  the 
rival  nations ;  religion  was  not  the  sole 
motive  of  their  choice  ;  and  while  they 
dissembled  the  failings  of  their  friends, 
they  beheld  with  reluctance  and  suspi¬ 
cion  the  Catholic  virtues  of  their  foes. 
The  difference  of  language  and  manners 
had  perpetuated  the  enmity  of  the  two 
capitals  [Rome  and  Constantinople] ; 
and  they  were  alienated  from  each  other 
by  the  hostile  opposition  of  seventy  years. 
In  that  schism,  the  Romans  had  tasted 
of  freedom  and  the  Popes  of  sovereignty : 
their  submission  would  have  exposed 
them  to  the  revenge  of  a  jealous  tyrant, 
and  the  revolution  of  Italy  had  betrayed 
the  impotence  as  well  as  the  tyranny  of 
the  Byzantine  court.”  Mr.  Gibbon  then 
proceeds  to  state  reasons  why  Charle¬ 
magne  was  selected  as  the  one  who  was 
to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  revived 
imperial  power,  and  then  adds  (p.  343), 
“  The  title  of  patrician  was  below  the 
merit  and  greatness  of  Charlemagne; 
and  it  was  only  by  reviving  the  Western 
empire  that  they  could  pay  their  obliga¬ 
tions,  or  secure  their  establishment.  By 
this  decisive  measure  they  would  finally 
eradicate  the  claims  of  the  Greeks ;  from 
the  debasement  of  a  provincial  town  the 
majesty  of  Rome  would  bo  restored;  the 
Latin  Christians  would  be  united  under 
a  supreme  head  in  their  ancient  metro¬ 
polis  ;  and  the  conquerors  of  the  West 
woidd  receive  their  croion  from  the  suc¬ 
cessors  of  St.  Peter.  The  Roman  church 
would  acquire  a  zealous  and  respectable 
advocate;  and,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Carlovingian  power,  the  bishop  might 
exercise,  with  honor  and  safety,  the  go¬ 
vernment  of  the  city.”  All  this  seems 
as  if  it  were  a  designed  commentary  on 
such  expressions  as  these: — “And  he 
exerciseth  all  the  power  of  the  first  beast, 
and  causeth  the  earth  and  them  that 
dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first  beast, 
whose  deadly  wound  was  healed,”  “say¬ 
ing  to  them  that  dwell  on  tho  earth  that 
they  should  make  an  image  to  the  boast 
which  had  the  wound  by  a  sword,  and 


dul  live ;  and  he  had  power  to  give  life 
unto  the  image  of  the  beast,”  Ac.  (b) 
Its  extent.  It  is  said  (ver.  12),  “And 
he  exerciseth  all  the  power  of  tho  first 
beast,  and  causeth  the  earth  and  them 
which  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first 
beast,  whose  deadly  wound  was  healed.” 
Comp.  vs.  14,  15.  That  is,  the  extent  of 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  revived  power,  or  V 
the  restored  empire,  would  be  as  great 
as  it  was  before  the  wound  was  inflicted. 
Of  the  extent  of  the  restored  empire  un- 
der  Charlemagne,  Mr.  Gibbon  has  given 
a  full  account,  iii.  pp.  546-549.  The 
passage  is  too  long  to  be  copied  here  in 
full,  and  a  summary  of  it  only  can  be 
given.  He  says,  “The  empire  was  not 
unworthy  of  its  title ;  and  some  of  the 
fairest  kingdoms  of  Europe  were  the  pa¬ 
trimony  or  the  conquest  of  a  prince  who 
reigned  at  the  same  time  in  France, 
Spain,  Italy,  Germany,  and  Hungary. 

I.  The  Roman  province  of  Gaul  had 
been  transformed  into  the  name  and 
monarchy  of  France,  &c.  II.  The  Sa¬ 
racens  had  been  expelled  from  France 
by  the  grandfather  and  father  of  Char¬ 
lemagne,  but  they  still  possessed  the 
greatest  part  of  Spain,  from  the  rock 
of  Gibraltar  to  the  Pyrenees.  Amidst 
their  civil  divisions,  an  Arabian  emir 
of  Saragossa  implored  his  protection  in 
the  diet  of  Paderborn.  Charlemagne 
undertook  the  expedition,  restored  the 
emir,  and,  without  distinction  of  faith, 
impartially  crushed  the  resistance  of 
the  Christians,  and  rewarded  the  obe¬ 
dience  and  service  of  the  Mahometans. 

In  his  absence  he  instituted  the  Spa¬ 
nish  March,  which  extended  from  the 
Pyrenees  to  the  river  Ebro :  Barce¬ 
lona  was  the  residence  of  the  French 
governor;  he  possessed  the  counties  of 
Rousillon  and  Catalonia  ;  and  the  infant 
kingdoms  of  Navarre  and  Arragon  were 
subject  to  his  jurisdiction.  III.  As 
king  of  the  Lombards,  and  patrician  of 
Rome,  he  reigned  over  the  greatest  part 
of  Italy,  a  tract  of  a  thousand  miles 
from  the  Alps  to  the  borders  of  Cala¬ 
bria,  Ac.  IV.  Charlemagne  was  the 
first  who  united  Germany  under  the 
same  sceptre,  Ac.  V.  He  retaliated  on 
the  Avars,  or  Huns  of  Pannonia,  the 
same  calamities  which  they  had  in¬ 
flicted  on  tho  nations : — the  royal  resi¬ 
dence  of  the  Chagan  was  left  desolate 
and  unknown;  and  the  treasures,  the 
rapine  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 


368 


REVELATION, 


enriched  the  victorious  troops,  or  deco¬ 
rated  the  churches  of  Italy  and  Gaul.” 
“  If  we  retrace  the  outlines  of  the  geo¬ 
graphical  picture,”  continues  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon,  “  it  will  be  seen  that  the  empire  of 
the  Franks  extended,  between  the  east 
and  the  west,  from  the  Ebro  to  the  Elbe, 
or  Vistula;  between  the  north  and  the 
south,  from  the  dutchy  of  Beneventum 
to  the  river  Eyder,  the  perpetual  boun¬ 
dary  of  Germany  and  Denmark.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  Western  empire  were 
subject  to  Charlemagne,  and  the  defi¬ 
ciency  was  amply  supplied  by  his  com¬ 
mand  of  the  inaccessible  or  invincible 
nations  of  Germany.”  (c)  The  depend¬ 
ence  of  this  civil  or  revived  secular 
power '/on  the  Papacy.  “His  deadly 
wound  was  healed.”  “  And  causeth  the 
earth  to  worship  the  first  beast.”  “  Say¬ 
ing  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  that 
they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast.” 
“  He  had  power  to  give  life  unto  the 
image  of  the  beast.”  Thus  Mr.  Gibbon 
(iii.  343)  says,  “From  the  debasement 
of  a  provincial  town,  the  majesty  of 
Rome  would  be  restored ;  the  Latin 
Christians  would  be  united  under  a 
supreme  head,  in  their  ancient  metro¬ 
polis  ;  and  the  conquerors  of  the  West 
•would  receive  tlieir  crown  from  the  suc¬ 
cessors  of  St.  Peter.”  And  again  (iii. 
344)  he  says,  “  On  the  festival  of  Christ¬ 
mas,  the  last  year  of  the  eighth  century, 
Charlemagne  appeared  in  the  church  of 
St.  Peter ;  and  to  gratify  the  vanity  of 
Rome,  he  exchanged  the  simple  dress 
of  his  country  for  the  habit  of  a  patri¬ 
cian.  After  the  celebration  of  the  holy 
mysteries,  Leo  suddenly  placed  a  pre¬ 
cious  croton  on  his  head,  and  the  dome 
resounded  with  the  acclamations  of  the 
people,  ‘  Long  life  and  victory  to  Charles, 
the  most  pious  Augustus,  crowned  by 
God  the  great  and  pacific  emperor  of  the 
Romans!’  The  head  and  body  of 
Charlemagne  were  consecrated  by  the 
royal  unction y  his  coronation  oath  re¬ 
presents  a  promise  to  maintain  the  faith 
and  privileges  of  the  church ;  and  the 
first  fruits  are  paid  in  rich  offerings  to 
the  shrine  of  the  apostle.  In  his  familiar 
conversation  the  emperor  protested  his 
ignorance  of  the  intentions  of  Leo,  which 
he  would  have  disappointed  by  his  ab¬ 
sence  on  that  memorable  day.  But  the 
preparations  of  the  ceremony  must  have 
disclosed  the  secret;  and  the  journey  of 
Charlemagne  reveals  his  knowledge  and 


[A.  D.  96. 

expectation  :  he  had  acknowledged  that 
the  imperial  title  was  the  object  of  his 
ambition,  and  a  Roman  senate  had  pro¬ 
nounced  that  it  was  the  only  adequate 
reward  of  his  merit  and  services.”  So 
again  (iii.  350)  Mr.  Gibbon,  speaking 
of  the  conqnests  of  Otho  (A.  D.  962), 
and  of  his  victorious  march  over  the 
Alps,  and  his  subjugation  of  Italy,  says, 
“  From  that  memorable  era,  two  maxims 
of  public  jurisprudence  were  introduced 
by  force,  and  ratified  by  time.  I.  That 
the  prince  who  was  elected  by  the  Ger¬ 
man  diet,  acquired  from  that  instant  the 
subject  kingdoms  of  Italy  and  Rome. 
II.  But  that  he  might  not  legally  assume 
the  titles  of  emperor  and  Augustus,  till  he 
had  received  the  crown  from  the  hands  of 
the  Roman  pontiff.”  In  connexion  with 
these  quotations  from  Mr.  Gibbon,  we 
may  add,  from  Sigonius,  the  oath  which 
the  emperor  took  on  the  occasion  of  his 
coronation  :  “  I,  the  Emperor,  do  engage 
and  promise,  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
before  God  and  the  blessed  Apostle 
Peter,  that  I  will  be  a  protector  and 
defender  of  this  holy  Church  of  Rome,  in 
all  things  wherein  I  can  be  useful  to  it, 
so  far  as  divine  assistance  shall  enable 
me,  and  so  far  as  my  knowledge  and, 
power  can  reach.”  Quoted  by  Prof. 
Bush,  Hieroph.  Nov.  1842,  p.  141.  We 
learn,  also,  from  the  biographers  of 
Charlemagne  that  a  commemorative 
coin  was  struck  at  Rome  under  his 
reign,  bearing  this  inscription,  “  Reno- 
vatio  Imperii  Romani”  —  “Revival  of 
the  Roman  Empire.”  Ibid.  These  quo¬ 
tations,  whose  authority  will  not  be 
questioned,  and  whose  authors  will  not 
be  suspected  of  having  had  any  design 
to  illustrate  these  passages  in  the  Apo¬ 
calypse,  will  serve  to  confirm  what  is 
said  in  the  Notes  of  the  decline  and 
restoration  of  the  Roman  secular  pewer; 
of  its  dependence  on  the  Papacy  to  give 
it  life  and  vigor  ;  and  of  the  fact  that  it 
was  designed  to  sustain  the  Papacy,  and 
to  perpetuate  the  power  of  Rome.  It 
needs  only  to  be  added,  that  down  to  the 
time  of  Charles  the  Fifth — the  period  of 
the  Reformation — nothing  was  more  re¬ 
markable  in  history  than  the  readiness 
of  this  restored  secular  power  to  sustain 
the  Papacy  and  to  carry  out  its  designs ; 
or  than  the  readiness  of  the  Papacy  to 
sustain  an  absolute  civil  despotism,  and  to 
make  the  world  subject  to  it  by  suppres¬ 
sing  all  attempts  in  favor  of  civil  liberty. 


369 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


16  And  he  caused  all,  both  small 
and  great,  rich  and  poor,  free  and 


.  ^-  And  he  causeth  all.  He  claims 
jurisdiction,  in  the  matters  here  referred 
to,  over  all  classes  of  persons,  and  com¬ 
pels  them  to  do  his  will.  This  is  the 
second  beast,  and,  according  to  the  in¬ 
terpretation-  given  above,  it  relates  to 
the  Papal  power,  and  to  its  claim  of 
universal  jurisdiction.  Both  small 
and  great.  All  these  expressions  are 
designed  to  denote  universality  —  refer¬ 
ring  to  various  divisions  into  which  the 
human  family  may  be  regarded  as  di¬ 
vided.  One  of  those  divisions  is  into 
small  and  great;’  that  is,  into  young 
and  old;  those  small  in  stature  and 
those  large  in  stature;  those  of  humble, 
and  those  of  elevated  rank.  Rich  and 
poor.  Another  way  of  dividing  the 
human  race,  and  denoting  here,  as  in 
the  former  case,  all — for  it  is  a  common 
method,  in  speaking  of  mankind,  to  de¬ 
scribe  them  as  ‘the  rich  and  poor.’ 
f  -Free  and  bond.  Another  method  still 
of  dividing  the  human  race,  embracing 
a” — -/°r  all  the  dwellers  upon  the  earth 
are  either  free  or  bond.  These  various 
forms  of  expression,  therefore,  are  de¬ 
signed  merely  to  denote,  in  an  emphatic 
manner,  universality.  The  idea  is,  that, 
m  the  matter  referred  to,  none  were  ex¬ 
empt,  either  on  account  of  their  exalted 
rank,  or  on  account  of  their  humble 
condition  ;  either  because  they  were  so 
nughty  as  to  be  beyond  control,  or  so 
mean  and  humble  as  to  be  beneath  no¬ 
tice.  And  if  this  refers  to  the  Papacy, 
every  one  will  see  the  propriety  of  the 
description.  The  jurisdiction  set  up  by 
that  power  has  been  as  absolute  over 
kings  as  over  their  subjects;  over  the 
rich  and  mighty,  as  over  the  feeble  and 
the  poor;  over  masters  and  over  their 
slaves ;  alike  over  those  in  the  humblest 
and  in  the  most  elevated  walks  in  life. 

IF  T<?  receive  a  mark  in  their  right  hand, 
or  in  their  foreheads.  The  word  here 
rendered  mark — X^payya —  occurs  only 
in  one  place  in  the  New  Testament  ex¬ 
cept  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  Acts 
xvii.  29,  where  it  is  rendered  graven. 

In  all  the  other  places  where  it  is  found 
(Rev.  xiii.  16,  17,  xiv._  9,  11,  xv.  2,  xvi. 

2,  xix.  20,  xx.  4),  it  is  rendered  mark , 
and  is  applied  to  the  same  thing  —  the 
‘mark  of  the  beast.’  The  word  properly 


bond,  to  receive  a  a  mark  in  their 
right  hand,  or  in  their  foreheads : 

a  Give  them. 


means  something  graven  or  sculptured ; 
hence  (a)  a  graving,  sculpture,  sculp¬ 
tured  work,  as  images  or  idols;  (b)  a 
mark  cut  in  or  stamped  — as  the  stamp 
on  coin.  Applied  to  men,  it  was  used 
to  denote  some  stamp  or  mark  on  the 
hand  or  elsewhere  — as  in  the  case  of  a 
servant  on  whose  hand  or  arm  the  name 
ot  the  master  was  impressed;  or  of  a 
soldier  on  whom  some  mark  was  im¬ 
pressed  denoting  the  company  or  pha¬ 
lanx  to  which  he  belonged.  It  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  mark  slaves  or  sol¬ 
diers  in  this  way;  and  the  design  was 
either  to  denote  their  ownership  or  rank 
or  to  prevent  their  escaping  so  as  not  to 
be  detected.*  Most  of  us  have  seen 
such  marks  made  on  the  hands  or  arms 
of  sailors,  in  which,  by  a  voluntary  tat¬ 
tooing,  their  names,  or  the  names  of  their 
vessels,  were  written,  or  the  figure  of  an 
anchor,  or  some  other  device,  was  indeli¬ 
bly. made  by  punctures  in  the  skin,  and 
by  inserting  some  kind  of  coloring  mat¬ 
ter.  The  thing  which  it  is  here  said  was 
engraven  on  the  hand  or  the  forehead, 
was  the  ‘name’  of  the  beast,  or  the 
number’  of  his  name,  ver.  17.  That  is, 
the  ‘name’  or  the  ‘number’  was  so  in¬ 
delibly  inscribed  either  on  the  hand  or 
the  forehead,  as  to  show  that  he  who 
bare  it  appertained  to  the  ‘  beast,’  and 
was  subject  to  his  authority  —  as  a  slave 
is  to  his  master,  or  a  soldier  to  his  com¬ 
mander.  Applied  to  the  Papacy,  the 
meaning  is,  that  there  would  be  some 
mark  of  distinction ;  some  indelible  sign  • 
something  which  would  designate,  with 
entire  certainty,  those  persons  who  be¬ 
longed  to  it,  and  who  were  subject  to  it. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that,  in 
point  of  fact,  this  has  eminently  charac¬ 
terized  the  Papacy.  All  possible  care 
has  been  taken  to  designate  with  accu¬ 
racy  those  who  belong  to  that  comrnu- 


™  ?  the  Romans,  slaves  were  stigmatized  with 

■  6  °f  Dlark  0,1  ,heir  foreheads.  So  Val- 

" Maximus  speaks  of  the  custom  for  slaves,  “  Jiter- 
ootis  inuri;  aDd  Plautus  calls  the  slave  “  liters- 
iin’min-  -mbr°ue  ^ De  Obit.  Valentin.)  says,  Cbaractere 
fra?11!  01  lnscr,buntur  servuli.  Petronius  mentions  the 
orchead  as  the  place  of  the  mark  :  Servitia  ecce  in 
irontious  cernitis.  In  many  cases,  soldiers  bore  the 
emperor  s  name  or  mark  imprinted  on  the  hand.  Ae- 
tiU8  says,  Stigmata  vocapt  quae  in  facie,  vel  in  ali£ 
parte  corporis,  snscribuutur ;  qualia  sunt  militum  in 
manibus.  So  Ambrose  says,  Nomine  imperatoris  sig- 
nantur  milites.  Comp.  Notes  on  Gal.  vi.  17. 


370  KEVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


17  And  that  no  man  might  buy 
or  sell,  save  he  that  had  the  mark, 
or  the  name  of  the  beast,  or  the 
numbor  °  of  his  name. 

a  c.  15.  2. 


nion,  and,  all  over  the  world,  it  is  easy 
to  distinguish  those  who  render  allegi¬ 
ance  to  the  Papal  power.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ch.  vii.  3. 

17.  And  that  no  man  might  hay  or  sell. 
That  is,  this  mighty  power  would  claim 
jurisdiction  over  the  traffic  of  the  world, 
and  endeavor  to  make  it  tributary  to  its 
own  purposes.  Comp.  ch.  xviii.  11-13, 
17-19.  This  is  represented  by  saying 
that  no  one  might  ‘  buy  or  sell’  except 
by  its  permission ;  and  it  is  clear  that 
where  this  power  exists  of  determining 
who  may  ‘  buy  and  sell,’  there  is  absolute 
control  over  the  wealth  of  the  world. 
<[  Save  he  that  had  the  mark.  To  keep 
it  all  among  its  own  friends ;  among 
those  who  showed  allegiance  to  this 
power.  Or  the  name  of  the  beast. 
That  is,  the  ‘mark’  referred  to  was  either 
the  name  of  the  beast,  or  the  number  of 
his  name.  The  meaning  is,  that  he  had 
something  branded  on  him  that  showed 
that  he  belonged  to  the  beast — as  a  slave 
had  the  name  of  his  master ;  in  other 
words,  there  was  something  that  cer¬ 
tainly  showed  that  he  was  subject  to  its 
authority.  Or  the  number  of  liis  name. 
In  regard  to  what  is  denoted  by  the 
number  of  the  beast,  see  Notes  on  ver.  18. 
The  idea  here  is,  that  that  ‘number,’ 
whatever  it  was,  was  so  marked  on  him 
as  to  show  to  whom  he  belonged.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  the  interpretation  here  pro¬ 
posed,  the  meaning  of  this  passage  is, 
that  the  Papacy  would  claim  jurisdiction 
'Z  over  traffic  and  commerce;  or  would 
endeavor  to  bring  it  under  its  control, 
and  make  it  subservient  to  its  own  ends. 
Traffic  or  commerce  is  one  of  the  princi¬ 
pal  means  by  which  property  isacquired, 
and  he  who  has  the  control  of  this  has, 
to  a  great  degree,  the  control  of  the 
wealth  of  a  nation ;  and  the  question 
now  is,  whether  any  such  jurisdiction 
has  been  set  up,  or  whether  any  such 
control  has  in  fact  been  exercised,  so 
that  the  wealth  of  the  world  has  been 
subject  to  Papal  Rome.  For  a  more 
full  illustration  of  this  I  may  refer  to  the 
Notes  on  ch.  xviii.  11-13, 16,  17 ;  but  at 
present  it  may  be  sufficient  to  remark 


18  Here  is  wisdom.  Let  him 
that  hath  understanding  count  the 
number  of  the  beast :  for  it  is  the 
number  of  a  man ;  and  his  number 
is  six  hundred  threescore  and  six. 


that  the  manifest  aim  of  the  Papacy  in 
all  its  history  has  been  to  control  the  d 
world,  and  to  get  dominion  over  its 
wealth,  in  order  that  it  might  accomplish 
its  own  purposes.  But  besides  this,  there 
have  been  numerous  specified  acts  more 
particularly  designed  to  control  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  ‘buying  and  selling.’  It  has 
been  common  in  Rome  to  prohibit,  by  ^ 
express  law,  all  traffic  with  heretics. 
Thus  a  canon  of  the  Lateran  Council, 
under  Pope  Alexander  III.,  commanded 
that  no  man  should  entertain  or  cherish 
them  in  his  house  or  land,  or  traffic  with  -z 
them.  Hard.'  vi.  ii.  1684.  The  Synod 
of  Tours,  under  the  same  Pope  Alexan¬ 
der,  passed  the  law  that  no  man  should 
presume  to  receive  or  assist  the  heretics, 
no,  not  so  much  as  to  exercise  commerce  '* 
with  them  in  selling  or  buying.  And  so, 
too,  the  Constance  Council,  as  expressed 
in  Pope  Martin’s  bull.  Elliott,  iii.  220, 
221. 

18.  Here  is  wisdom.  That  is,  in  what 
is  stated  respecting  the  name  and  the 
number  of  the  name  of  the  beast.  The 
idea  is,  either  that  there  would  be  need 
of  peculiar  sagacity  in  determining  what 
the  ‘number’  of  the  ‘beast’  or  of  his 
‘name’  was,  or  that  peculiar  ‘wisdom’ 
was  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  number 
could  be  thus  expressed.  The  language 
used  in  the  verse  would  lead  the  reader 
to  suppose  that  the  attempt  to  make  out 
the  ‘  number’  was  not  absolutely  hopeless, 
but  that  the  number  was  so  far  enigmati¬ 
cal  as  to  require  much  skill  in  determin¬ 
ing  its  meaning.  It  may  also  be  implied 
that,  for  some  reason,  there  was  true 
‘wisdom’  in  designating  the  name  by 
this  number,  either  because  a  more 
direct  and  explicit  statement  might  ex¬ 
pose  him  who  made  it  to  persecution, 
and  it  showed  practical  wisdom  thus  to 
guard  against  this  danger ;  or  because 
there  was  ‘wisdom’  or  skill  shown  in 
the  fact  that  a  number  could  be  found 
which  would  thus  correspond  with  the 
name.  On  either  of  these  suppositions, 
peculiar  wisdom  would  be  required  in 
decyphering  its  meaning.  ^  Let  him 
that  hath  understanding.  Implying  («) 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


A.  D.  96.] 


37' t 


that  it  was  practicable  to  ‘count  the  I  it  is  in  modern,  to  test  the  capacity  and 
number  of  the  name;'  and  (b)  that  it  skill  of  men  by  their  ability  to  unfold 
would  require  uncommon  skill  to  do  it.  the  meaning  of  proverbs,  riddles  and 
It  could  not  be  successfully  attempted  dark  sayings.  Comp,  the  riddle  of 
by  all;  but  still  there  were  those  who.  Samson,  Judges  xiv.  12,  seq.  See  als« 
might  do  it.  This  is  such  language  as  Ezek.  xvii.  2-8 ;  Prov.  i.  2-6  ;  Ps.  xlix.  4. 
would  be  used  respecting  some  difficult  lxxviii.  2 ;  Dan.  viii.  23.  It  would  bo  a 
matter,  but  where  there  was  hope  that,  sufficient  vindication  of  the  method 
by  diligent  application  of  the  mind,  and  adopted  here  if  it  was  certain  or  proba¬ 
by  the  exercise  of  a  sound  understanding,  ble  that  a  direct  and  explicit  statement 
there  would  be  a  prospect  of  success,  of  what  was  meant  would  have  been  at- 
*1  Count  the  number  of  the  beast.  In  ver.  tended  with  immediate  danger  and  if 
16,  it  is/ the  number  of  his  name.’  The  the  object  could  be  secured  by  an  enia- 
word  here  rendered  ‘count’ — tpr)<piodru) —  matical  form.  For  it  is  the  number  of 
means  properly  to  count  or  reckon  with  a  man.  Various  interpretations  of  this 
pebbles,  or  counters ;  then  to  reckon,  to  have  been  proposed.  Clericus  renders 
estimate.  The  word  here  means  compute;  it,  “The  number  is  small,  or  not  such 
that  is,  ascertain  the  exact  import  of  the  as  cannot  be  estimated  by  a  man.”  Re¬ 
number,  so  as  to  identify  the  beast.  The  senmiiller:  “The  number  indicates  a 
‘number’  is  that  which  is  immediately  man,  or  a  certain  race  of  men.”  Prof 
specified,  ‘six  hundred  threescore  and  Stuart:  “The  number  is  to  be  computed 
six’ — 666.  The  phrase  ‘the  number  of  more  humano,  not  more  angelico ;”  “it  is 
the  beast’  means,  that  somehow  this  a  man’s  number.”  De  Wette :  “  It  is 
number  was  so  connected  with  the  beast,  such  a  number  as  is  commonly  reckoned 
or  would  so  represent  its  name  or  cha-  or  designated  by  men.”  Other  interpre- 
racter,  that  the  ‘  beast’  would  be  identi-  tations  may  be  seen  in  Poole’s  Synopsis. 
fied  by  its  proper  application.  The  men-  That  which  is  proposed  by  Rosen  miiller, 
tion  in  ver.  17  of  ‘the  name  of  the  beast,’  however,  meets  all  the  circumstances  of 
and  ‘  the  number  of  his  name,’  shows  that  the  case.  The  idea  is,  evidently,  that 
this  ‘  number’  was  somehow  connected  the  number  indicates  or  refers  to  a  cer- 
with  his  proper  designation,  so  that  by  tain  man,  or  order  of  men.  It  does  not 
this  he  would  be  identified.  The  plain  pertain  to  a  brute,  or  to  angelic  beings, 
meaning  is,  that  the  number  666  would  Thus  it  would  be  understood  by  one 
be  so  connected  with  his  name,  or  with  merely  interpreting  the  language,  and 
that  which  would  properly  designate  thus  the  connexion  demands.  And 
him,  that  it  Could  be  determined  who  his  number  is  six  hundred  threescore  and 
was  meant  by  finding  that  number  in  six.  The  number  of  his  name,  ver.  17. 
his  name  or  in  his  proper  designation.  This  cannot  be  supposed  to  mean  that 
This  is  the  exercise  of  the  skill  or  wisdom  his  name  would  be  composed  of  six  hun- 
to  which  the  writer  hero  refers:  substan-  dred  and  sixty-six  letters;  and  it  must 
tiantially  that  which  is  required  in  the  therefore,  mean  that  somehow  the  num- 
solution  of  a  riddle  or  a  conundrum.  If  ber  666  would  be  expressed  by  his  name 
it  should  be  said  here  that  this  is  undig-  in  some  well-understood  method  of  com- 

nified  and  unworthy  of  an  inspired  book,  putation.  The  number  here _ six  hun- 

it  may  be  replied  (a)  that  there  might  dred  and  sixty-six — is,  in  Walton’s  Poly- 
ha  some  important  reason  why  the  name  glott,  written  out  in  full :  fct-aKdeioi  i(d- 
or  designation  should  not  be  more  plainly  kovto.  &■.  In  Wetstein,  Griesbach,  Hahn, 
made;  ( b )  that  it  was  important,  never- 1  Tittmann,  and  the  common  Greek  <text, 
theless,  that  it  should  be  so  made  that  it  it  is  expressed  by  the  characters  xfc'  = 
would  be  possible  to  ascertain  who  was  666.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is 
referred  to ;  (c)  that  this  should  be  done  the  correct  number,  though,  in  the  time 
only  in  some  way  which  would  involve  of  Irenaeus,  there  was  in  some  copies 
the  principle  of  the  enigma — ‘  where  a  another  reading — j^»j  =  616.  This  read- 
known  thing  was  concealed  under  ob-  ing  was  adopted  by  the  Expositor  Ty- 
scure  language/  Webster’s  Die.)  (d)  that  chonius ;  but  against  this,  Irenaeus  in- 
the  use  of  symbols,  emblems,  hieroglyph-  veighs.  Lib.  v.  c.  30.  There  can  be  no 
ics,  and  riddles  was  common  in  the  early  doubt  that  the  number  666  is  the  correct 
periods  of  the  world;  and  (e)  that  it  was  I  reading,  though  it  would  seem  that  this 
no  uncommon  thing  in  ancient  times,  as  I  was  somotimes  expressed  in  letters,  and 


372 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


sometimes  written  iu  full.  Wetstein 
supposes  that  both  methods  were  used  by 
John  ;  that  in  the  first  copy  of  his  hook 
he  used  the  letters,  and  in  a  subsequent 
copy  wrote  it  in  full.  This  inquiry  is  not 
of  material  consequence. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  much  has 
been  written  on  this  mysterious  ‘  num¬ 
ber/  and  that  very  different  theories 
have  been  adopted  in  regard  to  its  appli¬ 
cation.  For  the  views  which  have  been 
entertained  on  the  subject,  the  reader 
may  consult,  with  advantage,  the  article 
in  Calmet’s  Die.,  under  the  word  Anti¬ 
christ.  It  was  natural  for  Calmet,  being 
a  Roman  Catholic,  to  endeavor  to  show 
that  the  interpretations  have  bsen  so 
various,  that  there  could  be  no  certainty 
in  the  application,  and  especially  in  the 
Common  application  to  the  Papacy.  In 
endeavoring  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of 
the  passage,  the  following  general  re¬ 
marks  may  be  made,  as  containing  the 
result  of  the  investigation  thus  far: — (a) 
There  was  some  mystery  in  the  matter — 
some  designed  concealment — some  rea¬ 
son  why  a  more  explicit  statement  was 
not  adopted.  The  reason  of  this  is  not 
stated;  but  it  may  not  be  improper  to 
suppose  that  it  arose  from  something  in 
the  circumstances  of  the  writer,  and  that 
the  adoption  of  this  enigmatical  expres¬ 
sion  was  designed  to  avoid  some  peril 
to  which  he  or  others  might  be  exposed 
if  there  were  a  more  explicit  statement. 
(b)  It  is  implied,  nevertheless,  that  it 
could  be  understood;  that  is,  that  the 
meaning  was  not  so  obscure  that,  by 
proper  study,  the  designed  reference 
could  not  be  ascertained  without  mate¬ 
rial  danger  of  error,  (c)  It  required 
skill  to  do  this ;  either  natural  sagacity, 
or  particular  skill  in  interpreting  hie¬ 
roglyphics  and  symbols,  or  uncommon 
spiritual  discernment.  ( d )  Some  man, 
or  order  of  men,  is  referred  to  that  could 
properly  be  designated  in  this  manner, 
(e)  The  method  of  designating  persons 
obscurely  by  a  reference  to  the  numeri¬ 
cal  signification  of  the  letters  in  their 
names  was  not  very  uncommon,  and  was 
one  that  was  not  unlikely,  in  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  case,  to  have  been  resorted 
to  by  John.  “  Thus,  among  the  Pagans, 
the  Egyptian  mystics  spoke  of  Mercury, 
or  Thouth,  under  the  name  1218,  be¬ 
cause  the  Greek  letters  composing  the 
word  Thouth,  when  estimated  by  their 
numerical  value,  together  made  up  that 


number.  By  others,  Jupiter  was  invoked 
under  the  mystical  number  717;  because 
the  letters  of  ’H  APXH — Beginning,  or 
First  Origin,  which  was  a  characteristic 
of  the  supreme  deity  worshipped  as  Ju¬ 
piter,  made  up  that  number.  And  Apollo 
under  the  number  608,  as  being  that  of 
17WS  or  l ns>  words  expressing  certain 
solar  attributes.  Again,  the  pseudo- 
Christian  or  semi-Pagan  Gnostics,  from 
St.  John’s  time  and  downwards,  affixed 
to  their  gems  and  amulets,  of  which  mul¬ 
titudes  remain  to  the  present  day,  the 
mystic  word  a/3pacraf  [ai»r«saa-]  or  a/lpafaj 
[abraxas']  under  the  idea  of  some  magic 
virtue  attaching  to  its  number  365,  as 
being  that  of  the  days  of  the  annual 
solar  circle,”  Ac.  See  other  instances 
referred  to  in  Elliott,  iii.  205.  These 
facts  show  that  John  would  not  be  un¬ 
likely  to  adopt  some  such  method  of  ex¬ 
pressing  a  sentiment  which  it  was  de¬ 
signed  should  be  obscure  in  form,  but 
possible  to  be  understood.  It  should  be 
added  here,  that  this  was  more  common 
among  the  Jews  than  among  any  other 
people.  (/)  It  seems  clear  that  some 
Greek  word  is  here  referred  to,  and  that 
the  mystic  number  is  to  be  found  in  some 
word  of  that  language.  The  reasons  for 
this  opinion  are  these:  (1)  John  was 
writing  in  Greek,  and  it  is  most  natural 
to  suppose  that  this  would  be  the  refe¬ 
rence  ;  (2)  he  expected  that  his  book 
would  be  read  by  those  who  under¬ 
stood  the  Greek  language,  and  it  would 
have  been  unnatural  to  have  increased 
the  perplexity  in  understanding  what  he 
referred  to  by  introducing  a  word  of  a 
foreign  language ;  (3)  the  first  and  last 
letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  and  not 
those  of  the  Hebrew,  are  expressly 
selected  by  the  Saviour,  to  denote  his 
eternity,  “  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,” 
ch.  i.  8,  11 ;  and  (4)  the  numerals  by 
which  the  enigma  is  expressed — — are 
Greek.  It  has  indeed  been  supposed  by 
many  that  the  solution  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Hebrew.,  language,  but  these  reasons 
seem  to  me  to  show  conclusively  that  we 
are  to  look  for  the  solution  in  some 
Greek  word. 

The  question  now  is,  whether  there  is 
any  word  which  corresponds  with  these 
conditions,  and  which  would  naturally 
be  referred  to  by  John  in  this  manner. 
The  exposition  thus  far  has  led  us  to 
suppose  that  the  Papacy  in  some  form 
is  referred  to ;  and  the  enquiry  now  is. 


CIIAPTEK  XII. 


373 


A.  D.  96.] 

whether  there  is  any  word  which  is  so 
certain  and  determinate  as  to  make  it 
probable  that  John  meant  to  designate 
that.  The  word  Aaretvos — Lateinos — the 
Latin  [Man],  actually  has  all  the  con¬ 
ditions  supposed  in  the  interpretation  of 
this  passage.  From  this  word  the  num¬ 
ber  specified— 666— is  made  out  as  fol¬ 
lows  : — 

AATEINOS 
30  1  300  5  10  50  70  200  =  666. 

In  support  of  the  opinion  that  this  is  the 
word  intended  to  be  referred  to,  the  fol¬ 
lowing  suggestions  may  be  made : — 
(a)  It  is  a  Greek  word,  (b)  It  expresses 
the  exact  number,  and  corresponds  in 
this  respect  with  the  language  used  by 
John,  (e)  It  was  early  suggested  as 
the  probable  meaning,  and  by  those 
who  lived  near  to  the  time  of  John; 
who  were  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  Greek  language;  and  who  may 
be  supposed  to  have  been  familiar  with 
this  mode  of  writing.  Thus  it  was  sug¬ 
gested  by  Irenmus,  who  says,  “  It  seems 
to  me  very  probable;  for  this  is  a  name 
of  the  last  of  Daniel’s  four  kingdoms ; 
they  being  Latins  that  now  reign.”  It 
is  true  that  he  also  mentions  two  other 
words  as  those  which  may  be  meant  — 
evav&ai  —  a  word  which  had  been  sug¬ 
gested  by  others,  but  concerning  which 
he  makes  no  remarks,  and  which,  of 
course,  must  have  been  destitute  of  any 
probability  in  his  view;  and  T urav  — 
which  he  thinks  has  the  clearest  claims 
for  admission  —  though  he  speaks  of  the 
word  Lateinos  as  having  a  claim  of  pro¬ 
bability.  ( d )  This  word  would  properly 
denote  the  Roman  power,  or  the  then 
Latin  power,  and  would  refer  to  that 
dominion  as  a  Latin  dominion  —  as  it 
properly  was ;  and  if  it  be  supposed  that 
it  was  intended  to  refer  to  that,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  that  there  should  be  some 
degree  of  obscurity  about  it,  this  would 
be  more  likely  to  bo  selected  than  the 
word  Homan,  which  was  better  known  ; 
and  (e)  there  was  a  special  propriety  in 
this  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  in¬ 
tended  to  refer  to  the  Papal  Latin 
power.  The  most  appropriate  appel¬ 
lation,  if  it  was  designed  to  refer  to 
Rome  as  a  civil  power,  would  undoubt¬ 
edly  have  been  the  word  Homan ;  but 
if  it  was  intended  to  refer  to  the  ecclesias¬ 
tical  power,  or  to  the  Papacy,  this  is  the 
very  word  to  express  tho  idea.  In  earlier 
32 


times  the  more  common  appellation  war 
Roman.  This  continued  until  the  sepa¬ 
ration  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  em¬ 
pires,  when  the  Eastern  was  called  the 
Greek,  and  the  Western  the  Latin; 
or  when  the  Eastern  empire  assumed  the 
name  of  Roman,  and  affixed  to  the 
Western  kingdoms  one  and  all  that  were 
connected  with  Rome,  the  appellation  of 
Latin.  This  appellation,  originally  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  language  only,  was  adopted 
by  the  Western  kingdoms,  and  came  to 
be  that  by  which  they  were  best  desig¬ 
nated.  It  was  the  Latin  world,  the 
Latin  kingdom,  the  Latin  church,  the 
Latin  patriarch,  the  Latin  clergy,  the 
Latin  councils.  To  use  Dr.  More’s 
words,  “They  Latinize  every  thing: 
Mass,  prayer's,  hymns,  Litanies,  canons, 
decretals,  bulls,  are  conceived  in  Latin. 
The  Papal  councils  speak  in  Latin, 
women  themselves  puny  in  Latin.  The 
Scriptures  are  read  in  no  other  language 
under  the  Papacy  than  Latin.  In  short, 
all  things  are  Latin.”  With  what  pro¬ 
priety,  then,,  might  John,  under  the 
influence  of  inspiration,  speak,  in  this 
enigmatical  manner  of  the  new  power 
that  was  symbolized  by  the  beast,  as 
Latin. 

The  only  objection  to  this  solution  that 
has  been  suggested  is  that  the  ortho¬ 
graphy  of  the  Greek  word  is  Aanvos — 
Latinos  —  and  not  Ateivos —  Lateinos  — 
giving  the  number  616,  and  not  666; 
and  Bellarmine  asserts  that  this  is  the 
uniform  method  of  spelling  in  Greek 
authors.  All  that  is  necessary  in  reply 
to  this,  is  to  copy  the  following  remark 
from  Prof.  Stuart,  vol.  ii.  p.  466  :  “  As  to 
the  form  of  the  Greek  word  Aareiros 
[Lateinos],  viz.,  that  u  is  employed  for 
the  Latin  long  I,  it  is  a  sufficient  vindi¬ 
cation  of  it  to  cite  Safletvo;,  4> avurzevo 
IJavhuvos,  AvTinvuvog,  AreiXios,  Mercthtos, 
Tlaireepios,  Ovctfltos,  etc.  Or  we  may  refer 
to  the  custom  of  the  more  ancient  Latin, 
as  in  Plautus,  of  writing  /by  ei,  e.  g., 
solitei,  Diveis,  captivei,  preimus,  Lateina, 
etc.”  See  this  point  examined  further, 
in  Elliott,  iii.  210-213. 

As  a  matter  of  historical  interest,  it 
may  be  observed  that  the  solution  of  the 
difficulty  has  been  sought  in  numerous 
other  words,  and  the  friends  of  the  Pa¬ 
pacy,  and  tho  enemies  of  the  Bible,  have 
endeavored  to  show  that  such  terms  are 
so  numerous  that  there  can  be  no  cer¬ 
tainty  in  the  application.  Thus  Calmet 


374 


REVELATION, 


|A.D.  96. 


(Die.,  art.  Antichrist),  after  enumerating 
many  of  these  terms,  says,  “  The  num¬ 
ber  666  is  found  in  names  the  most 
sacred,  the  most  opposite  to  Antichrist. 
The  wisest  and  best  way  is  to  be 
silent.” 


We  have  seen  that,  besides  the  name 
Lateinos,  two  other  words  had  been  re¬ 
ferred  to  in  the  time  of  Irenaeus.  Some 
of  the  words  in  which  the  mysterious 
number  has  been  since  supposed  to  be 
found,  are  the  following : — 


Dl“l  "Cp,  Caesar  Romae  (Emperor  of  Rome),  that  is  100  +  10  +  60  + 


'  200  and  200  +  6  +  40=  .  666. 

IDp  jVU  Nero  Caesar,  50  +  200  +  6  +  50,  and  100  +  60  +  200  =  .  666. 

Diodes  Augustus  (Dioclesian)  =  . . . . .  dclxvi. 

C.  F.  Julianus  Cesar  Atheus  (the  Apostate)  =  . .  dclxvi. 

Luther— “UlSlS  =  200  +  400  +  30  +  6  +  30  =  .  666. 

Lampetis,  \aynr mS  =  30  +  1  +  40  +  80  +  5  +  300  +  10  +  200  =  .  666. 


V  Aaruv/j  fiatnXua  =  8  +  30  +  1  +  300  +  10  +  50  +  8  +  2  +  1  +  200  + 

10  +  30  +  5  +  10  +  1  =  . .  666. 

IraXtfca  cKK^rjiria  —  10  +  300  +  1  +  30  +  10  -j-  20  4- 1  -j-  5  -4-  20  +  20  + 

30  -j-  8  -j-  200  +  10  -J-  1  =  .  666. 

Avoorarj/j  (the  Apostate)  1  + SO +  70  +  6  +  1  +  300  +  8  +  200  =  ..  666. 

fV’Dn  (Roman,  Sc.  Sedes)  =  200  +  6  +  40  +  10  + 10  +  400  =  .  666. 

tyuym  (Romanus,  Sc.  Man)  f=  200  +  40  +  70  +  50  +  6  +  300  =  ...  666. 


It  will  be  admitted  that  many  of  these, 
and  others  that  might  be  named,  are 
fanciful,  and  perhaps  had  their  origin  in 
a  determination,  on  the  one  hand,  to  find 
Rome  referred  to  somehow,  or  in  a  de¬ 
termination,  on  the  other  hand,  equally 
strong,  not  to  find  this ;  but  still  it  is  re¬ 
markable  how  many  of  the  most  obvious 
solutions  refer  to  Rome  and  the  Papacy. 
But  the  mind  need  not  be  distracted,  nor 
need  doubt  be  thrown  over  the  subject 
by  the  number  of  the  solutions  proposed. 
They  show  the  restless  character  of  the 
human  mind,  and  the  ingenuity  of  men  ; 
but  this  should  not  be  allowed  to  bring 
into  doubt  a  solution  that  is  simple  and 
natural,  and  that  meets  all  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  case.  Such  a  solution,  I 
believe,  is  found  in  the  word  Aarcivog — 
Lateinos,  as  illustrated  above ;  and  as 
that,  if  correct,  settles  the  case,  it  is  un¬ 
necessary  to  pursue  the  matter  further. 
Those  who  are  disposed  to  do  so,  how¬ 
ever,  may  find  ample  illustration  in 
Calmet,  Diet.,  Art.  Antichrist ;  Elliott, 
Horae  Apoca.  iii.  207-221;  Prof.  Stuart, 
Com.  vol.  ii.,  Excursus,  iv. ;  Bibliotheca 
Sacra,  i.  84—86 ;  Robert  Fleming  on  the 
Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Papacy,  28,  seq. ; 
De  Wette,  Exegetisches  Handbuch,  N.  T., 
iii.  140-142;  Vitringa,  Com.  625-637, 
Excursus,  iv. ;  Nov.  Tes.  Edi.  Koppi- 
anae,  vol.  x.  b,  pp.  235-266 ;  and  the 
Commentaries  generally. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

In  the  previous  chapters  (xii.  xiii.) 
there  is  a  description  of  the  woes  and 
sorrows  which,  for  a  long  period,  would 
come  upon  the  church,  and  which  would 
threaten  to  destroy  it.  It  was  proper 
that  this  gloomy  picture  should  be  re¬ 
lieved,  and  accordingly  this  chapter, 
having  much  of  the  aspect  of  an  episode, 
is  thrown  in  to  comfort  the  hearts  of 
those  who  should  see  those  troublous 
times.  There  were  bright  scenes  beyond, 
and  it  was  important  to  direct  the  eye  to 
them,  that  the  hearts  of  the  sad  might 
bo  consoled.  This  chapter,  therefore, 
contains  a  succession  of  symbolical  re¬ 
presentations  designed  to  show  the  ulti¬ 
mate  result  of  all  these  things — “  to  hold 
out  the  symbols  of  ultimate  and  certain 
victory.”  Prof.  Stuart.  Those  symbols 
are  the  following: — 

(1)  The  vision  of  the  hundred  and 
forty-four  thousand  on  Mount  Zion,  as 
emblematic  of  the  final  triumph  of  the 
redeemed,  vs.  1-5.  They  have  the 
Father’s  name  in  their  foreheads  (ver. 
1) ;  they  sing  a  song  of  victory  (vs.  2,  3) ; 
they  are  found  without  fault  before  God 
— representatives,  in  this  respect,  of  all 
that  will  be  saved,  vs.  4,  5. 

(2)  The  vision  of  the  final  triumph  of 
the  gospel,  vs.  6,  7.  An  angel  is  seen 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


375 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

AND  I  looked,  and,  lo,  a  Lamb  0 
stood  on  the  mount  Sion,  and 
with  him  an  hundred  forty  and  four 


flying  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having 
the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  to  all 
that  dwell  upon  the  earth,  and  an¬ 
nouncing  that  the  end  is  near : — a  repre¬ 
sentation  designed  to  show  that  the 
gospel  will  be  thus  preached  among  all 
nations ;  and  when  that  is  done,  the 
time  will  draw  on  when  the  affairs  of  the 
world  will  be  wound  up. 

(3)  The  fall  of  Babylon,  the  mighty 
Anti-christian  power,  ver.  8.  An  angel 
is  seen  going  forth  announcing  the  gfad 
tidings  that  this  mighty  power  is  over¬ 
thrown,  and  that,  therefore,  its  oppres¬ 
sions  are  come  to  an  end.  This,  to  the 
church  in  trouble  and  persecution,  is  one 
of  the  most  comforting  of  all  the  assur¬ 
ances  that  God  makes  in  regard  to  the 
future. 

(4)  The  certain  and  final  destruction 
of  all  the  upholders  of  that  Anti-ehristian 
power,  vs.  9—12.  Another  angel  is  seen 
making  proclamation  that  all  the  sup¬ 
porters  and  abettors  of  this  formidable 
power  would  drink  of  the  wine  of  the 
wrath  of  God;  that  they  would  be  tor¬ 
mented  with  fire  and  brimstone ;  and 
that  the  smoke  of  their  torment  would 
ascend  up  for  ever  and  ever. 

(5)  The  blessedness  of  all  those  who 
die  in  the  Lord;  who,  amidst  the  perse¬ 
cutions  and  trials  that  were  to  come 
upon  the  church,  would  be  found  faithful 
unto  death,  ver.  13.  They  would  rest 
from  their  labors ;  the  works  of  mercv 
which  they  had  done  on  the  earth  would 
follow  them  to  the  future  world,  securing 
rich  and  eternal  blessings  there. 

(6)  The  final  overthrow  of  all  the  en¬ 
emies  of  the  church,  vs.  14-20.  This  is 
the  grand  completion  ;  to  this  all  things 
are  tending;  this  will  be  certainly  ac¬ 
complished  in  due  time.  This  is  repre¬ 
sented  under  various  emblems  : — 

(a)  The  Son  of  man  appears  seated 
on  a  cloud,  having  on  his  head  a 
golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand  a 
sharp  sickle — emblem  of  gather¬ 
ing  in  the  great  harvest  of  tho 
earth,  and  of  his  own  glorious 
reign  in  heaven,  ver.  14. 

(b)  An  angel  is  seen  coming  out  of 
the  templo,  announcing  that  the 


thousand,  b  having  his  Father's 
name  c  written  in  their  foreheads. 

a  c.  5. 12. 

bo.  7.4.  cc.  3. 12. 


time  had  come,  and  calling  on 
the  Great  Reaper  to  thrust  in  his 
sickle,  for  the  harvest  of  the  world 
was  ripe,  ver.  15. 

(c)  He  that  has  the  sickle  thrusts  in 
his  sickle  to  reap  tho  great  har¬ 
vest,  ver.  16. 

(d)  Another  angel  is  seen  represent¬ 
ing  the  final  judgment  of  God  on 
the  wicked,  vs.  17-20.  He  also 
has  a  sharp  sickle;  he  is  com¬ 
manded  by  an  angel  that  has 
power  over  fire  to  thrust  in  his 
sickle  into  the  earth ;  he  goes  forth 
and  gathers  the  clusters  of  the 
vine  of  the  earth,  and  casts  them 
into  the  great  wine-press  of  the 
wrath  of  God. 

This  whole  chapter,  therefore,  is  de¬ 
signed  to  relieve  the  gloom  of  the  former 
representations.  The  action  of  the  grand 
moving  panorama  is  stayed  that  the 
mind  may  not  be  overwhelmed  with 
gloomy  thoughts,  but  that  it  may  bo 
cheered  with  the  assurance  of  the  final 
triumph  of  truth  and  righteousness.  Tho 
chapter,  viewed  in  this  light,  is  intro¬ 
duced  with  great  artistic  skill,  as  well 
as  great  beauty  of  poetic  illustration ; 
and,  in  its  place,  it  is  adapted  to  set  forth 
this  great  truth,  that,  to  the  righteous, 
and  to  the  church  at  large,  in  the  dark¬ 
est  times,  and  with  the  most  threatening 
prospect  of  calamity  and  sorrow,  there 
is  the  certainty  of  final  victory,  and  that 
this  should  be  allowed  to  cheer  and  sus¬ 
tain  the  soul. 

1.  And  I  looked.  My  attention  was 
drawn  to  a  new  vision.  The  eye  was 
turned  away  from  the  beast  and  his 
image  to  the  heavenly  world — the  Mount 
Zion  above.  ^  And  lo  a  Lamb.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  v.  6.  Stood  on  the  Mount  Sion. 
That  is,  in  heaven.  See  Notes  on  Heb. 
xii.  22.  Zion,  literally  the  Southern  hill 
in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  was  a  name  also 
given  to  the  whole  city;  and,  as  that  was 
the  seat  of  the  divine  worship  on  earth, 
it  became  an  emblem  of  heaven  —  tho 
dwelling-place  of  God.  The  scene  of  the 
vision  here  is  laid  in  heaven,  for  it  is  a 
vision  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  re¬ 
deemed,  designed  to  sustain  the  church 


376 


KEVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


2  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  hea¬ 
ven,  as  the  voice  °  of  many  waters, 
and  as  the  voice  of  a  great  thunder: 
and  I  heard  the  voice  of  harpers  b 
harping  with  their  harps. 

3  And  they  sung  as  it  were  a 

*  a  c.  19.  6.  b  c.  5.  8,  9. 


in  view  of  the  trials  that  had  already 
come  upon  it,  and  of  those  which  were 
yet  to  come.  And  with  him  a  hundred 
forty  and  four  thousand.  These  are  evi¬ 
dently  the  same  persons  that  were  seen 
in  the  vision  recorded  in  chapter  vii.  3-8, 
and  the  representation  is  made  for  the 
same  purpose  —  to  sustain  the  church  in 
trial,  with  the  certainty  of  its  future  glory. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  vii.  4.  Having  his 
father’s  name  written  in  their  foreheads. 
Showing  that  they  were  his.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  vii.  3,  xiii.  16.  In  ch.  vii.  3,  it  is 
merely  said  that  they  were  ‘sealed  in 
their  foreheads ;’  the  passage  here  shows 
how  they  were  sealed.  They  had  the 
name  of  God  so  stamped  or  marked  on 
their  foreheads  as  to  show  that  they  be¬ 
longed  to  him.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.vii.  3-8. 

2.  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven. 
Showing  that  the  scene  is  laid  in  heaven, 
but  that  John  in  the  vision  was  on  the 
earth.  As  the  voice  of  many  waters. 
As  the  sound  of  the  ocean,  or  of  a  mighty 
cataract.  That  is,  it  was  so  loud  that  it 
could  be  heard  from  heaven  to  earth.  No 
comparison  could  express  this  more  sub¬ 
limely  than  to  say  that  it  was  like  the 
roar  of  the  ocean.  As  the  voice  of  a 
great  thunder.  As  the  loud  sound  of 
thunder.  And  I  heard  the  voice  of 
harpers.  In  heaven: — the  song  of  re¬ 
demption  accompanied  with  strains  of 
sweet  instrumental  music.  For  a  de¬ 
scription  of  the  harp,  see  Notes  on  Isa. 
V.  12.  Harping  with  their  harps. 
Playing  on  their  harps.  This  image 
gives  new  beauty  to  the  description. 
Though  the  sound  was  loud  and  swell¬ 
ing,  so  loud  that  it  could  be  heard  on  the 
earth,  yet  it  was  not  mere  shouting,  or 
merely  a  tumultuous  cry.  “It  was  like 
the  sweetness  of  symphonious  harps.” 
The  music  of  heaven,  though  elevated 
and  joyous,  is  sweet  and  harmonious; 
and  perhaps  one  of  the  best  representa¬ 
tions  of  heaven  on  earth  is  the  effect  pro¬ 
duced  on  the  soul  by  strains  of  sweet  and 
Bolemn  music. 

32* 


new  c  song  before  the  throne,  and 
before  the  four  beasts,  and  the  el¬ 
ders  :  and  no  man,  could  learn  that 
song  but  the  d  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  thousand,  which  were  re¬ 
deemed  from  the  earth. 

c  c.  15.  3.  d  ver.  1. 


3.  And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  neto  song. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  9.  It  was  proper  to 
call  this  ‘  new,’  because  it  was  on  a  new 
occasion,  or  pertained  to  a  new  object. 
The  song  here  was  in  celebration  of  the 
complete  redemption  of  the  church,  and 
was  the  song  to  be  sung  in  view  of  its 
final  triumph  over  all  its  foes.  Comp. 
Notes  ch.  vii.  9, 10.  *|f  Before  the  throne. 

The  throne  of  God  in  heaven.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  iv.  2.  If  And  before  the  four  beasts. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  6-8.  And  the  el¬ 
ders.  See  Notes  on  eh.  iv.  4.  And  no 
man  could  learn  that  song,  &c.  None 
could  understand  it  hut  the  redeemed. 
That  is,  none  who  had  not  been  redeemed 
could  enter  fully  into  the  feelings  and 
sympathies  of  those  who  were.  A  great 
truth  is  taught  here.  To  appreciate  fully 
the  songs  of  Zion  ;  to  understand  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  praise ;  to  enter  into  the  spirit 
of  the  truths  which  pertain  to  redemp¬ 
tion,  one  must,  himself  have  been  re¬ 
deemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  He  must 
have  known  what  it  is  to  be  a  sinner  un¬ 
der  the  condemnation  of  a  holy  law;  he 
must  have  known  what  it  is  to  be  in  dan¬ 
ger  of  eternal  death ;  he  must  have  ex¬ 
perienced  the  joys  of  pardon,  or  he  can 
never  understand  in  its  true  import  the 
language  used  by  the  redeemed.  And 
this  is  only  saying  what  we  are  familiar 
with  in  other  things.  He  who  is  saved 
from  peril ;  he  who  is  rescued  from  long 
captivity;  he  who  is  pardoned  at  the  foot 
of  the  scaffold ;  he  who  is  recovered  from 
dangerous  illness ;  he  who  presses  to  his 
bosom  a  beloved  child  just  rescued  from 
a  watery  grave,  will  have  an  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  language  of  joy  and  triumph 
which  he  can  never  understand  who  has 
not  been  placed  in  such  circumstances ; 
but  of  all  the  joy  ever  experienced  in  the 
universe,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  that  must 
be  the  most  sublime  and  transporting 
which  will  be  experienced  when  the 
redeemed  shall  stand  on  Mount  Zion 
above,  and  shall  realize  that  they  are 
saved. 


377 


A-I>-  96.]  CHAPTER  XIV. 


4  These  are  they  which  were  not 
defiled  with  women ;  for  they  are 
a  Ca.  1.  3.  6.  8. 

4.  These  are  they.  In  this  verse,  and 
in  the  following  verse,  the  writer  states 
the  leading  characteristics  of  those  who 
are  saved.  The  general  idea  is,  that 
they  are  chaste ;  that  they  are  the  fol¬ 
lowers  of  the  Lamb ;  that  they  are  re¬ 
deemed  from  among  men;  and  that  they 
are  without  guile,  f  Which  were  not 
defiled  with  women.  Who  were  chaste. 
The  word  defiled  here  determines  the 
meaning  of  the  passage,  as  denoting  that 
they  were  not  guilty  of  illicit  intercourse 
with  women.  It  is  unnecessary  to  show 
that  this  is  a  virtue  every  where  required 
in  the  Bible,  and  every  where  stated  as 
among  the  characteristics  of  the  re¬ 
deemed.  On  no  point  are  there  more 
fiequent  exhortations  in  the  Scriptures 
than  on  this ;  on  no  point  is  there  more 
solicitude  manifested  that  the  professed 
friends  of  the  Saviour  should  be  without 
blame.  Comp.  Notes  on  Acts  xv.  20 ;  1 
Cor.  vi.  18;  Rom,  i.  24-32;  Heb.  xiii.  4. 
See  also  1  Cor.  v.  1,  vi.  13 ;  Gal.  v.  19  ; 
Eph.  v.  3;  Col.  iii.  5;  1  Thess.  iv.  3. 
This  passage  cannot  be  adduced  in  favor 
of  celibacy,  whether  among  the  clergy  or 
laity,  or  in  favor  of  monastic  principles 
in  any  form,  for  the  thing  that  is  speci¬ 
fied  is  that  they  were  not  ‘  defiled  with 
women,’  and  a  lawful  connexion  of  the 
sexes,  such  as  marriage,  is  not  defile¬ 
ment.  See  Notes  on  Heb.  xiii.  4.  The 
word  here  rendered  defiled— igoXvvSnaav, 
from  yo\vva> — is  a  word  that  cannot  be 
applied  to  the  marriage  relation.  It 
means  properly  to  soil,  to  stain,  to  defile. 

1  Cor.  viii.  7,  ‘  Their  conscience  being 
weak,  is  defiled.’  Rev.  iii.  4,  ‘Which 
have  not  defiled  their  garments.’  The 
word  does  not  elsewhere  occur  in  the 
New  Testament,  except  in  the  passage 
before  us,  and  it  will  be  seen  at  once  that 
it  cannot  be  applied  to  that  which  is  law¬ 
ful  and  proper,  and  consequently  that  it 
cannot  be  construed  as  an  expression 
against  marriage  and  in  favor  of  celibacy. 

It  is  a  word  that  is  properly  expressive 
of  illicit  intercourse  —  of  impurity  and 
unchastity  of  life — and  the  statement  is, 
that  they  who  are  saved  are  not  impure 
and  unchaste.  For  they  are  virgins. 
■rapStvoi.  This  is  the  masculine  form,  but 
this  form  is  found  in  the  later  Greek,  and 
in  the  Christian  fathers.  Seo  Suidas  and 
32  * 


virgins.  °  These  are  they  which 
follow  b  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he 
b  Jno.  10.  27. 

Suicer,  Thes.  The  meaning  of  the  word, 
when  found  in  the  feminine  form,  is  well 
understood.  Itdenotes  avirgin,  a  maiden, 
and  thence  it  is  used  to  denote  that  which 
is  chaste  and  pure: — virgin  modesty 
virgin  gold;  virgin  soil;  virgin  blush; 
virgin  shame.  The  word  in  the  mascu¬ 
line  form  must  have  a  similar  meaning 
as  applied  to  men,  and  may  denote  (<r) 
those  who  are  unmarried;  (6)  those  who 
are  chaste  and  pure  in  general.  The 
word  is  applied  by  Suidas  to  Abel  and 
Melchizedek.  “The  sense,”  says  De 
Wette  (in  loc.),  “  cannot  be  that  all  these 
144,000  had  lived  an  unmarried  life,  for 
how  could  the  Apostle  Peter,  and  others 
who  were  married,  have  been  excluded  ? 
But  the  reference  must  be  to  those  who 

held  themselves  from  all  impurity _ «»- 

keuschkeit  und  hurerei — which,  in  the 
view  of  the  apostles,  was  closely  connect¬ 
ed  with  idolatry.”  Comp.  Bleek,  Beitr. 
i.  185.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes  that  the 
main  reference  here  is  to  those  who  had 
kept  themselves  from  idolatry,  and  who 
were  thus  pure.  It  seems  to  me,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  most  obvious  meaning  is 
the  correct  one,  that  it  refers  to  the  re¬ 
deemed  as  chaste,  and  thus  brings  into 
view  one  of  the  prominent  things  in 
which  Christians  are  distinguished  from 
the  devotees  of  nearly  every  other  form 
of  religion,  and  indeed  extensively  from 
the  world  at  large.'  This  passage,  also, 
cannot  be  adduced  in  favor  of  the  mo¬ 
nastic  system,  because  (a)  whatever  may 
be  said  anywhere  of  the  purity  of  virgins, 
there  is  no  such  commendation  of  it  as 
to  imply  that  the  married  life  is  impure; 
(b)  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  God  meant 
in  any  way  to  reflect  on  the  married  life 
as  in  itself  impure  or  dishonorable;  (c) 
the  language  does  not  demand  such  an 
interpretation;  and  (d)  the  facts  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  monastic  life  have  shown 
that  it  has  had  very  little  pretensions  to 
a  claim  of  virgin  purity,  f  These  are 
they  which  follow  the  Lamb.\  This  is  ano¬ 
ther  characteristic  of  those  who  are  re¬ 
deemed —  that  they  are  followers  of  the 
Lamb  of  God.  That  is,  they  are  his  dis¬ 
ciples  ;  they  imitate  his  example ;  they 
obey  his  instructions ;  they  yield  to  his 
laws;  they  receive  him  as  their  counsel¬ 
lor  and  their  guide.  See  Notes  on  John 


378 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


goeth.  These  were  °  redeemed  from 
among  men,  being  the  first  fruits  b 
unto  God  and  to  the  Lamb. 

5  And  in  their  mouth  was  found 

a  Bought.  1  Co.  6.  20.  b  Ja.1. 18. 

x.  3,  27.  Whithersoever  he  goeth.  As 
sheep  follow  the  shepherd.  Comp.  Ps. 
xxiiii.  1,  2.  It  is  one  characteristic  of 
true  Christians  that  they  follow  the  Sa¬ 
viour  wherever  he  leads  them.  Be  it  into 
trouble,  into  danger,  into  difficult  duty; 
he  it  in  Christian  or  heathen  lands;  be 
it  in  pleasant  paths,  or  in  roads  rough 
and  difficult,  they  commit  themselves 
wholly  to  his  guidance,  and  submit  them¬ 
selves  wholly  to  his  will,  These  were 
redeemed  from  among  men.  This  is  ano¬ 
ther  characteristic  of  those  who  are  seen 
on  Mount  Zion.  They  are  there  because 
they  are  redeemed,  and  they  have  the 
character  of  the  redeemed.  They  are 
not  there  in  virtue  of  rank  or  blood  (John 
i.  13) ;  not  on  the  ground  of  their  own 
works  (Titus  iii.  5),  but  because  they  are 
redeemed  unto  God  by  the  blood  of  his 
Son.  See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  9,  10.  None 
will  be  there  of  whom  it  cannot  be  said 
that  they  are  ‘  redeemed ;’  none  will  be 
absent  who  have  been  truly  redeemed 
from  sin.  Being  the  first-fruits  unto 
God.  On  the  meaning  of  the  word  first- 
fruits,  see  Notes  on  1  Cor.  xv.  20.  The 
meaning  here  would  seem  to  be,  that  the 
hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  were  not 
to  be  regarded  as  the  tohole  of  the  num¬ 
ber  that  was  saved,  but  that  they  were 
rejiresentatives  of  the  redeemed.  They 
had  the  same  characteristics  which  all 
the  redeemed  must  have ;  they  were  a 
pledge  that  all  the  redeemed  would  be 
there.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes  that  the 
sense  is,  that  they  were,  as  it  were,  ‘  an 
offering  peculiarly  acceptable  to  God.’ 
The  former  explanation,  however,  meets 
all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  is 
more  in  accordance  with  the  usual  mean- 
iig  of  the  word.  And  to  the  Lamb. 
They  stood  there  as  redeemed  by  him, 
thus  honoring  him  as  their  Redeemer, 
and  showing  forth  his  glory. 

5.  And  in  their  mouth  was  found  no 
guile.  No  deceit,  fraud,  hypocrisy. 
They  were  sincerely  and  truly  what 
they  professed  to  be  —  the  children  of 
God.  This  is  the  last  characteristic 
which  is  given  of  them  as  redeemed,  and 
it  is  not  necessary  to  say  that  this  is 


no  guile:  c  for  they  are  without d 
fault  before  the  throne  of  God. 

6  And  I  saw  another  angel  fly 

c  Ps.  32.  2.  d  Ep.  5.  27 ;  Jude  24. 


always  represented  as  one  of  the  char¬ 
acteristics  of  the  true  children  of  God. 
See  Notes  on  John  i.  47.  For  they 
are  without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God. 
The. word  here  rendered  without  fault — 
agogoi — means  properly  spotless,  without 
blemish,  1  Pet.  i.  19.  See  Notes  on  Col. 
i.  22.  This  cannot  be  construed  as 
meaning  that  they  were  by  nature  pure 
and  holy,  but  only  that  they  were  pure 
as  they  stood  before  the  throne  of  God 
in  heaven — ‘  having  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  pure  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.’  See  Notes  on  ch.  vii.  14.  It 
will  be  certainly  true  that  all  who  stand 
there  will  be  in  fact  pure,  for  nothing 
impure  or  unholy  shall  enter  there. 
Ch.  xxi.  27. 

The  design  of  this  portion  of  the  chap¬ 
ter  was  evidently  to  comfort  those  to 
whom  the  book  was  addressed,  and,  in 
the  same  way,  to  comfort  all  the  children 
of  God  in  times  of  persecution  and  trial. 
Those  living  in  the  time  of  John  were 
suffering  persecution,  and,  in  the  pre¬ 
vious  chapters,  he  had  described  more 
fearful  trials  yet  to  come  on  the  church. 
In  these  trials,  therefore,  present  and 
prospective,  there  was  a  propriety  in 
fixing  the  thoughts  on  the  final  triumph 
of  the  redeemed — that  glorious  state  in 
heaven  where  all  persecution  shall  cease, 
and  where  all  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
shall  stand  before  his  throne.  What 
could  be  better  fitted  than  this  view  to 
sustain  the  souls  of  the  persecuted  and 
the  sorrowful  ?  And  how  often  sin'c-e  in 
the  history  of  the  church  —  in  the  dark 
times  of  religious  declension  and  of  per¬ 
secution —  has  there  been  occasion  to 
seek  consolation  in  this  bright  view  of 
heaven  !  Ilow  often  in  the  life  of  each 
believer,  when  sorrows  come  upon  him 
like  a  flood,  and  earthly  consolation  is 
gone,  is  there  occasion  to  look  to  that 
blessed  world  where  all  the  redeemed 
shall  stand  before  God ;  where  all  tears 
shall  be  wiped  away  from  every  face ; 
and  where  there  shall  be  the  assurance 
that  the  last  pang  has  been  endured,  and 
that  the  soul  is  to  be  happy  for  ever 

6.  And  I  saio  another  angel.  This 


379 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


A.  D.  96.] 

in  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the  a 
everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  anc 
to  every  b  nation,  and  kindred,  anc 
tongue,  and  people, 


must  of  course  mean  a  different  one 
from  some  one  mentioned  before,-  but 
no  sucb  angel  is  referred  to  in  the  pre¬ 
vious  chapters,  unless  we  go  back  to  ch. 
xii.  7.  It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to 
suppose  that  J ohn  refers  to  a  particular 
angel  immediately  preceding  this.  In 
the  course  of  these  visions  he  had  seen 
many  angels ;  and  now,  accustomed  to 
these  visions,  he  says  that  he  saw  ‘  an¬ 
other’  one  employed  in  a  remarkable  em¬ 
bassy,  whose  message  was  fitted  to  cheer 
the  hearts  of  the  desponding,  and  to 
support  the  souls  of  the  persecuted  and 
the  sad  —  for  his  appearing  was  the 
pledge  that  the  gospel  would  be  ulti¬ 
mately  preached  to  all  that  dwell  upon 
the  earth.  The  design  of  this  vision  is, 
therefore,  substantially  the  same  as  the 
former  —  to  cheer  the  heart,  and  to  sus¬ 
tain  the  courage  and  the  faith  of  the 
church,  in  the  persecutions  and  trials 
which  were  yet  to  come,  by  the  assurance 
that  the  gospel  would  be  ultimately  tri¬ 
umphant.  Fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven. 
In  the  air ;  so  as  to  appear  to  be  moving 
along  the  face  of  the  sky.  The  scene 
cannot  be  in  heaven,  as  the  gospel  is  not 
to  be  preached  there,  but  the  word  must 
denote  heaven  as  it  appears  to  us  —  the 
sky.  Prof.  Stuart  renders  it  correctly, 
‘mid-air.’  He  is  represented  as  flying, 
to  denote  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
gospel  would  spread  through  the  World 
in  that  future  period  referred  to.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Isa.  vi.  2.  Having  the  ever¬ 
lasting  gospel.  The  gospel  is  here  called 
everlasting  or  eternal,  (a)  because  its 
great  truths  have  always  existed,  or  it 
is  conformed  to  eternal  truth;  (b)  be¬ 
cause  it  will  for  ever  remain  unchanged 
— not  being  liable  to  fluctuation  like  the 
opinions  held  by  men ;  (c)  because  its 
effects  will  be  everlasting  —  in  the  re¬ 
demption  of  the  soul  and  the  joys  of 
heaven.  In  all  the  glorious  eternity 
before  the  redeemed,  they  will  be  but 
developing  the  effects  of  that  gospel  on 
their  own  hearts,  and  enjoying  the  re¬ 
sults  of  it  in  the  presence  of  God.  To 
preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth. 
To  all  men — as  is  immediately  specified. 


7  Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Fear 
God,  and  give  glory  to  him ;  for  ‘ 
the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come: 

a  2  Sa.  23.  6;  Is.  40.  8. 
b  Ep.  3.  9.  c  c.  15.  4. 


Comp.  Matt,  xxviii.  19;  Mark  xvi.  15. 
IF  And  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  Ac. 
To  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men ;  to 
all  men  without  any  distinction  or  ex¬ 
ception.  See  Notes  on  ch.  vii.  9.  The 
truth  here  taught  is,  that  the  gospel  is 
to  be  preached  to  all  men  as  on  an 
equality,  without  any  reference  to  then- 
rank,  their  character,  or  their  complex¬ 
ion;  and  it  is  implied  also  that  at  the 
time  referred  to,  this  will  be  done. 
When  that  time  will  be,  the  writer  does 
not  intimate  farther  than  that  it  would 
be  after  the  beast  and  his  adherents  had 
attempted  to  stay  its  progress ;  and  for 
the  fulfilment  of  this,  therefore,  we  are 
to  look  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the 
rise  and  fall  of  that  great  Antichristian 
power  symbolized  by  the  beast  and  his 
image.  This  is  in  entire  accordance 
with  the  prediction  in  Daniel.  See 
Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  19-22. 

7.  Saying,  with  a  loud  voice.  As  if 
all  the  nations  were  summoned  to  hear. 
If  Fear  God.  That  is,  reverence,  honor, 
obey  God.  Render  homage  not  to  the 
beast,  to  his  image,  or  to  any  idol,  but 
to  the  only  true  God.  This  is  the  sub¬ 
stance  of  the  gospel — its  end  and  design 
—  to  turn  men  from  all  forms  of  idol- 
worship  and  superstition,  to  the  worship 
of  the  only  true  God.  And  give  glory 
to  him.  To  give  glory  to  him  is  to 
acknowledge  him  as  the  only  true  God  ; 
to  set  up  his  pure  worship  in  the  heart; 
and  to  praise  him  as  the  great  Ruler  of 
heaven  and  earth,  f  For  the  hour  of 
his  judgment  is  come.  His  judgment  on 
the  beast  and  on  those  who  worship  him. 
The  imagery  here  is  substantially  the 
same  as  in  Dan.  vii.  9,  10,  14,  26, 27,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  is  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  same  subject.  See  Notes  on 
those  verses.  The  main  idea  is,  that 
when  God  shall  be  about  to  cause  his 
gospel  to  spread  through  the  world,  there 
will  be,  as  it  were,  a  solemn  judgment 
on  that  Antichristian  power  which  had 
so  long  resisted  his  truth  and  persecuted 
his  saints,  and  that  on  the  fall  of  that 
power  his  own  kingdom  will  be  set  up 
on  the  earth;  that  is,  in  the  language 


380 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


and  worship  him  that  made  heaven, 
and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the 
fountains  of  waters. 


of  Daniel,  “  the  kingdom,  and  the  do¬ 
minion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  king¬ 
dom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be 
given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High.”  And  worship  him  that 
made  heaven,  and  earth,  kc.  The  true 
God,  the  Creator  of  all  things.  As 
already  remarked,  this  is  the  ultimate 
design  of  the  gospel,  and  when  this  is 
accomplished,  the  great  end  for  which  it 
was  revealed  will  be  reached. 

The  design  of  this  portion  of  the  chap¬ 
ter  (vs.  6,  7),  also,  was  to  comfort  those 
to  whom  the  book  was  addressed,  and 
in  the  same  way  to  comfort  the  church 
in  all  the  persecution  and  opposition 
which  the  truth  would  encounter.  The 
ground  of  consolation  then  was  that  a 
time  was  predicted  when  the  ‘  everlasting 
gospel’  would  be  made  to  fly  speedily 
through  the  earth,  and  when  it  would  be 
announced  that  a  final  judgment  had 
come  upon  the  great  Anti-christian 
power  which  had  prevented  its  being 
before  diffused  over  the  face  of  the  world. 
The  same  ground  of  encouragement  and 
consolation  exists  now,  and  the  more  so 
as  we  see  the  day  approaching ;  and  in 
all  times  of  despondency  we  should  allow 
our  hearts  to  be  cheered  as  we  see 
that  great  Antichristian  power  waning, 
and  as  we  see  evidence  that  the  way 
is  thus  preparing  for  the  rapid  and 
universal  diffusion  of  the  pure  gospel 
of  Christ. 

8.  And  there  followed  another  angel. 
That  is,  in  the  vision.  It  is  not  neces¬ 
sary  to  suppose  that  this  would,  in  the 
fulfilment,  succeed  the  other  in  time. 
The  chapter  is  made  up  of  a  number  of 
representations,  all  designed  to  illustrate 
the  same  general  thing,  and  to  produce 
the  same  general  effect  on  the  mind — 
that  the  gospel  would  be  finally  triumph¬ 
ant,  and  that,  therefore,  the  hearts  of 
the  troubled  and  the  afflicted  should  be 
comforted.  The  representation  in  this 
verse,  bearing  on  this  point,  is,  that 
Babylon,  the  great  enemy,  would  fall  to 
rise  no  more.  Babylon.  This  is  the 
first  time  that  the  word  Babylon  occurs 
in  this  book,  though  it  is  repeatedly 
mentioned  afterwards,  ch.  xvi.  19,  xvii. 
5,  xviii.  2,  10,  21.  In  reference  to  the 


8  And  there  followed  another 
angel,  saying,  Babylon  °  is  fallen, 
a  Is.  21.  9;  Je.  51.  7,  8 ;  c.  18. 2,  3. 


literal  Babylon,  the  word  is  used,  in 
the  New  Testament,  in  Matt.  i.  11,  12, 
13 ;  Acts  vii.  43 ;  1  Pet.  v.  13.  See  In¬ 
tro.  to  I.  Peter,  §  2.  Babylon  was  a 
well-known  city  on  the  Euphrates  (for  a 
full  description  of  which  see  Notes  on 
Isa.  Analysis  of  chs.  xiii.,  xiv.),  and  was 
in  the  days  of  its  pride  and  glory  the 
head  of  the  heathen  world.  In  refe¬ 
rence  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  this 
place,  it  may  he  remarked  (1)  that  the 
general  characteristics  of  Babylon  were, 
that  it  was  proud,  haughty,  insolent, 
oppressive.  It  was  chiefly  known  and 
remembered  by  the  Hebrew  people  as  a 
power  that  had  invaded  the  holy  land; 
that  had  reduced  its  capital  and  temple 
to  ruins ;  that  had  destroyed  the  inde¬ 
pendence  of  their  country,  subjecting  it  to 
the  condition  of  a  province,  and  that  had 
carried  away  the  inhabitants  into  a  long 
and  painful  captivity.  It  became,  there¬ 
fore,  the  emblem  of  all  that  was  haughty 
and  oppressive,  and  especially  of  all  that 
persecuted  the  church  of  God.  (2)  The 
word  must  he  used  here  to  denote  some 
power  that  resembled  the  ancient  and 
literal  Babylon  in  these  characteristics. 
The  literal  Babylon  was  no  more;  but 
the  name  might  be  properly  used  to 
denote  a  similar  power.  W e  are  to  seek, 
therefore,  in  the  application  of  this,  for 
some  power  that  had  the  same  general 
characteristics  which  the  literal  Babylon 
had.  (3)  In  enquiring,  then,  what  is 
referred  to  here  by  the  word  Babylon, 
we  may  remark  (a)  that  it  could  not  be 
the  literal  Babylon  on  the  Euphrates,  for 
the  whole  representation  here  is  of 
something  future,  and  the  literal  Baby¬ 
lon  had  long  since  disappeared,  never, 
according  to  the  prophecies,  to  be  rebuilt. 
See  Notes  on  Isa.  xiii.  20-22.  (6)  All 
the  circumstances  require  us  to  under¬ 
stand  this  of  Rome  —  at  some  period  of 
its  history :  —  for  Rome,  like  Babylon, 
was  the  seat  of  empire,  and  the  head  of 
the  heathen  world;  Rome  was  charac¬ 
terized  by  many  of  the  same  attributes 
as  Babylon,  being  arrogant,  proud,  op¬ 
pressive  ;  Rome,  like  Babylon,  was  dis¬ 
tinguished  for  its  conquests,  and  for  the 
fact  that  it  made  all  other  nations  sub¬ 
ject  to  its  control ;  Rome  had  been,  like 


A-I>.  96.]  CHAPTER  XIV. 


381 


is  fallen,  that  great  city,  because 
she  made  all  nations  drink  of  the 

Babylon,  a  desolating  power,  having 
destroyed  the  capital  of  the  holy  land 
and  burnt  its  beautiful  temple,  and  re¬ 
duced  the  country  to  a  province.  Rome, 
like  Babylon  of  old,  was  the  most  formi¬ 
dable  power  with  which  the  church  had 
to  contend.  Yet  (c)  it  is  not,  I  suppose, 
Rome  considered  as  Pagan  that  is  here 
meant  —  but  Rome  considered  as  the 
prolongation  of  the  ancient  power  in  the 
Papal  form.  Alike  in  this  book  and  in 
Daniel,  Rome,  Pagan  and  Papal,  is  re¬ 
garded  as  one  power,  standing  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  gospel  of  Christ;  re¬ 
sisting  its  progress  in  the  world  ;  and  pre¬ 
venting  its  final  prevalence.  See  Notes 
on  Dan.  vii.  When  that  falls,  the  last 
enemy  of  the  church  will  be  destroyed, 
and  the  final  triumph  of  the  true  religion 
will  be  speedy  and  complete.  See  Dan. 
vii.  26,  27.  («7)  So  it  was  understood 

among  the  early  Christians.  Mr.  Gib¬ 
bon,  speaking  of  the  expectations  of  the 
early  Ceristians  about  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  the  glory  of  the  literal  reign 
of  the  Messiah,  says,  “  While  the  happi¬ 
ness  and  glory  of  a  temporal  reign  were 
promised  to  the  disciples  of  Christ,  the 
most  dreadful  calamities  were  denounced 
against  an  unbelieving  world.  The  edi¬ 
fication  of  the  New  Jerusalem  was  to 
advance  by  equal  steps  with  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  mystic  Babylon;  and  as  long 
as  the  emperors  who  reigned  before  Con¬ 
stantine  persisted  in  the  profession  of 
idolatry,  the  epithet  of  Babylon  was  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  city  and  to  the  empire  of 
Rome.”  i.  p.  263.  \  Is  fallen.  That  is, 

an  event  appeared  in  vision,  as  if  a 
mighty  city  fell  to  rise  no  more,  f  7s 
fallen.  This  is  repeated  to  give  em¬ 
phasis  to  the  declaration,  and  to  express 
the  joyousness  of  that  event,  f  That 
great  city.  Babylon  in  its  glory  was  the 
largest  city  of  the  world;  Rome,  in  its 
turn,  also  became  the  largest;  and  the 
expression  used  here  denotes  that  the 
power  here  referred  to  would  be  pro¬ 
perly  represented  by  cities  of  their  mag¬ 
nitude.  Because  she  made  all  nations 
drink  of  the  wine.  This  language  is 
probably  taken  from  Jeremiah  li.  7  .- 
“Babylon  hath  been  a  golden  cup  in 
the  Lord's  hand,  that  made  all  the 
earth  drunken :  the  nations  have  drunken 
of  the  wine,  therefore  the  nations  are 


wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  forni¬ 
cation. 


mad.  Babylon  here,  in  accordance 
with  the  usual  custom  of  the  sacred 
writers  when  speaking  of  cities  (see  Notes 
on  Isa.  i.  8),  is  represented  as  a  female — 
here  a  female  of  abandoned  character, 
holding  in  her  hand  a  cup  of  wine  to 
attract  her  lovers  ;  that  is,  sho  allures 
and  intoxicates  them.  This  is  a  beauti¬ 
ful  image  to  denote  the  influence  of  a 
great  and  corrupt  city,  and  especially  a 
city  corrupt  in  its  religion,  and  devoted 
to  idolatry  and  superstition  —  and  may 
well  be  applied  either  to  Babylon  or 
Rome  literal  or  mystical,  ^  Of  the 
wrath.  There  seems  an  incongruity  in 
the  use  of  this  word  here,  and  Prof 
Stuart  proposes  to  render  it  ‘  the  inflam¬ 
matory  wine  of  her  fornication;’  that  is, 
inebriating  wine;  wine  that  excited  the 
passions  and  that  led  to  uncleanness. 

He  supposes  that  the  word  here  used _ 

means  heat,  inflammation,  cor¬ 
responding  to  the  Hebrew  71071-  There 

are  no  instances,  however,  in  the  New 
Testament,  in  which  the  word  is  used  in 
this  sense.  The  common  and  proper 
meaning  is  mind,  soul;  then  mind 
agitated  with  passion,  or  under  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  desire  —  a  violent  commotion 
of  mind,  as  wrath,  anger,  indignation. 
Bob.  Lex.  The  groitnd  of  the  represen¬ 
tation  here  seems  to  be,  that  Jehovah  is 
often  described  as  giving  to  the  nations 
in  his  wrath  an  intoxicating  cup,  so  that 
they  should  reel  and  stagger  to  their 
destruction.  Comp.  Jer.  li.  7,  xxv.  15. 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  the  nations 
had  drunk  of  that  cup  which  brought  on 
the  wrath  of  God  on  account  of  her 
‘fornication.’  Babylon  is  represented 
as  a  harlot,  with  a  cup  of  wine  in  her 
hand,  and  the  effect  of  drinking  that 
cup  was  to  expose  them  to  the  wrath  of 
God,  hence  called  ‘  the  wine  of  the 
wrath  of  her  fornication  the  alluring 
cup  that  was  followed  by  wrath  on  ac¬ 
count  of  her  fornication.  ^  Of  her  for¬ 
nication.  Due  to  her  fornication.  The 
word  ‘fornication’  here  is  used  to  denote 
spiritual  uncleanness;  that  is,  heathen 
and  superstitious  rites  and  observances. 
The  term  is  often  used  in  the  Scriptures 
as  applicable  to  idolatry  and  supersti¬ 
tion.  The  general  meaning  here  is,  that 
Rome — Papal  Rome — would  employ  all 


382 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


9  And  the  third  angel  followed 
them,  saying  with  a  loud  voice,  If® 
any  man  worship  the  beast  and  his 
image,  and  receive  his  mark  in  his 
forehead,  or  in  his  hand, 
a  c.  13. 14-16. 


forms  of  voluptuous  allurements  to  bring 
the  nations  to  the  worship  of  the  beast 
and  his  image,  and  that  the  ‘  wrath’  of 
God  would  be  poured  out  on  account  of 
these  abominations. 

The  design  of  this  verse,  also,  is  to 
impart  consolation  by  the  assurance  that 
this  great  enemy  —  this  mighty,  formi¬ 
dable,  persecuting  power — would  be  en¬ 
tirely  overthrown.  This  is  everywhere 
held  up  as  the  brightest  hope  of  the 
church;  for  with  this  will  fall  its  last 
great  enemy,  and  the  grand  obstruction 
to  the  final  triumph  of  the  gospel  on 
earth  will  be  removed. 

9.  And  the  third  angel  followed  them. 
This  was  a  new  vision  designed  to  repre¬ 
sent  the  removal  of  all  the  obstructions 
to  the  final  prevalence  of  the  gospel. 
"We  are  not  neessarily  to  suppose  that 
this  event  would  succeed  those  men¬ 
tioned  before,  in  the  order  of  time, 
though  this  would  be  the  natural  con¬ 
struction.  The  design  of  this  is  to  show 
that  the  worshippers  of  the  beast  and 
his  image  would  be  certainly,  and  finally 
destroyed.  Saying  with  a  loud  voice. 
Making  a  loud  proclamation.  Yer.  7. 

If  any  man  worship  the  Least  and  his 
image.  Notes  ch.  siii.  4,  8, 12, 15.  This 
declaration  is  universal,  affirming  of  all 
who  thus  render  idolatrous  reverence 
to  the  power  represented  by  the  beast 
and  his  image,  that  they  should  drink  of 
the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God.  The 
general  meaning  is,  that  they  were  guilty 
of  idolatry  of  a  gross  form,  and  wherever 
this  existed,  they  who  were  guilty  of  it 
would  come  under  the  denunciations  in 
the  Scriptures  against  idolaters.  And 
why  should  not  such  denunciations  fall 
on  idolaters  under  the  Papacy  as  well 
as  on  others  ?  Is  it  not  true  that 
there  is  as  real  idolatry  there  as  in  the 
heathen  world  ?  Is  not  the  idolatry  as 
gross  and  debasing?  Is  it  not  attended 
with  as  real  corruption  in  the  heart  and 
the  life  ?  Is  it  not  encompassed  with  as 
many  things  to  inflame  the  passions,  cor¬ 
rupt  the  morals,  and  alienate  the  soul 
from  God  ?  And  is  it  not  all  the  worse 


10  The  same  shall  drink 6  of  the 
wine  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is 
poured  out  without  mixture  into 
the  cup  of  his  indignation ;  and 
he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire  c 
b  Ps.  75,  8.  c  c.  19.  20. 


for  being  a  perversion  of  Christianity, 
and  practised  under  the  forms  of  the 
religion  of  the  Saviour  ?  On  what  prin¬ 
ciple  should  idolatry  be  denounced  and 
condemned  anywhere,  if  it  is  not  in 
Papal  Rome?  Comp.  Notes  on  2  Thess. 
ii.  4.  And  receive  his  mark  in  his 
foreheqd,  or  in  his  hand.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  xiii.  16.  The  word  ‘ receive ’  here 
implies  that  there  was,  on  their  part, 
some  degree  of  voluntariness  :  it  was  not 
a  mark  impressed  Ly  force ,  but  a  mark 
received.  This  is  true  in  respect  to  all 
idolatry;  and  this  lays  the  ground  for 
condemnation.  Whatever  art  is  used  to 
induce  men  to  worship  the  beast  and  his 
image,  it  is  still  true  that  the  worship¬ 
pers  are  voluntary,  and  that,  being  vo¬ 
luntary,  it  is  right  that  they  should  be 
treated  as  such.  It  is  on  this  ground 
only  that  any  idolaters,  or  any  sinners 
of  any  kind,  can  be,  in  the  proper  sense 
of  that  term,  punished. 

10.  The  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of 
the  wrath  of  God.  See  Notes  on  ver.  8. 
The  ‘  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God’Is  the  cup 
in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  which  when 
drunk  makes  them  reel  and  fall.  The 
image  would  seem  to  have  been  taken 
from  the  act  of  holding  out  a  cup  of  poison 
to  a  condemned  man  that  he  might  drink 
and  die.  See  the  sentiment  here  express¬ 
ed  illustrated  in  the  Notes  on  Isa.  li.  17. 
*T  Which  is  poured  out  without  mixture. 
Without  being  diluted  with  water;  that 
is,  in  its  full  strength.  In  other  words, 
there  would  be  no  mitigation  of  the 
punishment,  Into  the  cup  of  liis  indig¬ 
nation.  The  cup  held  in  his  hand  and 
given  them  to  drink.  This  is  expres¬ 
sive  of  his  indignation,  as  it  causes  them 
to  reel  and  fall.  The  sentiment  here 
is  substantially  the  same,  though  in 
another  form,  as  that  which  is  expressed 
in  2  Thess.  ii.  12.  See  Notes  on  that 
verse.  And  he  shall  be  tormented. 
Shall  be  punished  in  a  manner  that 
would  be  well  represented  by  being 
burned  with  fire  and  brimstone.  On  the 
meaning  of  this  word,  see  Notes  on  ch. 
ix.  5,  xi.  10.  Comp,  also  ch.  xviii.  7, 


383 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XIY. 


and  brimstone  in  the  presence  of 
the  holy  angels,  and  in  the  pre¬ 
sence  of  the  Lamb : 

11  And  the  smoke  °  of  their 
torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and 


3  xx\l°;  Mark  v.  7;  Luke  viii. 
j  viii.  29.  The  word  commonly 

denotes  severe  torture,  f  With  fire 
and  brimstone.  As  if  with  burning 
sulpher.  See  Notes  on  Luke  xvii.  28- 
30  Comp.  PS.  Xi.  6 ;  Job  xviii.  15: 
Ezek.  xxxviii.  22;  Isa.  xxx.  33.  The 
ll^aoery  is  taken  from  the  destruction 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  Gen.  xix. 
24.  .  The  common  representation  of  the 
punishment  of  the  wicked  is,  that 
it  will  be  in  the  manner  here  repre¬ 
sented.  Mark  ix.  44-48;  Matt.  v.  22 
xm.  42,  xviii.  9,  xxv.  41 ;  2  Peter  iii.  7  • 
Jude  7 ;  Rev.  xx.  14.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Matt.  v.  22 ;  Mark  ix.  44.  f  In  the 
presence,  of  the  holy  angels.  This  may 
mean  either  (a)  that  the  angels  will  be 
present  at  their  condemnation  (Matt, 
xxv.  31),  or  (6)  that  the  punishment  will 
be  actually  witnessed  by  the  angels— as 
it  is  most  probable  it  will  be.  Comp 
Luke  xvi.  23-26 ;  Isa.  lxvi.  24.  f  And 
m  the  presence  of  the  Lamb.  The  Lamb 
of  God— the  final  Judge.  This  also  may 
mean  either  that  the  condemnation  will 
occur  in  his  presence,  or  that  the  pun¬ 
ishment  will  be  under  his  eye.  Both  of 
these  things  will  be  true  in  regard  to 
him ;  and  it  will  be  no  small  aggrava¬ 
tion  of  the  punishment  of  the  wicked 
that  it  will  occur  in  the  very  presence 
of  their  slighted  and  rejected  Saviour. 

H.  And  the  smolce  of  their  torment. 
The  smoke  proceeding  from  their  place 
of  torment.  This  language  is  probably 
derived  from  the  account  of  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  (Gen.  xix. 
28).  “And  he  [Abraham]  looked  to¬ 
ward  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  toward 
all  the  land  of  the  plain,  and  beheld,  and, 
lo,  the  smoke  of  the  country  went  up  as 
the  smoke  of  a  furnace.”  The  destruction 
of  these  cities  is  regarded  as  an  emblem 
of  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  and  the 
smoke  that  ascended  from  them  as  a  re¬ 
presentation  of  that  which  ascends  from 
the  place  where  the  wicked  suffer  for 
ever.  See  Notes  on  Jude  7.  Ascend¬ 
eth  up.  Continually  rises  from  that  world 
of  woe.  ^  For  ever  and  ever.  See  Notes 
on  Jude  7.  This  does  not  indeed  affirm  I 


ever:  and  they  have  no  rest 1  day  nor 
night,  who  worship  the  beast  and  his 
image,  and  whosoever  receiveth  the 
mark  of  his  name. 

a  Is.  34. 10.  b  Is.  57,  20,  21. 


that  their  individual  sufferings  would  be 

— since  il;  is  onI7  a  declaration 
tnat  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascends 
but  it  is  such  language  as  would  be  used 
on  the  supposition  that  they  would  suffer 
for  ever,  and  as  can  be  explained  only 
on  that  supposition.  It  implies  that 
their  torments  continued,  and  were  the 
cause  of  that  ascending  smoke;  that  is, 
that  they  were  tormented  while  it  as¬ 
cended,  and  as  this  is  declared  to  be  ‘for 
ever  and  ever,’  it  implies  that  the  suffer¬ 
ings  of  the  wicked  will  be  eternal :  and 
this  is  such  language  as  would  not  and 
could  not  have  been  used  in  a  revelation 
from  God,  unless  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked  is  eternal.  Comp.  Notes  on  Matt, 
xxv.  46.  And  they  have  no  rest  day 
nor  night.  -‘Day  and  night’  include  all 
time,  and  hence  the  phrase  is  used  to 
denote  perpetuity;  always.  The  mean¬ 
ing  here  is,  that  they  never  have  any 
rest ;  any  interval  of  pain.  This  is  stated 
as  a  circumstance  strongly  expressive  of 
the  severity  of  their  torment.  Here, 
rest  comes  to  the  sufferer.  The  prisoner 
in  his  cell  lies  down  on  his  bed,  though 
hard,  and  sleeps ;  the  over-worked  slave 
has  also  intervals  of  sleep;  the  eyes 
of  the  mourner  are  locked  in  repose,  and 
for  moments,  if  not  hours,  he  forgets  his 
sorrows;  no  pain  that  we  endure  on 
earth  can  be  so  certain  and  prolonged 
that  nature  will  not,  sooner  or  later,  find 
the  luxury  of  sleep,  or  will  find  rest  in 
the  grave.  But  it  will  be  one  of  the  bit¬ 
terest  ingredients  in  the  cup  of  woe,  in  the 
world  of  despair,  that  this  luxury  will  be 
denied  for  ever,  and  that  they  who  enter 
that  gloomy  prison  sleep  no  more;  never 
know  the  respite  of  a  moment  —  never 
even  lose  the  consciousness  of  their  heavy 
doom.  0  how  different  from  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  sufferers  here!  And  0  how 
sad  and  strange  that  any  one  of  our  race 
will  persevere  in  sin,  and  go  down  to 
those  unmitigated  and  unending  sorrows ! 

IT  Who  worship  the  beast  and  his  image, 
<fcc.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  4,  15.  f  And 
whosoever  receiveth  the  marie  of  his  name. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  17.  Tho  meaning 
here  is,  that  such  worshippers  will  r®> 


384 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


12  Here  is  the  patience  of  the 
saints :  here  are  they  that  keep  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  the 
faith  of  Jesus. 


ceive  the  punishment  which  other  idola- 
tors  and  sinners  do.  No  exception  will 
be  made  in  favor  of  an  idolator,  though 
he  worships  idols  under  the  forms  of  an 
abused  Christianity;  none  will  be  made 
in  favor  of  a  sinner  because  he  practised 
iniquity  under  the  garb  of  religion. 

12.  Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints. 
See  Notes  on  eh.  xiii.  10.  Here  are 
they  that  keep  the  commandments  of  God. 
That  is,  in  exercising  such  patience. 
Those  who  exercise  that  ‘  patience’  in 
these  long-continued  persecutions  and 
trials,  will  show  that  they  belong  to  those 
who  keep  the  commandments  of  God, 
and  are  his  true  children.  Or,  perhaps 
the  meaning  may  be,  ‘here  is  a  disclo¬ 
sure  respecting  the  final  destiny  of  these 
persecutors,  which  is  adapted  to  comfort 
and  sustain  the  saints  in  the  trials  which 
they  will  endure  ;  an  encouragement  to 
constancy  in  obeying  the  commands  of 
God,  and  in  evincing  the  meek  faith  of 
the  gospel.’  And  the  faith  of  Jesus. 
To  encourage  persevering  faith  in  the 
Saviour.  In  these  times  of  trial  it  will 
be  shown  who  are  the  friends  of  the  Sa¬ 
viour;  and  in  the  prospect  of  the  certain 
overthrow  of  all  the  enemies  of  God  and 
his  cause,  there' is  a  ground  of  encourage¬ 
ment  for  continued  attachment  to  him. 

The  design  of  this  portion  of  the  chap¬ 
ter  (vs.  9-12),  is  to  encourage  Christians 
in  their  trials  by  the  assurance  that  this 
formidable  Antihristian  power  would  be 
overthrown,  and  that  all  the  enemies 
of  God  would  receive  their  just  doom  in 
the  world  of  despair.  Fearful  as  that 
doctrine  is,  and  terrible  as  is  the  idea  of 
the  everlasting  suffering  of  any  of  the 
creatures  of  God,  yet  the  final  overthrow 
of  the  wicked  is  necessary  to  the  triumph 
of  truth  and  holiness,  and  there  is  con¬ 
solation  in  the  belief  that  religion  wjll 
ultimately  triumph.  The  desire  for  its 
triumph  necessarily  supposes  that  the 
wicked  will  be  overthrown  and  pun¬ 
ished  ;  and  indeed  it  is  the  aim  of  all 
governments,  and  of  all  administrations 
of  law,  that  the  wicked  shall  be  over¬ 
thrown,  and  that  truth  and  justice  shall 
prevail.  What  would  be  more  consola¬ 
tory  in  a  human  government  than  the 


13  And  I  heard  a  voice  from 
heaven  saying  unto  me,  "Write, 
Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  °  in 

a  1  Th.  4. 14, 16. 


idea  that  all  the  wicked  would  be  arrest¬ 
ed  and  punished  as  they  deserve  !  For 
what  else  is  government  instituted  ? 
For  what  else  do  magistrates  and  police 
officers  discharge  the  functions  of  their 
office  ? 

13.  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven. 
A  voice  that  seemed  to  speak  from  heaven. 

Saying  unto  me,  Write.  Make  a  record 
of  this  truth.  We  may  suppose  that  John 
was  engaged  in  making  a  record  of  what 
he  saw  in  vision;  he  was  now  instructed 
to  make  a  record  of  what  he  heard.  This 
passage  may  be  referred  to  as  a  proof 
that  he  wrote  this  book  while  in  Patmos, 
or  as  the  heavenly  disclosures  were  made 
to  him,  and  not  afterwards  from  memory. 

Blessed  are  the  dead.  That  is,  the  con¬ 
dition  of  those  who  die  in  the  manner 
which  is  immediately  specified,  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  blessed  or  happy  one.  It 
is  much  to  be  able  to  say  of  the  dead  that 
they  are  ‘  blessed.’  There  is  so  much  in 
death  that  is  sad;  we  so  much  dread  it 
by  nature ;  it  cuts  us  off  from  so  much 
that  is  dear  to  us;  it  blasts  so  many  hopes, 
and  the  grave  is  so  cold  and  cheerless  a 
resting-place,  that  we  owe  much  to  a  sys¬ 
tem  of  religion  which  will  enable  us  to 
say  and  to  feel  that  it  is  a  blessed  thing 
to  die.  Assuredly  we  should  be  grateful 
for  any  system  of  religion  which  will  en¬ 
able  us  thus  to  speak  of  those  who  are 
dead ;  which  will  enable  us,  with  corres¬ 
ponding  feeling,  to  look  forward  to  our 
own  departure  from  this  world.  Which 
die  in  the  Lord.  Not  all  the  dead;  for 
God  never  pronounces  the  condition  of 
the  wicked  who  die,  blessed  or  happy. 
Religion  guards  this  point,  and  confines 
the  declaration  to  those  who  furnish  evi¬ 
dence  that  they  are  prepared  for  heaven. 
The  phrase  ‘  to  die  in  the  Lord’  implies 
the  following  things  :  (1)  That  they  who 
thus  die  are  the  friends  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
The  language  ‘to  be  in  the  Lord’  is  often 
used  to  denote  true  attachment  to  him, 
or  close  union  with  him.  Comp.  John 
xv.  4-7 ;  Rom.  xvi.  13,  22 ;  1  Cor.  iv.  17, 
vii.  39 ;  Phil.  i.  14 ;  Col.  iv.  7.  The  assu¬ 
rance,  then,  is  limited  to  those  who  are 
sincere  Christians,  for  this  the  language 
properly  implies,  and  we  are  authorized 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


the  Lord  “  from  henceforth:  Yea, 
saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest 


385 


to  apply  it  only  as  there  is  evidence  of 
true  religion.  (2)  To  ‘die  in  the  Lord’ 
would  seem  also  to  imply  that  there  should 
be,  at  the  time,  the  evidence  of  his  favor 
and  friendship.  This  would  apply  (CT)  to 
those  who  die  as  martyrs,  giving  their 
lives  as  a  testimony  to  the  truth  of  reli¬ 
gion,  and  as  an  evidence  of  their  love  for 
it ;  and  (b)  to  those  who  have  the  com¬ 
forting  evidence  of  his  presence  and  favor 
on  the  bed  of  death.  From  henceforth, 
andfirt.  This  word  has  given  no  little 
perplexity  to  expositors,  and  it  has  been 
variously  rendered.  Some  have  connected 
it  with  the  word  blessed — ‘  blessed  hence¬ 
forth  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord;’ 
that  is,  they  will  be  ever-onward  blessed,: 
some  with  the  word  die,  referring  to  the 
time  when  the  apostle  was  writing  — 

‘  blessed  are  they  who  after  this  time  die 
in  the  Lord/  designing  to  comfort  those 
who  were  exposed  to  death,  and  who 
would  die  as  martyrs : — some  as  referring 
to  the  times  contemplated  in  these  visions 
—  ‘  blessed  will  they  be  who  shall  die  in 
those  future  times.’  Witsius  understands 
this  as  meaning  that  from  the  time  of  their 
death  they  would  be  blessed,  as  if  it  had 
been  said,  immediately  after  their  disso¬ 
lution  they  would  be  blessed.  Doddridge 
renders  it,  ‘  henceforth  blessed  are  the 
dead.’  The  language  is  evidently  not  to 
be  construed  as  implying  that  they  who 
had  died  in  the  faith  before  were  not 
happy,  but  that  in  the  times  of  trial  and 
persecution  that  were  to  come,  they  were 
to  be  regarded  as  peculiarly  blessed  who 
should  escape  from  these  sorrows  by  a 
Christian  death.  Scenes  of  woe  were  ip- 
deed  to  occur,  in  which  many  believers 
would  die.  But  their  condition  was  not 
to  be  regarded  as  one  of  misfortune,  but 
of  blessedness  and  joy,  for  (a)  they  would 
die  in  an  honorable  cause ;  (b)  they  would 
emerge  from  a  world  of  sorrow;  and  (c) 
they  would  rise  to  eternal  life  and  peace. 
The  design,  therefore,  of  the  verse  is  to 
impart  consolation  and  support  to  those 
who  would  be  exposed  to  a  njartyr’s 
death,  and  to  those  who,  in  times  of  per¬ 
secution,  would  see  their  friends  exposed 
to  such  a  death.  It  may  be  added  that 
the  declaration  here  made  is  true  still, 
and  ever  will  be.  It  is  a  blessed  thing  to 
33 


from  their  labors ;  and  their  works 
do  follow  them. 

a  Or,  From  henceforth  saith  the  Spirit,  Tea. 


die  in  the  Lord,  f  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit. 
The  Holy  Spirit;  ‘the  Spirit  by  whose 
inspiration  and  command  I  record  this. 
Doddridge.  ^  That  they  may  rest  from 
their  labors.  The  word  here  rendered 
.r  —  **™s  — means  properly  wailing, 
grtef  from  k6ktw,  to  beat,  and  hence  a 
beating  of  the  breast  as  in  grief.  Then 
the  word  denotes  toil,  labor,  effort.  John 
iv.  38 ;  1  Cor.  iii.  8,  xv.  58 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  5, 
x.  15,  xi.  23,  27.  It  is  here  used  in  the 
sense  of  wearisome  toil  in  doing  good,  in 
promoting  religion,  in  saving  souls,’  in 
defending  the  truth.  From  such  toils  the 
redeemed  in  heaven  will  be  released ;  for 
although  there  will  be  employment  there 
it  will  be  without  the  sense  of  fatigue  or 
weariness.  And  in  view  of  such  eternal 
rest  from  toil,  we  may  well  endure  the 
labors  and  toils  incident  to  the  short  pe¬ 
riod  of  the  present  life',  for  however  ar¬ 
duous  or  difficult,  it  will  soon  be  ended. 
5  ^nd  their  icorks  do  follow  them.  That 
is,  the  rewards  or  the  consequences  of  their 
works  will  follow  them  to  the  eternal 
world,  the  word  works  here  being  used 
for  the  rewards  or  results  of  their  works. 
In  regard  to  this,  considered  as  an  en! 
couragement  to  labor,  and  as  a  support 
in  the  trials  of  life,  it  may  be  remarked, 
(a)  that  all  that  the  righteous  do  and 
suffer  here  will  be  appropriately  recom¬ 
pensed  there,  (b)  This  is  all  that  can 
follow  a  man  to  eternity.  He  can  take 
with  him  none  of  his  gold,  his  lands,  his 
raiment;  none  of  the  honors  of  this  life  • 
none  of  the  means  of  sensual  gratification! 
All  that  will  go  with  him  will  be  his  char¬ 
acter,  and  the  results  of  his  conduct  here, 
and,  in  this  respect,  eternity  will  bo  but  a 
prolongation  of  the  present  life,  (c)  It  is 
one  of  the  highest  honors  of  our  nature 
that  we  can  make  the  present  affect  the 
future  for  good ;  that  by  our  conduot  on 
the  earth  we  can  lay  the  foundation  for 
happiness  millions  of  ages  hence.  In  no 
other  respect  does  man  appear  so  digni¬ 
fied  as  in  this ;  nowhere  do  we  so  clearly 
see  the  grandeur  of  the  soul  as  in  the  fact 
that  what  we  do  to-day  may  determine 
our  happiness  in  that  future  period,  when 
all  the  affairs  of  this  world  shall  have  been 
wound  up,  and  when  ages  which  cannot 
now  be  numbered  shall  have  rolled  by.  It 


386 


REVELATION 


.  14  And  I  looked,  and  behold  a 
white  cloud,  and  upon  the  cloud 
one  sat  like  °  unto  the  Son  of  man, 
having  on  his  head  a  golden  crown, 
and  in  his  hand  a  sharp  sickle. 

15  And  another  angel  came  out 

a  Eze.  1.  26;  Da.  7. 13.  b  Joel  3. 13. 

is  then  a  glorious  thing  to  live,  and  will 
be  a  glorious  thing  to  die.  Comp.  Notes 
on  1  Cor.  xv.  58. 

14.  And  I  looked.  See  Notes  on  ver. 
1.  His  attention  is  arrested  by  a  new 
vision.  The  Son  of  Man  himself  comes 
forth  to  close  the  scene,  and  to  wind  up 
the  affairs  of  the  world.  This  too  is  of 
the  nature  of  an  episode,  and  the  design 
is  the  same  as  the  previous  visions  —  to 
support  the  mind  in  the  prospect  of  the 
trials  that  the  church  was  to  experience, 
by  the  assurance  that  it  would  he  finally 
triumphant,  and  that  every  enemy  would 
be  destroyed.  And  behold  a  white 
cloud.  Bright,  splendid,  dazzling  —  ap¬ 
propriate  to  be  the  seat  of  the  Son  of 
God.  Comp.  Notes  on  Matt.  xvii.  5,  and 
Rev.  i.  7.  See  also  Luke  xx.  27,  Acts 
i.  9,  Rev.  x.  1,  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  xxvi.  64, 
1  Thess.  iv.  17.  And  upon  the  cloud 
one  sat,  like  unto  the  Son  of  man.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ch.  i.  13,  and  Daniel  vii.  13. 
It  is  probable  that  there  is  here  a  de¬ 
signed  reference  to  the  passage  in  Dan¬ 
iel.  The  meaning  is,  that  one  appeared 
on  the  cloud  in  a  human  form,  whom 
John  at  once  recognized  as  he  to  whom 
the  appellation  of  ‘the  Son  of  man’ 
peculiarly  belonged  —  the  Lord  Jesus. 
The  meaning  of  that  term  had  not  been 
fixed  in  the  time  of  Daniel  (vii.  13) ; 
subsequently  it  was  appropriated  by  the 
Saviour,  and  was  the  favorite  term  by 
which  he  chose  to  speak  of  himself. 
Matt.  viii.  20,  ix.  6,  x.  23,  xi.  19,  xii.  8, 
32,  40,  et  al.  *[[  Having  on  hie  head  a 
golden  crown.  Appropriate  to  him  as 
king.  It  was  mainly  in  virtue  of  his 
kingly  power  and  office  that  the  work 
was  to  be  dpne  which  John  is  now  about 
to  describe,  And  in  his  hand  a  sharp 
sickle.  The  word  sickle  here — Spinavov 
—  means  a  crooked  knife  or  scythe  for 
gathering  the  harvest,  or  vintage,  by 
cutting  off  the  clusters  of  grapes.  See 
ver.  17.  The  image  of  a  harvest  is  often 
employed  in  the  New  Testament  to  de¬ 
scribe  moral  subjects.  Matt.  ix.  37,  38, 
xiii.  30,  39;  Mark  iv.  29;  Luke  x.  2; 


[A.  D.  96. 

of  the  temple,  crying  with  a  loud 
voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud, 
Thrust  *  in  thy  sickle,  and  reap: 
for  the  time  is  come  for  thee  to 
reap :  for  the  harvest *  of  the  earth 
is  “ripe. 

c  Je.  51.  33;  Mat.  13.  39.  d  Or,  dried. 

John  iv.  35.  Here  the  reference  is  to 
the  consummation  of  all  things,  when 
the  great  harvest  of  the  world  will  be 
reaped,  and  when  all  the  enemies  of  the 
church  will  be  cut  off  —  for  that  is  the 
grand  idea  which  is  kept  before  the 
mind  in  this  chapter.  In  various  forms, 
and  by  various  images,  that  idea  had 
already  been  presented  to  the  mind,  but 
here  it  is  introduced  in  a  grand  closing 
image,  as  if  the  grain  of  the  harvest- 
field  were  gathered  in  —  illustrating  the 
reception  of  the  righteous  into  the  king¬ 
dom — and  the  fruit  of  the  vineyard  were 
thrown  into  the  wine-press,  representing 
the  manner  in  which  the  wicked  would 
be  crushed  (vs.  19,  20). 

15.  And  another  angel.  The  fourth 
in  order,  vs.  6,  8,  9.  Came  out  of  the 
temple.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xi.  19.  'Came, 
as  it  were,  from  the  immediate  presence 
of  God ;  for  the  temple  was  regarded  as 
his  peculiar  dwelling-place,  Crying 
with  a  loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the 
cloud.  To  the  Messiah,  ver.  14.  That 
is,  the  command  was  borne  directly  from 
God  by  the  angel  to  the  Messiah,  to  go 
forth  and  reap  the  great  harvest  of  the 
world.  It  is  not  a  command  of  the  angel, 
but  a  command  from  God  the  Father  to 
the  Son.  This  is  in  accordance  with  all 
the  representations  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  that  the  Son  as  Messiah  or  Re¬ 
deemer  is  subordinate  to  the  Father, 
and  performs  the  work  which  has  been 
given  him  to  do.  See  John  iii.  16,  17, 
v.  19,  x.  18,  xii.  49,  xiv.  31.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Rev.  i.  1.  Thrust  in  thy 
sickle,  and  reap.  Into  the  great  harvest 
of  the  world.  For  the  time  is  come  for 
thee  to  reap.  That  is,  ‘the  harvest  which 
thou  art  to  reap  is  ripe ;  the  seed  which 
thou  hast  sown  has  grown  up ;  the  earth 
which  thou  hast  cultivated  has  produced 
this  golden  grain,  and  it  is  fit  that  thou 
shouldst  now  gather  it  in.’  This  lan¬ 
guage  is  appropriately  addressed  to  the 
Son  of  God,  for  all  the  fruits  of  righte¬ 
ousness  on  the  earth  may  be  regarded 
as  the  result  of  his  culture,  For  the 


A.  D.  9fc.j 

16  And  h©  that  sat  on  the  cloud 
thrust  in  his  sickle  on  the  earth ; 
and  the  earth  was  reaped. 

17  And  another  angel  came  out 
of  the  temple  which  is  in  heaven, 
he  also  having  a  sharp  sickle. 

18  And  another  angel  came  out 
from  the  altar,  which  had  power 
over  fire:  and  cried  with  a  loud 
cry  to  him  that  had  the  sharp 

harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.  The  ‘har¬ 
vest’  in  reference  to  the  righteous  —  the 
fruit  of  the  good  seed  sown  by  the  Sa¬ 
viour  and  his  apostles  and  ministers. 
The  time  alluded  to  here  is  the  end  of 
the  world,  when  the  affairs  of  earth  shall 
be  about  to  be  wound  up.  The  design 
is  to  state  that  the  Redeemer  will  then 
gather  in  a  great  and  glorious  harvest, 
and  by  this  assurance  to  sustain  the 
hearts  of  his  people  in  times  of  trial  and 
persecution. 

16.  And  he  that  sat  on  the  cloud.  The 
Saviour,  ver.  14.  f  Thrust  in  his  sickle 
on  the  earth.  To  cut  down  the  harvest; 
that  is,  to  gather  his  people  to  himself 
IF  And  the  earth  was  reaped.  So  far  as 
the  righteous  were  concerned.  The  end 
had  come;  the  church  was  redeemed; 
the  work  contemplated  was  accom¬ 
plished;  and  the  results  of  the  work  of 
the  Saviour  were  like  a  glorious  harvest. 

17.  And  another  angel.  The  fifth  in 
order.  This  angel  came  for  a  different 
purpose  —  with  reference  to  the  cutting 
off  of  the  enemies  of  God,  represented 
by  the  gathering  of  a  vintage.  Comp 
Matt.  xiii.  41,  xxiv.  31.  f  Came  out  of 
the  temple  which  is  in  heaven.  Sent,  or 
commissioned  by  God.  See  Notes  on 
ver.  15.  He  also  having  a  sharp 
sickle.  On  the  word  sickle,  see  Notes 
on  ver.  14. 

18.  And  another  angel.  The  sixth  in 
order.  He  came,  like  the  angel  in  ver. 
15,  with  a  command  to  him  who  had  the 
sickle  to  go  forth  and  execute  his  com¬ 
mission.  Came  out  from  the  altar. 
This  stood  in  the  front  of  the  temple 
(see  Notes  on  Matt.  xxi.  12,  comp.  Notes 
on  Matt.  v.  23,  24),  and  was  tho  place 
where  burnt-sacrifices  were  made.  As 
the  work  now  to  be  done  was  a  work  of 
destruction,  this  was  an  appropriate 
place  in  the  representation,  f  Which 
had  power  overfire.  As  if  he  kept  the 


387 

sickle,  saying,  •  Thrust  in  thy  sharp 
sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters  of 
the  vine  of  the  earth ;  for  her  grapes 
are  fully  ripe. 

.  19  And  the  angel  thrust  in  hi3 
sickle  into  the  earth,  and  gathered 
the  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it 
into  the  great  wine-press  b  of  the 
wrath  of  God. 

°  Ter- 15-  h  c.  19. 15. 


fire  on  the  altar.  Fire  is  the  usual  em¬ 
blem  of  destruction ;  and  as  the  work 
now  to  be  done  was  such,  it  was  proper 
to  represent  this  angel  as  engaged  in  it. 
IF  And  cried  with  a  loud  cry,  &c.  See 
ver.  15.  That  is,  he  came  forth  as  with 
a  command  from  God,  to  call  on  him 
who  was  appointed  to  do  the  work  of 
destruction,  now  to  engage  in  perform¬ 
ing  it.  The  time  had  fully  come. 
1  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle.  Ver.  15. 
^  And  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of 
the  earth.  That  portion  of  the  earth 
which  might  be  represented  by  a  vine¬ 
yard  in  which  the  grapes  were  to  be 
gathered  and  crushed.  The  image  here 
employed  occurs  elsewhere  to  denote  the 
destruction  of  the  wicked.  See  the  very 
beautiful  description  in  Isa.  lxiii.  1-6, 
respecting  the  destruction  of  Edom,  and 
the  Notes  on  that  passage.  For  her 
grapes  are  fully  ripe.  That  is,  the  time 
has  come  for  the  ingathering ;  or,  to 
apply  the  image,  for  the  winding  up  of 
human  affairs  by  the  destruction  of  the 
wicked.  The  time  here,  as  in  the  pre¬ 
vious  representation,  is  the  end  of  the 
world;  and  the  design  is  to  comfort  the 
church  in  its  trials  and  persecutions,  by 
the  assurance  that  all  its  enemies  will 
be  cut  off. 

19.  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle 
into  the  earth.  That  is,  into  that  part 
of  the  earth  which  might  be  represented 
by  a  vineyard ;  or  the  earth  considered 
as  having  been  the  abode  of  wicked  men. 

IF  And  cast  it  into  the  great  wine-press 
of  the  wrath  of  God.  See  Isa.  lxiii.  1-6. 
That  is,  the  wine-press  where  the  grapes 
are  crushed,  and  where  the  juice,  resem¬ 
bling  blood,  flows  out,  may  bo  used  as  a 
symbol  to  denote  the  destruction  of  tho 
wicked  in  the  last  day;  and  as  the  num¬ 
bers  will  be  immensely  great,  it  is  called 
the  ‘  great  wine-press  of  divine  wrath.’ 
The  symbol  appears  to  be  used  here 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


388 


REVELATION. 


[A.  D.  98. 


20  And  the  wine-press  was  trod¬ 
den  °  without b  the  city,  and  blood « 
came  out  of  the  wine-press,  even  d 
a  Is.  68.  3.  b  He.  13. 11, 12. 


alike  with  reference  to  the  color  of  the 
wine  resembling  blood,  and  the  pressure 
necessary  to  force  it  out ;  and  thus  em¬ 
ployed,  it  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
emblems  conceivable  to  denote  the  final 
destruction  of  the  wicked. 

20.  And  the  wine-press  was  trodden 
without  the  city.  The  representation  was 
made  as  if  it  were  outside  of  the  city ; 
that  is,  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  for  that  is 
represented  as  the  abode  of  the  holy. 
The  word  trodden  refers  to  the  manner 
in  which  wine  was  usually  prepared,  by 
being  trodden  by  the  feet  of  men.  See 
Notes  on  Isa.  lxiii.  2.  The  wine-press 
was  usually  in  the  vineyard  —  not  in  a 
city — and  this  is  the  representation  here. 
As  appearing  to  the  eye  of  John,  it  was 
not  within  the  walls  of  any  city,  but 
standing  without.  And  blood  came 
out  of  the  wine-press.  The  representa¬ 
tion  is,  that  there  would  be  a  great  de¬ 
struction  which  would  be  well  represented 
by  the  juice  flowing  from  a  wine-press. 

Even  unto  the  horse-bridles.  Deep — 
as  blood  would  be  in  a  field  of  slaughter 
where  it  would  come  up  to  the  very  bri¬ 
dles  of  the  horses.  The  idea  is,  that 
there  would  be  a  great  slaughter.  By 
the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred 
furlongs.  That  is,  two  hundred  miles  ; 
covering  a  space  two  hundred  miles 
square  —  a  lake  of  blood.  This  is  de¬ 
signed  to  represent  a  great  slaughter ; 
but  why  the  space  here  employed  to 
describe  it  was  chosen  is  unknown. 
Some  have  supposed  that  it  was  in  allu¬ 
sion  to  the  length  of  Palestine.  Prof. 
Stuart  supposes  that  it  refers  to  the 
breadth  of  Italy,  and  that  the  allusion 
is  to  the  attack  made  on  the  city  of  the 
beast.  But  it  is  impossible  to  determine 
why  this  space  was  chosen,  and  it  is  un¬ 
necessary.  The  idea  is,  that  there  would 
be  a  slaughter  so  great,  as  it  were,  as  to 
produce  a  lake  or  sea  of  blood ;  that  the 
enemies  of  the  church  would  be  com¬ 
pletely  and  finally  overthrown,  and  that 
the  ehurch,  therefore,  delivered  from  all 
its  enemies,  would  be  triumphant. 

The  design  of  this,  as  of  the  previous 
representation*  in  this  chapter,  is  to 
show  that  all  the  enemies  of  God  will 


unto  the  horse-bridles,  by  the  space 
of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  fur¬ 
longs. 

e  Is.  34.  7.  d  c.  19. 14. 


be  destroyed,  and  that,  therefore,  the 
hearts  of  the  friends  of  religion  should 
be  cheered  and  consoled  in  the  trials 
and  persecutions  which  were  to  come 
upon  it.  What  could  be  better  fitted  to 
sustain  the  church  in  the  time  of  trial, 
than  the  assurance  that  every  foe  will 
be  ultimately  cut  off?  What  is  better 
fitted  to  sustain  the  heart  of  the  indi¬ 
vidual  believer  than  the  assurance  that 
all  his  foes  will  be  quelled,  and  that  he 
will  be  ere  long  safe  in  heaven  ? 

CHAPTER  XV. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  has  a  close  connexion  in 
design  with  the  previous  chapter.  In 
that,  pledges  and  assurances  had  been 
given  that  all  the  enemies  of  religion 
would  be  cut  off,  and  that  the  church 
would  be  ultimately  triumphant,  and  par¬ 
ticularly  that  that  formidable  Antichris¬ 
tian  power  represented  by  the  ‘  beast' 
would  be  destroyed.  This  chapter  com¬ 
mences  the  statement  in  regard  to  the 
manner  in  which  these  pledges  would  be 
accomplished,  and  the  statement  is  pur¬ 
sued  through  the  subsequent  chapters, 
giving  in  detail  what  is  here  promised  in 
a  general  manner.  The  vision  in  this 
chapter  may  be  thus  described  : — 

I.  The  writer  sees  a  new  sign  or  won¬ 
der  in  heaven.  Seven  angels  appear, 
having  the  seven  last  plagues  that  fill  up 
or  complete  the  wrath  of  God;  represent¬ 
ing  the  wrath  that  is  to  come  upon  the 
beast,  or  the  complete  overthrow  of  this 
formidable  Antichristian  power,  ver.  1. 

II.  Those  who  in  former  times  had 
‘  gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast,’  now 
appear  standing  on  a  sea  of  glass,  re¬ 
joicing  and  rendering  thanks  for  the 
assurance  that  this  great  enemy  of  the 
church  was  now  to  be  destroyed,  and 
that  now  all  nations  were  to  come  and 
worship  before  God,  vs.  2—4. 

III.  The  writer  sees  the  interior  of  the 
temple  opened  in  heaven,  and  the  seven 
angels,  having  the  seven  plagues,  issuing 
forth  to  execute  their  commission.  They 
come  clothed  in  pure  and  white  linen, 
and  girded  with  golden  girdles.  One  of 


CHAPTER  XV. 


889 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XY. 

AND  I  saw  another  sign  in  hea¬ 
ven,  great  and  marvellous, 
seven  angels  having  the  seven  last 


the  four  beasts  before  the  throne  forth¬ 
with  gives  them  the  seven  golden  vials 
full  of  the  wrath  of  God,  to  empty  them 
upon  the  earth,  that  is,  to  bring  upon 
the  beast  the  predicted  destruction.  The 
temple  is  immediately  filled  with  smoke, 
so  that  no  one  might  enter;  that  is,  no 
one  could  now  approach  to  make  inter¬ 
cession,  and  the  destruction  of  this  great 
enemy’s  power  is  now  certain,  vs.  5-8. 

This  chapter,  therefore,  is  merely  in¬ 
troductory  to  what  follows,  and  its  inter¬ 
pretation  is  attended  with  no  particular 
difficulty.  It  is  a  beautiful  scenic  rep¬ 
resentation  preparatory  to  the  infliction 
of  predicted  judgments,  and  designed 
to  introduce  the  account  of  those  judg¬ 
ments  with  suitable  circumstances  of  so¬ 
lemnity. 

1.  And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven. 
Another  wonder,  or  extraordinary  sym¬ 
bol.  The  word  sign  here  —  trngeios  —  is 
the  same  which  in  chs.  xii.  1,  3,  xiii.  13, 
is  rendered  wonder  and  wonders,  and  in 
chs.  xiii.  14,  xvi.  14,  xix.  20,  miracles. 
The  word  is  not  elsewhere  found  in  the 
book  of  Revelation,  though  it  is  of  fre¬ 
quent  occurrence  in  other  parts  of  the 
New  Testament.  See  it  explained  in  the 
Notes  on  ch.  xii.  1.  Here  it  is  used  to 
denote  something  wonderful  or  marvel¬ 
lous.  This  is  represented  as  appearing 
in  heaven,  for  the  judgments  that  were 
to  fall  upon  the  world  were  to  come 
thence.  Comp.  ch.  xi.  19,  xii.  1,  xiv.  1, 
6,  13,  14,  17.  Great  and  marvellous. 
Great  and  wonderful,  or  fitted  to  excite 
admiration — Savgaardv.  The  subsequent 
statements  fully  justify  this,  and  show 
that  the  vision  was  one  of  portentous 
character,  and  that  was  fitted  to  hold  the 
mind  in  astonishment.  ^  Seven  angels. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  i.  4.  f  Having  the 
seven  last  plagues.  The  article  here,  ‘the 
seven  last  plagues,’  would  seem  to  imply 
that  the  plagues  referred  to  had  been 
before  specified,  or  that  it  would  be  at 
once  understood  what  is  referred  to. 
These  plagues,  however,  have  not  been 
mentioned  before,  and  the  reason  why 
the  article  is  used  here  seems  to  bo  this : 
the  destruction  of  this  great  Antichristian 
powor  had  been  distinctly  mentioned,  ch. 
33  * 


plagues:  for  in  them  is  filled  up  the 
wrath  °  of  God. 

2  And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea 4  of 

a  c.  14. 10.  b  c.  4.  6. 


xiv.  That  might  be  spoken  of  as  a  thing 
now  well  known,  and  the  mention  of  it 
would  demand  the  article;  and  as  that 
was  well  known,  and  would  demand  the 
article,  so  any  allusion  to  it,  or  descrip¬ 
tion  of  it,  might  be  spoken  of  in  the  same 
manner,  as  a  thing  that  was  definite  and 
fixed,  and  hence  the  mention  of  the 
plagues  by  which  it  was  to  be  accom¬ 
plished,  would  be  referred  to  in  the  same 
manner.  The  word  plagues  —  nXtjyds, 
from  T\rjyn  —  means  properly  a  wound 
caused  by  a  stripe  or  blow,  and  is  fre¬ 
quently  rendered  stripe  and  stripes. 
Luke  xii.  48 ;  Acts  xvi.  23,  33  ;  2  Cor. 
vi.  5,  xi.  23.  It  does  not  elsewhere  oc¬ 
cur  in  the  New  Testament  except  in  the 
book  of  Revelation.  In  this  book  it  is 
rendered  wound  in  ch.  xiii.  3, 12,  14;  and 
plagues  in  ch.  ix.  20,  xi.  6,  xv.  1,  6,  8, 
xvi.  9,  21,  xviii.  4,  8,  xxi.  9,  xxii.  18.  It 
does  not  occur  elsewhere.  The  secondary 
meaning  of  the  word,  and  the  meaning 
in  the  passage  before  us,  is  a  stripe  or 
blow  inflicted  by  God;  calamity  or  pun¬ 
ishment.  The  word  ‘last’  means  those 
under  which  the  order  of  things  here  re¬ 
ferred  to  would  terminate;  the  winding 
up  of  the  affairs  respecting  the  beast  and 
his  image, — not  necessarily  the  closing 
of  the  affairs  of  the  world.  Important 
events  were  to  occur  subsequent  to  the 
destruction  of  this  Antichristian  power 
(xix.-xxii.),  but  these  were  the  plagues 
which  would  come  finally  upon  the  beast 
and  his  image,  and  which  would  termi¬ 
nate  the  existence  of  this  formidable 
enemy.  <[*  For  in  them  is  filled  up  the 
wrath  of  God.  That  is,  in  regard  to  the 
beast  and  his  image.  All  the  expressions, 
of  the  divine  indignation  towards  that 
oppressive  and  persecuting  power  will 
he  completed  or  exhausted  by  the  pour¬ 
ing  out  of  the  contents  of  these  vials. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  x.  7,  where  the  word 
rendered  filled  up — irtXwSn — is  rendered 
finished. 

2.  And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass. 
In  ch.  iv.  6,  a  similar  vision  is  recorded— 
“And  before  the  throne  there  was  a  sea 
of  glass,  like  unto  a  crystal.”  See  the 
Notes  on  that  passage.  The  sea  of  glass 
hero  means  a  sea  clear,  pellucid,  like 


390 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


glass  mingled  with  fire:  °  and  them 

that  had  gotten  the  victory  over  b 
the  beast,  and  over  his  image,  and 
over  his  mark,  and  over  the  number 
a  Is.  4. 4,  5.  b  c.  13. 15-17. 


glass :  an  expanse  that  seemed  to  be 
made  of  glass.  There  it  was  entirely 
•vie nr ;  here  it  is  mingled  with  fire. 

Mingled  with  fire.  That  is,  a  portion 
of  the  sea  was  red  like  fire.  It  was  not 
all  clear  and  pellucid,  as  in  ch.  iv.  6,  but 
It  was,  as  it  were,  a  tesselated  expanse, 
composed  in  part  of  what  seemed  to  be 
glass,  and  in  part  of  a  material  of  a  red 
or  fiery  color.  In  the  former  case  (ch. 
iv.  6),  the  emblem  was  designed  to  repre¬ 
sent  the  pure  worship  of  heaven  without 
reference  to  any  other  symbolic  design, 
and  hence  the  sea  is  wholly  clear  and  pel¬ 
lucid;  here,  in  connexion  with  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  furnishing  an  appropriate  symbol 
of  the  divine  majesty,  there  is  united 
the  idea  of  punishment  on  the  foes 
of  God,  represented  by  the  fiery  or  red 
color.  If  it  is  proper,  from  conjecture, 
to  suggest  the  meaning  of  this  as  an  em¬ 
blem,  it  would  be  that  the  foundation  — 
the  main  element — of  all  the  divine  deal¬ 
ings  is  justice  or  holiness — represented 
by  the  portion  of  the  sea  that  seemed  to 
be  glass ;  and  that  there  was,  in  this  case, 
intermingled  with  that,  the  image  of 
wrath  or  anger — represented  by  the  por¬ 
tion  that  was  fiery  or  red.  The  very 
sight  of  the  pavement,  therefore,  on  which 
they  stood  when  worshipping  God  would 
keep  before  their  minds  impressive  views 
of  his  character  and  dealings.  f  And 
them  that  had  gotten  the  victory  over  the 
least.  Ch.  xiii.  11.  That  is,  they  who 
had  gained  a  victory  in  times  of  persecu¬ 
tion  and  temptation  ;  or  they  whom  the 
‘  beast’  had  not  been  able  by  arts  or  arms 
to  subdue.  The  persons  referred  to  here, 
I  suppose,  are  those  who  in  the  long  do¬ 
minion  of  the  Papal  power,  and  amidst 
all  its  arts  and  corruptions  —  its  threats 
and  persecutions  —  had  remained  stead¬ 
fast  in  the  truth,  and  who  might  thus  be 
said  to  have  gained  a  victory  —  for  such 
victories  of  piety,  virtue,  and  truth, 
amidst  the  corrupting  influences  of  sin 
and  error,  and  the  intimidations  of  power, 
are  the  most  important  that  are  gained 
in  this  world.  And  over  his  image. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  14, 15.  The  mean¬ 
ing  is,  that  they  had  not  been  led  to 


of  his  name,  stand  on  the  sea  of 
glass,  having  the  harps  c  of  God. 

3  And  they  sing  the  song  of 
Moses  d  the  servant  of  God,  and  the 
c  c.  14.  2.  d  Ex.  15. 1-19.  De.  32. 1-43. 


apostatize  by  the  dread  of  the  power  re¬ 
presented  here  by  the  ‘  image  of  the 
beast.’  In  all  the  attempts  of  that  power 
to  subdue  them — to  intimidate  them — to 
induce  them  to  give  up  their  attachment 
to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus —  they  had 
remained  steadfast  in  the  faith,  and  had 
triumphed.  And  over  his  mark.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  16.  Over  all  the  at¬ 
tempts  of  the  beast  to  fix  his  mark  upon 
them,  or  to  designate  them  as  his  own. 

And  over  the  number  of  his  name.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  17,  18.  Over  all  the 
attempts  to  fix  upon  them  that  myste¬ 
rious  number  which  expressed  his  name. 
The  general  sense  is,  that  in  times  of 
general  error  and  corruption ;  when  the 
true  friends  of  Christ  were  exposed  to 
persecution  ;  when  every  effort  was  made 
to  induce  them  to  become  the  followers 
of  the  ‘  beast,’  and  to  yield  to  the  corrupt 
system  represented  by  the  ‘  beast,’  they 
remained  unmoved,  and  adhered  firmly 
to  the  truth.  The  number  of  such  in  the 
aggregate  was  not  small ;  and  with  great 
beauty  and  propriety  they  are  here  repre¬ 
sented  as  rejoicing  and  giving  thanks  to 
God  on  the  overthrow  of  that  corrupt 
and  formidable  power.  Stand  on  the 
sea  of  glass.  That  is,  before  God.  They 
are  now  seen  in  heaven,  redeemed  and 
triumphant.  Having  the  harps  of  God. 
Harps  that  pertained  to  the  worship  of 
God ;  harps  to  be  employed  in  his  praise. 
See  Notes  on  eh.  xiv.  2. 

3.  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the 
servant  of  God.  A  song  of  thanksgiving 
and  praise,  such  as  Moses  taught  the 
Hebrew  people  to  sing  after  their  de¬ 
liverance  from  Egyptian  bondage.  See 
Ex.  xv.  The  meaning  here  is  not  that 
they  would  sing  that  identical  song,  but 
that  as  Moses  taught  the  people  to  cele¬ 
brate  their  deliverance  with  an  appro¬ 
priate  hymn  of  praise,  the  redeemed 
would  celebrate  their  delivery  and  re¬ 
demption  in  a  similar  manner.  There 
is  an  obvious  propriety  here  in  referring 
to  the  ‘  Song  of  Moses,’  because  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  are  very  similar;  the  occasion 
of  the  redemption  from  that  formidable 
Antichristian  power  here  referred  to  had 


CHAPTER  XV. 


391 


A.  D.  96.] 

song  of  the  Lamb,  °  saying,  Great 
and  marvellous  are  thy  works, 
Lord  God  Almighty;  just  and 
true  are  thy  ways, b  thou  King 
of c  saints. 

a  c.  14.  3.  b  Hos.  14.  9. 

c  Or,  nations,  or,  ages.  d  Je.  10. 17. 


a  strong  resemblance  to  the  rescue  from 
Egyptian  bondage,  f  And  the  song  of 
the  Lamb.  The  hymn  which  is  sung  in 
honor  of  the  Lamb,  as  their  great 
deliverer.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  v.  9,  10, 
12,  13.  Saying,  Oreat  and  marvellous 
are  thy  works.  See  Notes  on  ver.  1. 
The  meaning  is,  that  great  'power  was 
evinced  in  redeeming  them;  and  that 
the  interposition  of  the  divine  goodness 
in  doing  it  was  marvellous,  or  was  such 
as  to  excite  wonder  and  admiration. 
If  Lord  God  Almighty.  This  would 
seem  to  mean  the  same  thing  as  the  ex¬ 
pression  so  common  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment,  ‘  Jehovah,  God  of  hosts.’  The 
union  of  these  appellations  gives  solem¬ 
nity  and  impressiveness  to  the  ascrip¬ 
tion  of  praise,  for  it  brings  into  view  the 
fact  that  he  whose  praise  is  celebrated  is 
Lord — the  Jehovah — the  uncreated  and 
eternal  One;  that  he  is  God  —  the  Cre¬ 
ator,  upholder,  and  Sovereign  of  all 
things;  and  that  he  is  Almighty — having 
all  power  in  all  worlds.  All  these 
names  and  attributes  are  suggested  when 
we  think  of  redemption ;  for  all  the  per¬ 
fections  of  a  glorious  God  are  suggested 
in  the  redemption  of  the  soul  from 
death.  It  is  the  Lord — the  Ruler  of  all 
worlds;  it  is  God  —  the  Maker  of  the 
race,  and  the  Father  of  the  race,  who 
performs  the  work  of  redemption ;  and 
it  is  a  work  which  could  be  accomplished 
only  by  one  who  is  Almighty.  ^  Just 
and  true.  The  attributes  of  justice  and 
truth  are  brought  prominently  into  view 
also  in  the  redemption  of  man.  The 
fact  that  God  is  just,  and  that  in  all  this 
work  he  has  been  careful  to  maintain 
his  justice  (Rom.  iii.  26);  and  the  fact 
that  he  is  true  to  himself,  true  to  the 
creation,  true  to  the  fulfilment  of  all  his 
promises,  are  prominent  in  this  work, 
and  it  is  proper  that  theso  attributes 
should  be  celebrated  in  the  songs  of 
praise  in  heaven.  ^  Are  thy  ways.  Thy 
ways  or  dealings  with  us,  and  with  the 
enemies  of  the  church.  That  is,  all  the 
acts  or  ‘  ways’  of  God  in  the  redemption 


4  Who  d  shall  not  fear  thee,  O 
Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name?  for 
thou  only  •  art  holy :  for  all  /  nations 
shall  come  and  worship  before 
thee ;  for  thy  judgments  are  made 
manifest. 

e  1  Sa.  2.  2.  /  Is.  45.  23, 

of  his  people  had  been  characterized  by 
justice  and  truth,  f  Thou  king  of 
saints.  King  of  those  who  are  holy ;  of 
all  who  are  redeemed  and  sanctified. 
The  more  approved  reading  here,  how¬ 
ever,  is,  King  of  nations — 5  (3aoi\tis  rtiv 
tdvuiv — instead  of  King  of  saints — twv 
kyiwv.  So  it  is  read  in  the  critical  edi¬ 
tions  of  Griesbach,  Tittmann,  and  Hahn. 
The  sense  is  not  materially  affected  by 
the  difference  in  the  reading. 

4.  Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  0  Lord. 
Reverence  and  adore  thee ;  for  the  word 
fear  in  the  Scriptures  is  commonly  used 
in  this  sense  when  applied  to  God.  The 
sense  here  is,  that  the  judgments  about 
to  be  inflicted  on  the  beast  and  his 
image  should,  and  would  teach  men  to 
reverence  and  adore  God.  There  is, 
perhaps,  included  here  also  the  idea  of 
awe,  inasmuch  as  this  would  be  the 
effect  of  punishment,  f  And  glorify 
thy  name.  Honor  thee — the  name  being 
put  for  the  person  who  bare  it.  The 
sense  is  that,  as  a  consequence  of  these 
judgments,  men  would  be  brought  to 
honor  God,  and  to  acknowledge  him  as 
the  Ruler  of  the  earth.  For  thou 
only  art  holy.  That  is,  in  these  judg¬ 
ments  he  would  show  himself  to  be  a 
holy  God ;  a  God  hating  sin,  and  loving 
righteousness  and  truth.  When  it  is 
said  that  he  ‘  only’  is  holy,  the  expres¬ 
sion  is  used,  of  course,  in  a  comparative 
sense.  He.  is  so  pure  that  it  may  be 
said  that,  in  comparison  with  him,  no 
one  else  is  holy.  Comp.  Notes  on  Job 
iv.  18,  xv.  15.  For  all  nations  shall 
eome  and  worship  before  thee.  That  is, 
as  the  result  of  these  punishments  in¬ 
flicted  on  this  dread  Antichristian  power, 
they  shall  come  and  worship  thee. 
Everywhere  in  the  New  Testament  the 
destruction  of  that  power  is  connected 
with  the  promise  of  the  speedy  conver¬ 
sion  of  the  world.  For  thy  judgments 
are  made  manifest.  To  wit,  on  the 
beast.  That  formidable  power  is  over¬ 
thrown,  and  the  grand  hindrance  to  the 
universal  spread  of  the  true  religion  is 


392 


REVELATION,  I  A.  D.  96. 


5  And  after  that  I  looked,  and, 
behold,  the  temple  °  of  the  taber¬ 
nacle  of  the  testimony  in  heaven 
was  opened^- 

6  And  >!ne  seven  angels  came 

a  e.  11. 19. 


now  taken  awaj?  Comp.  Notea  on  Isa. 
xxvi.  9. 

5.  And  after  that  I  looked,  Ac.  After 
I  had  seen  in  vision  the  redeemed  thus 
referred  to,  celebrating  the  praises  of 
God,  I  saw  the  preparation  made  for  the 
execution  of  these  purposes  of  judgment. 

And  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of  the 
testimony.  Not  the  whole  temple,  but 
only  that  part  to  which  this  name  was 
given.  The  word  tabernacle  —  okt/v#  — 
means  properly  a  booth,  hut,  tent,  and 
was  the  name  commonly  given  to  the 
tent  or  tabernacle  that  was  erected  in 
the  wilderness  for  the  service  of  God. 
See  Notes  on  Acts  vii.  44.  The  same 
word  came  naturally  to  be  applied  to  the 
temple  that  was  reared  for  the  same 
purpose  in  Jerusalem.  It  is  called  the 
‘  tabernacle  of  testimony,’  because  it  was 
a  testimony  or  witness  of  the  presence  of 
God  among  the  people — that  is,  it  served 
to  keep  up  the  remembrance  of  him. 
See  Notes  as  above  on  Acts  vii.  44, 
where  the  same  Greek  phrase  is  used  as 
here  —  rendered  there  '  tabernacle  of 
witness .’  The  word  temple  here— ‘-vabg — 
does  not  refer  to  the  whole  of  the  build¬ 
ing  called  the  '  temple,’  but  to  the  Holy 
of  Holies.  See  Notes  on  Heb.  ix.  3. 
This  was  regarded  as  the  peculiar 
dwelling-place  of  God,  and  it  was  this 
sacred  place,  usually  closed  from  all 
access,  that  now  seemed  to  be  opened, 
implying  that  the  command  to  execute 
these  purposes  came  directly  from  God 
himself.  In  heaven.  That  is,  that 
part  of  heaven  which  corresponds  to  the 
most  holy  place  in  the  temple  was 
opened ;  to  wit,  that  which  is  the  pecu¬ 
liar  residence  of  God  himself.  Was 
opened.  Was  thrown  open  to  the  view 
of  John,  so  that  he  was  permitted  to  look, 
as  it  were,  upon  the  very  dwelling-place 
of  God.  From  his  holy  presence  now 
came  forth  the  angels  to  execute  his 
purposes  of  judgment  on  that  Anti¬ 
christian  power  which  had  so  long 
corrupted  religion,  and  oppressed  the 
world. 

8.  And  the  seven  angels.  See  Notes 


out  of  the  temple,  having  the  seven 
plagues,  clothed  in  pure  and  white 
linen,  and  having  their  breasts 
girded  with  golden  girdles. 

7  And  one  of  the  four  beasts 
gave  unto  the  seven  angels  seven 


on  ver.  1.  Game  out  of  the  temple. 
Were  seen  to  come  from  the  temple; 
that  is,  from  the  immediate  presence  of 
God.  Having  the  seven  plagues.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  1.  Each  one  entrusted 
with  a  single  'plague’  to  be  executed 
upon  the  earth.  The  meaning  here  is, 
that  they  were  designated  or  appointed 
to  execute  those  plagues  in  judgments. 
The  symbols  of  their  office  —  the  golden 
vials  —  were  given  to  them  afterwards, 
ver.  7.  Clothed  in  pure  and  tchite 
linen.  The  emblem  of  holiness  —  the 
common  representation  in  regard  to  the 
heavenly  inhabitants.  See  Notes  on  eh. 
iii.  4,  vii.  13.  Comp.  Matt.  xvii.  2; 
Luke  ix.  29,  Mark  xvi.  5.  And  having 
their  breasts  girded  with  golden  girdles. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  13.  The  meaning  is, 
that  they  were  attired  in  a  manner  be¬ 
fitting  their  rank  and  condition. 

7.  And  one  of  the  four  beasts.  See 
Notes  on  eh.  iv.  6,  7.  Which  one  of 
the  four  is  not  mentioned.  From  the 
explanation  given  of  the  design  of  the 
representation  of  the  ‘four  beasts,’  or 
living  creatures,  in  the  Notes  on  ch.iv.  6, 
7,  it  would  seem  that  the  meaning  here 
is,  that  the  great  principles  of  the  divine 
government  would  be  illustrated  in  the 
events  which  are  now  to  occur.  In 
events  that  were  so  closely  connected 
with  the  honor  of  God  and  the  triumph 
of  his  cause  on  the  earth,  there  was  a 
propriety  in  the  representation  that  these 
living  creatures,  symbolizing  the  great 
principles  of  the  divine  administration, 
would  be  particularly  interested.  Gave 
unto  the  seven  angels  seven  golden  vials. 
The  word  here  used — (fnahn — means  pro¬ 
perly  ‘a  bowl  or  goblet,  having  more 
breadth  than  depth.’  Bob.  Lex.  Our 
word  vial,  though  derived  from  this, 
means  rather  a  thin,  long  bottle  of  glass 
used  particularly  by  apothecaries  and 
druggists.  The  word  would  be  better 
rendered  by  bowl  or  goblet,  and  probably 
the  representation  hero  was  of  such 
bowls  as  were  used  in  the  temple  ser¬ 
vice.  See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  8.  They  are 
called  in  ch.  xvi.  1,  *  vials  of  the  wrath 


V 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XVI. 


393 


golden  vials,  full  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  who  liveth  for  ever  and 
ever. 

8  And  the  temple  was  filled® 
with  smoke  from  the  glory  1  of 


of  God,-’  and  here  they  are  said  to  be 
*  full  of  the  wrath  of  God.’  The  allusion 
seems  to  be  to  a  drinking-cup  or  goblet 
filled  with  poison  and  given  to  persons 
to  drink  —  an  allusion  drawn  from  one 
of  the  methods  of  punishment  in  ancient 
times.  See  Notes  on-ch.  xiv.  10.  These 
vials  or  goblets  thus  became  emblems  of 
divine  wrath  to  be  inflicted  on  the  beast 
and  his  image,  f  Full  of  the  wrath  of 
God.  Filled  with  that  which  represent¬ 
ed  his  wrath ;  that  is,  they  seemed  to  be 
filled  with  a  poisonous  mixture,  which 
being  poured  upon  the  earth,  the  sea, 
the  rivers,  the  sun,  the  seat  of  the  beast, 
the  river  Euphrates,  and  into  the  air, 
was  followed  by  severe  divine  judg¬ 
ments  on  this  great  Antichristian  power. 
See  ch.  xvi.  2,  3,  4,  8,  10,  12,  17.  f  Who 
liveth  for  ever  and  ever.  The  eternal 
God.  The  particular  object  in  referring 
to  this  attribute  here  appears  to  be  that, 
though  there  may  seem  to  be  delay  in 
the  execution  of  his  purpose,  yet  they 
will  be  certainly  accomplished,  as  he  is 
the  ever-living  and  unchangeable  God. 
He  is  not  under  a  necessity  of  abandon¬ 
ing  his  purposes,  like  men,  if  they  are 
not  soon  accomplished. 

8.  And  the  temple  was  filled  with  smoke. 
The  usual  symbol  of  the  divine  presence 
in  the  temple.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  iv.  5, 
vi.  4.  f  From  the  glory  of  God.  From 
the  manifestation  of  the  divine  majesty. 
That  is,  the  smoke  was  the  proper  accom¬ 
paniment  of  the  divine  being  when  ap¬ 
pearing  in  majesty.  So  on  Mount  Sinai 
he  is  represented  as  appearing  in  this 
manner:  “And  Mount  Sinai  was  alto¬ 
gether  on  a  smoke,  because  the  Lord 
descended  on  it  in  fire :  and  the  smoke 
thereof  ascended  as  the  smoke  of  a  fur¬ 
nace,  and  the  whole  mount  quaked 
greatly.”  Ex.  xix.  18.  The  purpose 
here  seems  to  have  been  partly  to  repre¬ 
sent  the  smoke  as  the  proper  symbol  of 
the  divine  presence,  and  partly  to  repre¬ 
sent  it  as  so  filling  the  temple  that  no 
one  could  enter  it  until  the  seven  plagues 
were  fulfilled.  And  from,  his  power. 
Produced  by  his  power ;  and  the  symbol 
of  his  power.  And  no  man  was  able 


I  God,  and  from  his  power ;  and  no 
man  was  able  to  enter  into  the 
temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the 
seven  angels  were  fulfilled. 

a  Is.  6.  4.  _  j  PS.  29.  9. 


to  enter  into  the  temple,  till  the  seven 
plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were  fulfilled. 
Till  those  vials  had  been  poured  out,  and 
all  that  was  indicated  by  them  was  ac¬ 
complished.  The  meaning  here  seems 
to  be,  that  no  one  would  be  permitted  to 
enter  to  make  intercession — to  turn  away 
his  wrath  —  to  divert  him  from  his  pur¬ 
pose.  That  is,  the  purpose  of  punish¬ 
ment  had  been  formed,  and  would  cer¬ 
tainly  be  executed.  The  agents  or 
instrumentalities  in  this  fearful  work 
had  been  now  sent  forth,  and  they  would 
by  no  means  be  recalled.  The  mercy- 
seat,  in  this  respect,  was  inaccessible; 
the  time  of  judgment  on  the  great  foe 
had  come,  and  the  destruction  of  the 
grand  enemy  of  the  church  was  certain. 
The  point,  therefore,  at  which  this  vision 
leaves  us,  is  that  where  all  the  prepara¬ 
tions  are  made  for  the  infliction  of  the 
threatened  punishment  on  the  grand 
Antichristian  power  which  had  so  long 
stood  up  against  the  truth;  where  the 
agents  are  prepared  to  go  forth;  and 
where  no  intercession  will  ever  avail  to 
turn  away  the  infliction  of  the  divine 
wrath.  The  detail  follows  in  the  next 
chapter. 

CHAPTER  XYI. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

The  previous  chapter  had  described 
the  preparation  for  the  last  plagues  that 
were  to  come  upon  that  mighty  Anti¬ 
christian  power  to  which  this  series  of 
prophetic  visions  refers.  All  is  now 
ready;  and  this  chapter  contains  the 
description  of  those  seven  last  ‘plagues’ 
under  which  this  power  would  reel  and 
fall.  These  ‘plagues’  are  described  as 
if  they  were  a  succession  of  physical 
calamities  that  would  come  upon  this 
Antichristian  power,  and  bring  it  to  an 
end;  though,  perhaps,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  look  for  a  literal  infliction  of  such 
calamities.  The  course  of  the  exposition 
thus  far  will  lead  us  to  regard  this  chap¬ 
ter  as  a  description  of  the  successive 
blows  by  which  the  Papacy  will  fall.  A 
part  of  this  is  still  undoubtedly  future. 


394  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


AND  I  heard  a  great  voice  out 
of  the  temple  saying  to  the 
seven  ®  angels,  Go  your  ways,  and 
a  c.  15. 1,  7.  b  c.  8.  7. 


though  perhaps  not  far  distant;  and,  in 
reference  to  this,  and  to  some  portions 
of  the  remainder  of  the  Book,  there  may 
be  more  difficulty  in  satisfying  the  mind 
than  in  the  portions  -which  pertain  to 
past  events. 

The  chapter  comprises  statements  on 
the  following  points  :  — 

A  command  is  issued  from  the  temple 
to  the  seven  angels,  to  go  and  exe¬ 
cute  the  commission  with  which 
they  were  entrusted,  ver.  1. 

The  first  angel  pours  out  his  vial  upon 
the  earth  —  followed  by  a  plague 
upon  those  who  had  worshipped 
the  beast  and  his  image,  ver.  2. 

The  second  angel  pours  out  his  vial 
upon  the  sea — followed  by  the  death 
of  all  that  were  in  the  sea,  ver.  3. 

The  third  angel  pours  out  his  vial 
upon  the  rivers  and  fountains  of 
waters,  and  they  become  blood. 
This  is  followed  by  an  ascription  of 
praise  from  the  angel  of  the  waters, 
because  God  had  given  to  those 
who  had  shed  the  blood  of  the 
saints  blood  to  drink,  with  a  re¬ 
sponse  from  the  altar  that  this  was 
just,  vs.  4—7. 

The  fourth  angel  pours  out  his  vial 
upon  the  sun,  and  an  intenser  heat 
is  given  to  it  to  scorch  men.  The 
consequence  is,  that  they  blaspheme 
the  name  of  God,  but  repent  not  of 
their  sins,  vs.  8,  9. 

The  fifth  angel  pours  out  his  vial 
upon  the  very  seat  of  the  beast,  and 
his  kingdom  is  full  of  darkness. 
Men  still  blaspheme  the  name  of 
God,  and  repent  not  of  their  sins, 
vs.  10,  II. 

The  sixth  angel  pours  out  his  vial 
upon  the  great  river  Euphrates. 
The  consequence  is,  that  the  waters 
of  the  river  are  dried  up  so  that 
the  tyay  of  the  kings  of  the  East 
might  be  prepared.  The  writer  sees 
also,  in  this  connexion,  three  un¬ 
clean  spirits,  like  frogs,  come  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet, 
that  go  forth  into  all  the  earth  to 


pour  out  the  vials  of  the  wrath  of 
God  upon  the  earth. 

2  And  the  first  went,  and  poured 
out  his  vial  upon  the  earth ;  1  and 


gather  all  nations  to  the  great  day 
of  the  battle  of  God  Almighty,  vs. 
12-16. 

The  seventh  angel  pours  out  his  vial 
into  the  air,  and  a  voice  is  heard 
answering  that  ‘it  is  done:’  the 
time  of  the  consummation  has  come 
— the  formidable  Antichristian  pow¬ 
er  is  to  come  to  an  end.  The  great 
city  is  divided  into  three  parts  ;  the 
cities  of  the  nations  fall;  Great 
Babylon  thus  comes  up  in  remem¬ 
brance  before  God  to  receive  the 
punishment  which  is  her  due.  This 
terrific  scene  is  accompanied  with 
voices,  and  thunderings,  and  light¬ 
nings,  and  an  earthquake,  and  with 
great  hail — a  tempest  of  wrath  beat¬ 
ing  upon  that  formidable  power  that 
had  so  long  stood  up  against  God, 
vs.  17-21.  The  detail  of  the  actual 
destruction  of  this  power,  is  carried 
forward  in  the  subsequent  chapters. 

1.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the 

temple.  A  loud  voice  out  of  the  temple 
as  seen  in  heaven  (Notes  ch.  xi.  19),  and 
that  came,  therefore,  from  the  very  pre¬ 
sence  of  God.  Saying  to  the  seven 
angels.  That  had  the  seven  vials  of 
wrath.  Notes  ch.  xv.  1,  7.  \  Go  your 

way 8.  Your  respective  ways,  to  the  ful¬ 
filment  of  the  task  assigned  to  each, 

And  pour  out  the  vials  of  the  wrath  of 
od.  Empty  those  vials ;  cause  to  come 
upon  the  earth  the  plagues  indicated  by 
their  contents.  The  order  in  which  this 
was  to  be  done  is  not  intimated.  It 
seems  to  be  supposed  that  that  would  be 
understood  by  each.  Upon  the  earth. 
The  particular  part  of  the  earth  is  not 
here  specified,  but  it  should  not  be  in¬ 
ferred  that  it  was  to  be  upon  the  earth 
in  general,  or  that  there  were  any  cala¬ 
mities  in  consequence  of  this  pouring  out 
of  the  vials  of  wrath,  to  spread  over  the 
whole  world.  The  subsequent  state¬ 
ments  show  what  parts  of  the  earth 
were  particularly  to  be  affected. 

2.  And  the  first  went.  Went  forth 
from  heaven,  where  the  seat  of  the  vi¬ 
sion  was  laid.  And  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  earth.  That  is,  upon  the 
land,  in  contradistinction  from  the  sea, 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPT 

there  fell  a  noisome  and  grievous 
eore  “  upon  the  men  which  had  the 
a  Ex.  9.  8-11. 

the  rivers,  the  air,  the  seat  of  the  beast, 
the  sun,  as  represented  in  the  other  vials. 
In  ver.  1,  the  word  earth  is  used  in  the 
general  sense,  to  denote  this  world  as 
distinguished  from  heaven ;  in  this  verse 
it  is  used  in  the  specific  sense,  to  denote 
land  as  distinguished  from  other  things. 
Comp.  Mark  iv.  1,  vi.  47  ;  John  vi.  21 ; 
Acts  xxvii.  29,  43,  44.  In  many  re¬ 
spects  there  is  a  strong  resemblance 
between  the  pouring  out  of  these  seven 
vials,  and  the  sounding  of  the  seven 
trumpets,  in  chs.  viii.,  ix.,  though  they 
refer  to  different  events.  In  the  sound¬ 
ing  of  the  first  trumpet  (ch.  viii.  7),  it  was 
the  earth  that  was  particularly  affected, 
in  contradistinction  from  the  sea,  the 
fountains,  and  the  sun  :  “  The  first  angel 
sounded,  and  there  followed  hail  and  fire 
mingled  with  blood,  and  they  were  cast 
upon  the  earth.”  Comp.  ch.  viii.  8,  10, 
12.  In  regard  to  the  symbolical  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  term  earth,  considered  with 
reference  to  divine  judgments,  see  Notes 
on  eh.  viii.  7.  ^  And  there  fell  a 

noisome  and  grievous  sore.  The  judg¬ 
ment  here  is  specifically  different  from 
that  inflicted  under  the  first  trumpet,  ch. 
viii.  7.  There  it  is  said  to  have  been 
that  “the  third  part  of  trees  was  burnt 
up,  and  all  green  grass  was  burnt  up.” 
Here  it  is,  that  there  fell  upon  men  a 
‘  noisome  and  grievous  sore.’  The  two, 
therefore,  are  designed  to  refer  to  differ¬ 
ent  events,  and  to  different  forms  of 
punishment.  The  word  rendered  sore 
properly  denotes  a  wound,  Horn.  H.  xi. 
812,  and  then,  in  later  writers,  an  ulcer 
or  sore.  It  is  used  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  only  in  the  following  places :  Luke 
xvi.  21,  ‘the  dogs  came  and  licked  his 
sores,’  and  in  Rev.  xvi.  2,  11,  where  it  is 
rendered  sore,  and  sores.  It  is  used  in 
the  Septuagint,  in  reference  to  the  boils 
that  were  brought  upon  the  Egyptians, 
in  Ex.  ix.  9,  10,  11,  12,  and  probably 
Deut.  xxviii.  27;  in  reference  to  the 
leprosy,  Lev.  xiii.  18,  19,  20,  23 ;  in  re¬ 
ference  to  the  boil,  ulcer,  or  Elephantia¬ 
sis  brought  upon  Job,  Job  ii,  7;  and  in 
reference  to  any  sore  or  ulcer,  in  Deut. 
xxviii.  35.  In  all  these  places  it  is  the 

translation  of  the  word  pm>  — Shehhin — 
rendered  in  our  English  version,  boil, 


ER  xvi.  395 

mark  1  of  the  beast,  and  upon  them 
which  worshipped  his  image. 

b  c.  13. 15-17. 

Ex.  ix.  9,  10,  11,  Lev.  xiii.  18,  19,  20, 
23,  2  Kings  xx.  7,  Job  ii.  7,  Isa.  xxxviii. 
21,  and  botch,  Deut.  xxviii.  27,  35.  The 
proper  meaning,  therefore,  is  that  of  a 
sore,  ulcer,  or  boil  of  a  severe  and  pain¬ 
ful  character;  and  the  most  obvious 
reference  of  the  passage,  to  one  who  was 
accustomed  to  the  language  of  Scripture, 
would  be  to  some  fearful  plague  like  that 
which  was  sent  upon  the  Egyptians.  In 
the  case  of  Hezekiah  (2  Kings  xx.  7,  Isa. 
xxxviii.  21),  it  was  probably  used  to  de¬ 
note  a  plague-boil,  or  the  black  leprosy. 
See  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxviii.  21.  The  word 
‘  noisome’ — kokov,  evil,  bad — is  used  hero 
to  characterize  the  plague  referred  to  as 
being  peculiarly  painful  and  dangerous. 
The  word  grievous — irovtipiv,  bad,  malig¬ 
nant,  hurtful — is  further  used  to  increase 
the  intensity  of  the  expression,  and  to 
characterize  the  plague  as  particularly 
severe..  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  it  is  meant  that  this  would  be  lite¬ 
rally  inflicted,  any  more  than  it  is  in  the 
next  plague,  where  it  is  said  that  the 
‘rivers  and  fountains  became  blood.’ 
What  is  obviously  meant  is,  that  there 
would  be  some  calamity  which  would 
be  well  represented  or  symbolized  by 
such  a  fearful  plague,  f  Upon  the  men. 
Though  the  plague  was  poured  upon 
‘  the  earth,’  yet  its  effects  were  seen  upon 
‘men.’  Some  grievous  calamity  would 
befall  them,  as  if  they  were  suddenly 
visited  with  the  plague,  f  Which  had 
the  mark  of  the  beast.  Notes  ch.  xiii. 
16,  17.  This  determines  the  portion  of 
the  earth  that  was  to  be  afflicted.  It 
was  not  the  whole  world;  it  was  only 
that  part  of  it  where  the  ‘beast*  was 
honored.  According  to  the  interpreta¬ 
tion  proposed  in  ch.  xiii.,  this  refers  to 
those  who  are  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Papacy,  And  upon  them  which  wor¬ 
shipped  his  image.  See  Notes  ch.  xiii. 
14,  15.  According  to  the  interpretation 
in  ch.  xiii.,  those  are  meant  who  sustained 
the  civil  or  secular  power  to  which  the 
Papacy  gave  life  and  strength,  and  from 
which  it,  in  turn,  received  countenance 
and  protection. 

In  regard  to  the  application  or  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  this  symbol,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
say  that  there  have  been  very  different 
opinions  in  the  world,  and  that  very  di£» 


396 


[A.  D.  90. 


REVELATION, 


ferenfc  opinions  still  prevail.  The  great 
mass  of  Protestant  commentators  sup¬ 
pose  that  it  refers  to  the  Papacy,  and  of 
those  who  entertain  this  opinion,  the 
greater  portion  suppose  that  the  cala¬ 
mity  referred  to  by  the  pouring  out  of 
this  vial  is  already  past,  though  it  is 
supposed  by  many  that  the  things  fore¬ 
shadowed  by  a  part  of  these  ‘  vials,’  are 
yet  to  be  accomplished.  As  to  the  true 
meaning  of  the  symbol  before  us,  I  would 
make  the  following  remarks  :  — 

(1)  It  refers  to  the  Papal  power.  This 
application  is  demanded  by  the  results 
which  were  reached  in  the  examination 
of  ch.  xiii.  See  the  remarks  on  the  ‘  beast’ 
in  the  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  1,  2,  11,  and  on 
the  ‘  image  of  the  beast’  in  the  Notes  on 
ch.  xiii.  14,  15.  This  one  mighty  power 
existed  in  two  forms  closely  united,  and 
mutually  sustaining  each  other — the  civil 
or  secular,  and  the  ecclesiastical  or  spi¬ 
ritual.  It  is  this  combined  and  consoli¬ 
dated  power — the  Papacy  as  such — that 
is  referred  to  here,  for  this  has  been  the 
grand  Antichristian  power  in  the  world. 

(2)  It  refers  to  some  grievous  and  fear¬ 
ful  calamity  which  would  come  upon  that 
power,  and  which  would  be  like  a  plague- 
spot  on  the  human  body — something 
which  would  be  of  the  nature  of  a  divine 
judgment  resembling  that  which  came 
upon  the  Egyptians  for  their  treatment 
of  the  people  of  God. 

(3)  The  course  of  this  exposition  leads 
us  to  suppose  that  this  would  be  the  be¬ 
ginning  in  the  series  of  judgments  which 
would  terminate  in  the  complete  over¬ 
throw  of  that  formidable  power.  It  is 
the  first  of  the  vials  of  wrath,  and  the 
whole  description  evidently  contemplates 
a  series  of  disasters  which  would  be  prop¬ 
erly  represented  by  these  successive  vials. 
In  the  application  of  this,  therefore,  we 
should  naturally  look  for  the  first  of  a 
series  of  such  judgments,  and  should  ex¬ 
pect  to  find  some  facts  in  history  which 
would  be  properly  represented  by  the 
vial  ‘  poured  upon  the  earth.’ 

(4)  In  accordance  with  this  represen¬ 
tation,  we  should  expect  to  find  such  a 
series  of  calamities  gradually  weakening, 
and  finally  terminating  the  Papal  power 
in  the  world,  as  would  be  properly  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  number  seven. 

(5)  In  regard  now  to  the  application  of 
this  series  of  symbolical  representations, 
it  may  be  remarked  that  most  recent 
•xpositors  —  as  Elliott,  Cunninghame, 


Keith,  Faber,  Lord,  and  others,  refer 
them  to  the  events  of  the  French  revolu¬ 
tion —  as  important  events  in  the  over¬ 
throw  of  the  Papal  power;  and  this,  I 
confess,  although  the  application  is  at¬ 
tended  with  some  considerable  difficulties, 
has  more  plausibility  than  any  other  ex¬ 
planation  proposed.  In  support  of  this 
application,  the  following  considerations 
may  be  suggested : — 

(a)  France,  in  the  time  of  Charle¬ 
magne,  was  the  kingdom  to  which  the 
Papacy  owed  its  civil  organization  and 
its  strength  —  a  kingdom  to  which  could 
be  traced  all  the  civil  or  secular  power 
of  the  Papacy,  and  which  was,  in  fact,  a 
restoration  or  re-construction  of  the  old 
Roman  power — the  fourth  kingdom  of 
Daniel.  See  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  24-28, 
and  comp.  Notes  on  Rev.  xiii.  3,  12-14. 
The  restoration  of  the  old  Roman  do¬ 
minion  under  Charlemagne,  and  the  aid 
which  he  rendered  to  the  Papacy  in  its 
establishment  as  a  temporal  power,  would 
make  it  probable  that  this  kingdom 
would,  be  referred  to  in  the  series  of  judg¬ 
ments  that  were  to  accomplish  the  over¬ 
throw  of  the  Papal  dominion. 

(5)  In  an  important  sense,  France  has 
always  been  the  head  of  the  Papal  power. 
The  king  of  France  has  been  usually 
styled  by  the  Popes  themselves,  ‘the 
eldest  son  of  the  church.’  In  reference 
to  the  whole  Papal  dominion  in  former 
times,  one  of  the  principal  reliances  has 
been  on  France,  and,  to  a  very  large 
extent,  the  state  of  Europe  has  been 
determined  by  the  condition  of  France. 
“  A  revolution  in  France,”  said  Napo¬ 
leon,  “  is  sooner  or  later  followed  by  a 
revolution  in  Europe.”  Alison.  Its  cen¬ 
tral  position ;  its  power ;  its  direct  rela¬ 
tion  to  all  the  purposes  and  aims  of  the 
Papacy,  would  seem  to  make  it  probable 
that  in  the  account  of  the  final  destruction 
of  that  power,  this  kingdom  would  not 
be  overlooked. 

(c)  The  scenes  which  occurred  in  the 
times  of  the  French  Revolution  were 
such  as  would  be  properly  symbolized  by 
the  pouring  out  of  the  first,  the  second, 
the  third,  and  the  fourth  vials.  In  the 
passage  before  us — the  pouring  out  of 
the  first  vial  —  the  symbol  employed 
is  that  of  ‘  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore’ 
— boil,  ulcer,  plague-spot — ‘on  the  men 
which  had  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  on 
them  which  worshipped  his  image.’  This 
I  representation  was  undoubtedly  derived 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


397 


from  the  account  of  the  sixth  plague  on 
Egypt  (Ex.  ix.  9,  10,  11),  and  the  sense 
here  is,  not  that  this  would  be  literally 
inflicted  on  the  power  here  referred  to, 
hut  that  a  calamity  would  come  upon  it 
which  would  be  well  represented  by  that, 
or  of  which  that  would  be  an  appropriate 
emblem.  This  interpretation  is  further 
confirmed  by  ch.  xi.  8,  where  Rome  is 
referred  to  under  the  name  of  Egypt , 
and  where  it  is  clear  that  we  are  to  look 
for  a  course  of  divine  dealing  in  regard 
to  the  one  resembling  that  which  oc¬ 
curred  to  the  other.  See  Notes  on  that 
passage.  Now,  this  ‘noisome  and  griev¬ 
ous  sore’  would  well  represent  the  moral 
corruption,  the  pollution,  the  infidelity, 
the  atheism,  the  general  dissolution  of 
society  that  preceded  and  accompanied 
the  French  Revolution — for  that  was 
a  universal  breaking  out  of  loathsome 
internal  disease  —  of  corruption  at  the 
centre — and  in  its  general  features  might 
be  represented  as  a  universal  plague-spot 
on  society,  extending  over  the  countries 
where  the  beast  and  his  image  were  prin¬ 
cipally  worshipped.  The  symbol  would 
properly  denote  that  “tremendous  out¬ 
break  of  social  and  moral  evil,  of  demo¬ 
cratic  fury,  atheism,  and  vice  which  was 
specially  seen  to  characterize  the  French 
Revolution  : — that  of  which  the  ultimate 
source  was  in  the  long  and  deep-seated 
corruption  and  irreligion  of  the  nation ; 
the  outward  vent,  expression,  and  organ 
of  its  Jacobin  clubs,  and  seditions  and 
atheistic  publications;  the  result,  the  dis¬ 
solution  of  all  society,  all  morals,  and  all 
religion ;  with  acts  of  atrocity  and  horror 
accompanying,  scarce  paralleled  in  the 
history  of  men ;  and  suffering  and  an¬ 
guish  of  correspondent  intensity  throb¬ 
bing  throughout  the  social  mass  and 
corroding  it;  that  which  from  France  as 
a  centre,  spread  like  a  plague  through 
its  affiliated  societies,  to  the  other  coun¬ 
tries  of  Papal  Christendom,  and  was, 
wherever  its  poison  was  imbibed,  as 
much  the  punishment  as  the  symptoms 
of  the  corruption  within.”  Of  this  sad 
chapter  in  the  history  of  man,  it  is  un¬ 
necessary  to  give  any  description  here. 
For  scenes  of  horror,  pollution  and  blood, 
its  parallel  has  never  been  found  in  the 
history  of  our  race,  and  as  an  event  in 
history  it  was  worthy  of  a  notice  in  the 
symbols  which  portrayed  the  future.  The 
full  details  of  these  amazing  scenes  must 
be  sought  in  the  histories  which  describe 
84 


them,  and  to  such  works  as  Alison’s  His¬ 
tory  of  Europe,  and  Burke’s  Letters  on  a 
Regicide  Peace,  the  reader,  must  be  re¬ 
ferred.  A  few  expressions  copied  from 
those  letters  of  Mr.  Burke,  penned  with 
no  design  of  illustrating  this  passage  in 
the  Apocalypse,  and  no  expectation  that 
they  would  be  ever  so  applied,  will  show 
with  what  propriety  the  spirit  of  inspira¬ 
tion  suggested  the  phrase  ‘a  noisome 
and  grievous  sore’  or  plague-spot,  on  the 
supposition  that  the  design  was  to  refer 
to  these  scenes.  In  speaking  of  the  revo¬ 
lutionary  spirit  in  France,  Mr.  Burke 
calls  it  ‘  the  fever  of  aggravated  Jacobin¬ 
ism,’  ‘  the  epidemic  of  atheistical  fanati¬ 
cism,’  ‘an  evil  lying  deep  in  the  corrup 
tions  of  human  nature,’  ‘  the  malignant 
French  distemper,’  ‘a  plague,  with  its  fa¬ 
natical  spirit  of  proselytism,  that  needed 
the  strictest  quarantine  to  guard  against 
it,’  whereof  though  the  mischief  might 
be  ‘skimmed  over’  for  a  time,  yet  the 
result,  into  whatever  country  it  entered, 
was  ‘the  corruption  of  all  morals,'  ‘the 
decomposition  of  all  society,’  Ac.  But  it 
is  unnecessary  to  describe  those  scenes 
farther.  The  ‘  world  has  them  by  heart/ 
and  they  can  never  be  obliterated  from 
the  memory  of  man.  In  the  whole  his¬ 
tory  of  the  race  there  has  never  been  an 
outbreak  of  evil  that  showed  so  deep 
pollution  and  corruption  within. 

(d)  The  result  of  this  was  to  affect  the 
Papacy — a  blow,  in  fact,  aimed  at  that 
power.  Of  course,  all  the  infidelity  and 
atheism  of  the  French  nation,  before  so 
strongly  Papal,  went  just  so  far  in  weak¬ 
ening  the  power  of  the  Papacy,  and  in 
the  ultimate  result  it  will  perhaps  yet  be 
found  that  the  horrid  outbreaks  in  the 
French  Revolution  were  the  first  in  the 
series  of  Providential  events  that  will 
result  in  the  entire  overthrow  of  that 
Antichristian  power.  At  all  events,  it 
will  be  admitted,  I  think,  that  on  the 
supposition  that  it  was  intended  that  this 
should  be  descriptive  of  the  scenes  that 
occurred  in  Europe  at  the  olose  of  the  last 
century,  no  more  expressive  symbol 
could  have  been  chosen  than  has  been 
employed  in. the  pouring  out  of  this  first 
vial  of  wrath. 

o.  And  the  second  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  sea.  So  the  second  trumpet 
(ch.  viii.  8),  “And  the  second  angel 
sounded,  and  as  it  were  a  great  mountain 
burning  with  fire  was  cast  into  the  sea : 
and  the  third  part  of  the  sea  became 


398  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


3  And  the  second  angel  poured 
out  his  vial  upon  the  sea;  °  and  it 
became  as  the  blood  4  of  a  dead 


blood.”  For  tbe  meaning  of  this  as  a 
symbol,  see  Notes  on  that  verse.  And 
it  became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man. 
“  Either  very  bloody,  like  a  mangled 
corpse,  or  else,  colored  as  it  were  with 
the  dark  and  almost  black  blood  of  a 
dead  man.”  Prof.  Stuart,  in  loc.  The 
latter  would  seem  to  be  most  probably 
the  meaning,  implying  that  the  ocean 
would  become  discolored,  and  indicating 
that  this  was  the  effect  of  blood  shed  in 
great  quantities  on  its  waters.  In  ch. 
viii.  8,  it  is,  “the  sea  became  blood;” 
here  the  allusion  to  the  blood  of  a  dead 
man  would  more  naturally  suggest  the 
idea  of  naval  conflicts,  and  of  the  blood 
of  the  slain  poured  in  great  quantities 
into  the  deep,  And  every  living  soul 
died  in  the  sea.  In  ch.  viii.  9,  it  is  said 
that  “  the  third  part  of  the  creatures  that 
were  in  the  sea  died,  and  the  third  part 
of  the  ships  were  destroyed.”  Here  the 
destruction  is  more  general;  the  calamity 
Is  more  severe  and  awful.  It  is  as  if 
•very  living  thing — iraaa  ipvxh  &aa — had 
died.  No  emphasis  should  be  put  on 
the  word  soid  here,  for  the  word  means 
merely  a  creature,  a  living  thing,  an 
animal.  1  Cor.  xv.  45 ;  Acts  ii.  43,  iii.  23 ; 
Rom.  xiii.  1.  See  Hob.  Lex.  sub  voce,  c. 
The  sense  here  is,  that  there  would  be 
some  dreadful  calamity,  as  if  the  sea 
were  to  be  changed  into  dark  blood,  and 
as  if  every  living  thing  in  it  were  to  die. 

In  enquiring  into  the  proper  applica¬ 
tion  of  this,  it  is  natural  to  look  for  some¬ 
thing  pertaining  to  the  sea,  or  the  ocean 
(see  Notes  on  ch.  viii.  8,  9),  and  we 
should  expect  to  find  the  fulfilment  in 
some  calamity  that  would  fall  on  the 
marine  force,  or  the  commerce  of  the 
power  that  is  here  referred  to ;  that  is, 
according  to  the  interpretation  all  along 
adopted,  of  the  Papal  power;  and  the 
proper  application,  according  to  this  in¬ 
terpretation,  would  be  the  complete 
destruction  or  annihilation  of  the  naval 
force  that  contributed  to  sustain  the 
Papacy.  This  we  should  look  for  in 
respect  to  the  naval  power  of  France, 
Spain,  and  Portugal,  for  these  are  the 
only  Papal  nations  that  have  had  a 
navy.  We  should  expect,  in  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  this,  to  find  a  series  of  naval 


man :  and  every  living  soul  died  in 
the  sea. 

a  c.  8.  8.  b  Ex.  7. 17-20. 


disasters,  reddening  the  sea  with  blood, 
which  would  tend  to  weaken  the  power 
of  the  Papacy,  and  which  might  be  re¬ 
garded  as  one  in  the  series  of  events 
that  would  ultimately  result  in  its  entire 
overthrow.  Accordingly,  in  pursuance 
of  the  plan  adopted  in  explaining  the 
pouring  out  of  the  first  vial,  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  immediately  succeeding, 
and  connected  with,  the  events  thus  re¬ 
ferred  to,  there  was  a  series  of  naval 
disasters  that  swept  away  the  fleets  of 
France,  and  that  completely  demolished 
the  most  formidable  naval  power  that 
had  ever  been  prepared  by  any  nation 
under  the  Papal  dominion.  This  series 
of  disasters  is  thus  noticed  by  Mr.  Elliott, 
iii.  329,  330 :  “  Meanwhile  the  great 
naval  war  between  France  and  England 
was  in  progress ;  which,  from  its  com¬ 
mencement,  in  February,  1793,  lasted 
for  above  twenty  years,  with  no  inter¬ 
mission  but  that  of  the  short  and  delusive 
peace  of  Amiens ;  in  which  war  the  mari¬ 
time  power  of  Great  Britain  was  strength¬ 
ened  by  the  Almighty  Providence  that 
protected  her  to  destroy  everywhere  the 
French  ships,  commerce,  and  smaller 
colonies ;  including  those  of  the  fast  and 
long-continued  allies  of  the  French,  Hol¬ 
land  and  Spain.  In  the  year  1793  the 
greater  part  of  the  French  fleet  at  Tou¬ 
lon  was  destroyed  by  Lord  Hood;  in 
June,  1794,  followed  Lord  Howe’s  great 
victory  over  the  French  off  Ushant;  then 
the  taking  of  Corsica,  and  nearly  all  the 
smaller  Spanish  and  French  West  India 
islands;  then,  in  1795,  Lord  Bridport’s 
naval  victory,  and  the  capture  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  as  also  soon  after, 
of  a  French  and  Dutch  fleet,  sent  to  re¬ 
take  it;  then,  in  1797,  the  victory  over 
the  Spanish  fleet  off  Cape  St.  Vincent, 
and  that  of  Camperdown  over  the  Dutch; 
then,  in  succession,  Lord  Nelson’s  three 
mighty  victories  —  of  the  Nile,  in  1798, 
of  Copenhagen,  in  1801,  and,  in  1805,  of 
Trafalgar.  Altogether  in  this  naval  war, 
from  its  beginning,  in  1793,  to  its  end,  in 
1815,  it  appears  that  there  were  destroy¬ 
ed  near  200  ships  of  the  line,  between 
300  and  400  frigates,  and  an  almost 
incalculable  number  of  smaller  vessels 
of  war  and  ships  of  commeroe.  The 


399 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


A.  D.  96.] 

4  And  the  third  angel  poured 
out  his  vial  upon  the  rivers  and 
fountains  of  waters  ;  “  and  they  be¬ 
came  blood. 

5  And  I  heard  the  angel  of  the 
waters  say,  Thou  art  righteous,* * * 4 5  6  0 

a.  c.  8. 10.  b  ver.  7. 

c  De .  32.  32,  43 ;  Is.  49.  26. 


whole  history  of  the  world  does  not 

present  such  a  period  of  naval  war, 

destruction  and  bloodshed.”  This  brief 
summary  may  show,  if  this  was  referred 
to,  the  propriety  of  the  expression, 
‘  The  sea  became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead 
man ;’  and  may  show  also  that  on  the 
supposition  that  it  was  intended  that 
these  events  should  be  referred  to,  an 
appropriate  symbol  has  been  employed. 
No  language  could  more  strikingly 
set  forth  these  bloody  scenes. 

4.  And  the  third  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  rivers  and  fountains  of 
water.  This  coincides  also  with  the  ac¬ 
count  of  the  sounding  of  the  third 
trumpet  (ch.  viii.  10,  11) :  “  And  the 
third  angel  sounded,  and  there  fell  a 
great  star  from  heaven  burning  as  a 
lamp,  and  it  fell  upon  the  third  part 
of  the  rivers,  and  upon  the  fountains 
of  waters.”  As  to  the  meaning  of 
the  phrase  ‘rivers  and  fountains  of 
waters,’  see  Notes  on  that  passage.  We 
found,  it  was  supposed,  in  the  application 
of  that  passage,  that  the  invasion  of  the 
Roman  empire  by  Attila,  king  of  the 
Iluns,  was  referred  to,  affecting  mainly 
those  parts  of  the  empire  where  the 
rivers  and  streams  had  their  origin. 
The  analogy  would  lead  us,  in  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  the  passage  before  us,  to  look 
for  some  similar  desolations  on  those 
portions  of  Europe.  See  Notes  at  the 
close  of  ver.  7.  f  And  they  became  blood. 
This  would  properly  mean  that  they  be¬ 
came  as  blood ;  or  became  red  icith  blood, 
and  it  would  be  fulfilled  if  bloody  battles 
were  fought  near  them  so  that  they 
seemed  to  run  blood. 

5.  And  I  heard  the  angel  of  the  waters 
say.  The  angel  who  presides  over  the 
element  of  water ;  in  allusion  to  the 
common  opinion  among  tho  Hebrows 
that  the  angels  presided  over  the  ele¬ 
ments,  and  that  each  element  was  com¬ 
mitted  to  the  jurisdiction  of  a  particular 
angel.  Comp.  Notes  On  ch.  vii.  1. 

If  Thou  art  righteous,  0  Lord.  In  view 


Lord,  which  art,  and  wast,  and 
shalt  be,  because  thou  hast  judged 
thus.  6 

6  For  they  have  shed  the  blood 
of  saints  and  prophets,  and  e  thou 
hast  given  them  blood  to  drink ;  for 
they  are  worthy. 


of  the  judgments  that  reddened  these 
streams  and  fountains  with  the  blood  of 
men,  the  angel  ascribes  righteousness  to 
God.  These  judgments  seemed  terrible 

—  the  numbers  slain  were  so  vast _ 

the  bloody  streams  indicated  so  great 
slaughter,  and  such  severity  of  the 
divine  judgment;  yet  the  angel  sees  in 
all  this  only  the  act  of  a  righteous  God 
bringing  just  retribution  on  the  guilty. 
If  Which  art  and  wast  and  shalt  be. 
That  is,  who  art  eternal : — existing  now ; 
who  hast  existed  in  all  past  time;  and 
who  will  exist  ever  onward.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  i.  8.  The  reason  why  this  attri¬ 
bute  of  God  is  here  referred  to,  seems  to 
be,  that  the  mind  of  the  angel  adverts  to 
it  in  the  changes  and  desolations  that 
were  occurring  around  him.  In  such 
overturnings  among  men— such  revolu¬ 
tions  of  kingdoms  — such  desolations  of 
war  — the  mind  naturally  turns  to  ono 
who  is  unchanging ;  to  one  whose  throne 
is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting.  ^f  Be¬ 
cause  thou  hast  judged  thus.  Hast  suf¬ 
fered  these  wars  to  occur  that  have 
changed  rivers  and  fountains  to  blood. 

6.  For  they  have  shed  the  blood  of 
saints.  The  nations  here  referred  to. 
They  have  been  engaged  in  scenes  of 
bloody  persecution,  and  this  is  a  just 
recompense,  And  prophets.  Teachers 
of  religion ;  ministers  of  truth.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  understand  the  word  pro¬ 
phets  here  in  its  technical  sense  as  de¬ 
noting  those  who  are  raised  up  by  God 
and  sent  forth  as  inspired  men,  but  it 
may  be  understood  in  its  more  common 
signification  in  the  New  Testament  as 
denoting  teachers  of  religion  in  general. 
See  Notes  on  Rom.  xii.  6.  1 ;  Cor.  xiv.  1. 

IT  And  thou  hast  given  them  blood  to 
drink.  To  wit,  by  turning  the  streams 
and  fountains  into  blood,  ver.  4.  Blood 
had  been  poured  out  in  such  abundance 
that  if  seemed  to  mingle  with  the  very 
water  that  they  drank.  This  was  a  re¬ 
compense  for  their  having,  in  those  very 
regions,  poured  out  so  much  blood  iu 


400 


REVELATION, 


7  And  I  heard  another  out  of  the 
altar  say,  Even  so,  Lord  God  Al- 

persecuting  the  saints  and  prophets — the 
pious  private  members  of  the  church, 
and  the  public  teachers  of  religion. 

For  they  are  worthy.  That  is,  they 
deserve  this ;  or  this  is  a  just  recompense 
for  their  sins.  It  is  not  intended  that 
those  who  would  thus  suffer  had  been 
individually  guilty  of  this,  or  that  this 
was  properly  a  punishment  on  them,  but 
it  is  meant  that  in  those  countries  there 
had  been  bloody  persecutions,  and  that 
this  was  a  fit  recompense  for  what  had 
there  occurred. 

7.  And  I  heard  another.  Evidently 
another  angel,  though  this  is  not  speci¬ 
fied.  Out  of  the  altar.  Either  the 
angel  of  the  altar;  that  is,  who  presided 
over  the  altar  {Prof.  Stuart );  or  an 
angel  whose  voice  seemed  to  come  from 
the  altar.  The  sense  is  essentially  the 
same.  The  writer  seemed  to  hear  a 
voice  coming  from  the  altar  responding 
to  what  had  just  been  said  in  regard  to 
the  judgment  of  God,  or  to  his  righteous¬ 
ness  in  bringing  the  judgment  upon  men, 
ver.  5.  This  was  evidently  the  voice  of 
some  one  who  was  interested  in  what 
was  occurring,  or  to  whom  these  things 
particularly  appertained ;  that  is,  one 
who  was  particularly  connected  with  the 
martyrs  referred  to,  whose  blood  was 
now,  as  it  were,  to  be  avenged.  AVe  are 
naturally  reminded  by  this  of  the  martyr- 
scene  in  ch.  vi.  9-11,  in  the  opening  of 
the  fifth  seal,  though  it  cannot  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  the  same  events  are  referred 
to.  There,  ‘  the  souls  of  those  that  had 
been  slain  for  the  word  of  God’  are  re¬ 
presented  as  being  ‘under  the  altar’  and 
as  crying  to  God  to  ‘  avenge  their  blood 
on  them  who  dwelt  on  the  earth.’  Here, 
a  voice  is  heard  with  reference  to  mar¬ 
tyrs,  as  of  one  interested  in  them, 
ascribing  praise  to  God  for  having 
brought  a  righteous  judgment  on  those 
who  had  shed  the  blood  of  the  saints. 
They  are  both,  for  similar  reasons,  con¬ 
nected  with  the  ‘altar,’  and  the  voice  is 
heard  proceeding  from  the  same  source. 
In  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  word 
altar  here,  and  the  reason  why  the 
martyrs  are  represented  in  connexion 
with  it,  see  Notes  on  ch.  vi.  9.  True 
and  righteous  are  thy  judgments.  Re¬ 
sponding  to  what  is  said  in  ver  5.  That 
is,  God  is  ‘  true’  or  faithful  to  his  pro- 


[A.  D.  96. 

mighty,  0  true  and  righteous  are 
thy  judgments.  a  c.  15.  3, 19. 2. 

mises  made  to  his  people,  and  ‘righteous’ 
in  the  judgments  which  he  has  now 
inflicted.  These  judgments  had  come 
upon  those  who  had  shed  the  blood  of 
the  martyrs,  and  they  were  just. 

In  regard  to  the  application  of  this, 
there  are  several  things  to  be  said.  The 
following  points  are  clear :  (a)  That  this 
judgment  would  succeed  the  first  men¬ 
tioned,  and  apparently  at  a  period  not 
remote.  ( b )  It  would  occur  in  a  region 
where  there  had  been  much  persecution, 
(c)  It  would  be  in  a  country  of  streams, 
and  rivers,  and  fountains,  (d)  It  would 
be  a  just  retribution  for  the  bloody  per¬ 
secutions  wh^h  had  occurred  there. 

The  question  now  is,  where  we  shall 
find  the  fulfilment  of  this — assuming  that 
the  explanation  of  the  pouring  out  of  the 
first  vial  is  correct.  And  here,  I  think, 
there  can  be  no  mistake  in  applying  it  to 
the  events  bearing  on  the  Papacy,  and  the 
Papal  powers,  which  followed  the  French 
Revolution.  The  next  material  event, 
after  that  revolution,  was  the  invasion  of 
Italy,  where  Napoleon  began  his  career 
of  victories,  and  where  he  first  acquired 
his  fame.  At  this  stage  of  my  examina¬ 
tion  of  this  passage,  I  looked  into  Ali¬ 
son’s  History  of  Europe,  to  see  what 
events,  in  fact,  followed  the  scenes  of 
confusion,  crime,  blood,  atheism,  and 
pollution  in  the  French  revolution,  and 
I  found  that  the  next  chapters  in  these 
eventful  scenes  were  such  as  would  be 
well  represented  by  the  vial  poured  upon 
the  rivers  and  fountains,  and  by  their 
being  turned  into  blood.  The  detail 
would  be  too  long  for  my  limits,  and  I 
can  state  merely  a  summary  of  a  few  of 
the  chapters  in  that  History.  Chapter 
XIX.  contains  the  ‘  history  of  the  French 
Republic  from  the  fall  of  Robespierre  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Directory’ — • 
comprising  properly  the  closing  scenes 
of  ‘the  Reign  of  Terror.’  Chapter  xx. 
contains  an  acount  of  the  campaign  in 
Italy  in  1796,  embracing,  as  stated  in 
the  summing  up  of  contents  in  this 
chapter,  the  ‘  battles  of  Montenotte, 
Millesimo,  Dego  :  —  the  passage  of  the 
bridge  of  Lodi,  and. fall  of  Milan;  the 
siege  of  Mantua,  and  the  battle  of  Cas- 
tiglione ;  the  battles  of  Caldero  and 
Areola;  and  the  battles  of  Rivoli  and 
Mantua.’  This  is  followed  (ch.  xxiii.l 


i 


:G 


< 


. 


'  • 


A.  D.  96.] 

8  And  the  fourth  angel  poured 


with  an  account  of  the  campaign  of 
1/97,  which  closed  with  the  fall  of 
Venice,  and  this  is  followed  (ch.  xxvi.) 
with  an  account  of  the  invasion  of 
Switzerland,  &c.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
dwell  on  the  details  of  the  wars  which 
followed  the  French  Revolution,  on  the 
Rhine,  the  Po,  and  the  Alpine  streams  of 
Piedmont  and  Lombardy.  The  slightest 
acquaintance  with  that  history  will  show 
the  propriety  of  the  following  remarks  : — 

(a)  These  wars  occurred  in  regions  under 
the  influence  of  the  Papacy,  for  these 
^re  a1'  Papal  states  and  territories. 

(b)  These  scenes  followed  closely  on 
the  French  Revolution,  and  grew  out  of 
it  as  a  natural  consequence,  and  would 
be  properly  represented  as  a  second 
4  vial’  poured  out  immediately  after  the 
first,  (c)  The  country  is  such  as  here 
supposed—4  of  rivers  and  fountains,’  for, 
being  mostly  a  mountainous  region,  it 
abounds  with  springs,  and  fountains, 
aud  streams.  Indeed,  on  the  supposition 
that  this  is  the  land  referred  to,  a  more 
appropriate  description  could  not  have 
been  given  of  it  than  is  found  in  this 
passage.  One  has  only  to  look  upon  a 
map  of  Northern  Italy  to  see  that  there 
is  no  other  portion  of  the  world  which 
would  more  naturally  be  suggested  when 
speaking  of  a  country  abounding  in 
‘rivers  and  fountains  of  water.’  The 
annexed  admirable  map  of  this  region, 
for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  work  of 
Dr.  Alexander  Keith,  on  the  Signs  of 
the  Times,  will  clearly  illustrate  this 
passage,  and  the  corresponding  passage 
in  ch.  viii.  10,  11.  Let  any  one  look  at 
the  Po  and  its  tributaries  on  the  annexed 
map,  and  then  read  with  attention  the 
xxth  chapter  of  Alison’s  History  of  Eu¬ 
rope  (vol.  i.  pp.  391-424),  and  he  will  be 
struck  with  the  appropriateness  of  the 
description  on  the  supposition  that  this 
portion  of  the  book  of  Revelation  was 
designed  to  refer  to  these  scenes,  for  he 
cannot  but  see  that  the  battles  there 
described  were  fought  in  a  country  in 
every  way  corresponding  with  the  state¬ 
ment  here,  (c?)  This  country  corresponds 
with  the  description  here  given  in  an¬ 
other  respect.  In  vs.  5,  6,  there  is  a 
tribute  of  praise  rendered  to  God,  in 
view  of  these  judgments,  because  he  was 
righteous  in  bringing  them  upon  a  land 

34  * 


m 

out  his  vial  upon  the  sun ;  0  anfl 

a  c.  8. 12. 


where  the  blood  of  saints  and  propheH. 
bad  been  sbed :  —  a  land  of  martyrs. 
Now  this  is  applicable  to  the  circum¬ 
stances  supposed  not  only  in  the  sense 
that  Italy  in  general  had  been  the  land 
where  the  blood  of  martyrs  had  been 
shed  the  land  of  Roman  persecution, 
alike  under  Paganism  and  the  Papacy, 
but  true  in  a  more  definite  sense  from 
the  fact  that  this  was  the  very  region 
where  the  persecutions  against  the  Wal- 
denses  and  the  Albigenses  had  been 
carried  on — the  valleys  of  Piedmont.  In 
the  times  of  Papal  persecution  these 
valleys  had  been  made  to  flow  with  the 
blood  of  the  saints,  and  it  seemed,  at 
least,  to  be  a  righteous  retribution  that 
these  desolations  of  war,  these  confla¬ 
grations,  and  these  scenes  of  carnage, 
should  occur  in  that  very  land,  and  that 
the  very  fountains  and  streams  which 
had  before  been  turned  into  blood  by 
the  slaughter  of  the  friends  of  the 
Saviour,  should  now  be  reddened  with 
the  blood  of  men  slain  in  battle.  This 

is,  perhaps,  what  John  saw  in  vision : _ 

a  land  where  persecution  had  raged,  and 
the  blood  of  the  holy  had  flowed  freely, 
and  then  the  same  land  brought  under 
the  awful  judgments  of  God,  and  the 
fountains  and  streams  reddened  with  the 
blood  of  the  slain.  There  was  a  pro¬ 
priety,  therefore,  that  a  voice  should  bo 
heard  ascribing  righteousness  to  God  for 
avenging  the  blood  of  the  saints  (vs.  5, 
6),  and  that  another  voice  should  be 
heard  from  the  ‘altar’  of  the  martyrs 
(ver.  7)  responding  and  saying,  “Even 
so.  Lord  God  Almighty,  true  and 
righteous  are  thy  judgments.”  (e)  It 
may  be  added,  to  show  the  propriety  of 
this,  that  this  was  one  of  the  series  of 
events  which  will  be  found  in  the  end  to 
have  contributed  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
Papal  power :  for  a  blow  was  struck  in 
the  French  invasion  of  Italy  from  which 
Rome  has  never  recovered,  and  senti¬ 
ments  were  diffused  as  the  result  in  favor 
of  liberty  which  it  has  been  difficult 
ever  since  to  suppress,  and  which  are 
destined  yet  to  burst  out  in  favor  of 
freedom  and  to  be  one  of  the  means 
of  the  final  destruction  of  the  power. 
Comp.  Alison’s  History  of  Europe,  vol.  i. 
p.  403. 

8.  And  the  fourth  angel  poured  out  hie 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


404 


REVELATION, 


power  was  given  unto  him  to  scorch 
men  with  “  fire. 

9  And  men  were  1  scorched  with 
great  heat,  and  blasphemed  c  the 

a  c.  9. 17.  b  Or,  Burned. 


vial  upon  the  sun.  Toward  the  sun,  or 
so  as  to  reach  the  sun.  The  effect  was 
as  if  it  had  been  poured  upon  the  sun, 
giving  it  an  intense  heat,  and  thus  in¬ 
flicting  a  severe  judgment  upon  men. 
This  corresponds  also  with  the  fourth 
trumpet  (ch.  viii.  12),  where  it  is  said 
that  the  ‘  third  part  of  the  sun  was  smit¬ 
ten,  and  the  third  part  of  the  moon,  and 
the  third  part  of  the  stars.’  For  the 
general  meaning  of  this  symbol,  see 
Notes  on  that  place.  The  idea  is,  that 
a  scene  of  calamity  and  woe  would  occur 
as  if  the  sun  should  be  made  to  pour 
forth  such  intense  heat  that  men  would 
be  ‘scorched.’  It  cannot  be  supposed 
that  the  sun  would  be  literally  made 
hotter,  or  that  the  exact  nature  of  these 
calamities  would  be  that  men  would  be 
consumed  by  its  rays.  And  power  was 
given  unto  him.  To  the  sun.  The  mean¬ 
ing  is,  that  a  calamity  would  follow  as  if 
such  an  increased  power  should  be  given 
to  its  rays.  To  scorch  men  with  fire. 
Literally,  ‘And  it  was  given  him  to  scorch 
men  with  fire ;’  that  is,  with  heat  so  great 
that  it  seemed  to  be  fire.  The  Greek 
word  —  Kavyarioai  —  meaning  to  burn,  to 
scorch,  is  used  in.  the  New  Testament 
only  in  Matt.  xiii.  6,  Mark  iv.  6,  Rev. 
xvi.  8,  9,  in  all  which  places  it  is  ren¬ 
dered  scorch  and  scorched.  Comp,  how¬ 
ever,  the  use  of  the  word  icavya  in  Rev. 
vii.  16,  xvi.  9  ;  kSvois,  in  Heb.  vi.  8 ;  k av¬ 
ails,  in  1  Pet.  iii.  10,  12;  and  Kavamv,  in 
Matt.  xx.  12,  Luke  xii.  55,  James  L  11. 
The  notion  of  intense  or  consuming  heat 
is  implied  in  all  the  forms  of  the  word; 
and  the  reference  here  is  to  some  calamity 
that  would  be  well  represented  by  such 
an  increased  heat  of  the  sun. 

9.  And  men  were  scorched  with  great 
heat.  That  is,  as  above  expressed,  calam¬ 
ity  came  upon  them  which  would  be  well 
represented  by  such  heat.  It  is  said  that 
this  calamity  would  come  upon  men,  and 
we  are  to  suppose  that  it  would  be  such 
that  human  life  would  be  particularly 
affected ;  and  as  that  heat  of  the  sun  must 
he  exceedingly  intense  which  would  cut 
down  men,  we  are  to  suppose  that  the 
judgment  here  referred  to  would  be  in- 


[A.  D.  9&. 

name  of  God,  which  hath  power 
over  these  plagues :  and  d  they  re¬ 
pented  not,  to  give  him  glory. 

e  ver.  11,  21. 
d  Da.  5.  22,  23.  c.  9.  20. 


tensely  severe,  And  blasphemed  the 
name  of  God.  The  effect  would  be  to 
cause  them  to  blaspheme  God,  or  to  re¬ 
proach  him  as  the  author  of  these  calam¬ 
ities,  and  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  we  are 
to  look  for  a  state  of  things  when  there 
would  be  augmented  wickedness  and  ir- 
religion,  and  when  men  would  become 
worse  and  worse  notwithstanding  the 
woes  that  had  come  upon  them.  jj  Which 
hath  power  over  these  plagues.  Who  had 
brought  these  plagues  upon  them,  and 
who  had  power  to  remove  them.  And 
they  repented  not.  The  effect  was  not  to 
produce  repentance,  though  it  was  mani¬ 
fest  that  these  judgments  had  come  upon 
them  on  account  of  their  sins.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ch.  ix.  21.  *[  To  give  him  glory. 

To  turn  from  sin ;  to  honor  him  by  lives 
of  obedience.  Comp.  Notes  on  John-ix. 
24. 

In  regard  to  the  application  of  this, 
the  following  things  may  be  remarked : 
(a)  That  the  calamity  here  referred  to 
was  one  of  the  series  of  events  which 
would  precede  the  overthrow  of  the 
‘  beast,’  and  contribute  to  that  —  for  to 
this  all  these  judgments  tend,  (b)  In 
the  order  in  which  it  stands  it  is  to  fol¬ 
low,  and  apparently  to  follow  soon,  the 
third  judgment — the  pouring  of  the  vial 
upon  the  fountains  and  streams,  (c)  It 
would  be  a  calamity  such  as  if  the  sun, 
the  source  of  light  and  comfort  to  man¬ 
kind,  were  smitten,  and  became  a  source 
of  torment,  {d)  This  would  be  attended 
by  a  great  destruction  of  men,  and  we 
should  naturally  look  in  such  an  appli¬ 
cation  for  calamities  in  which  multitudes 
of  men  would  be,  as  it  were,  consumed, 
(e)  This  would  not  be  followed,  as  it 
might  be  hoped  it  would,  by  repentance, 
but  would  be  attended  with  reproaches 
of  God,  with  profaneness,  with  a  great 
increase  of  wickedness. 

Now,  on  the  supposition  that  the  ex¬ 
planation  of  the  previous  passages  is 
correct,  there  can  be  no  great  difficulty 
in  supposing  that  this  refers  to  the  wars 
of  Europe  following  the  French  Revolu¬ 
tion  ;  the  wars  that  preceded  the  direct 
attack  on  the  Papacy,  and  the  overthrow 


405 


D- 96.]  CHAPTER  XVI. 


10  And  the  fifth  angel  poured 
out  his  vial  upon  the  seat  “  of  the 
beast ;  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of 

of  the  Papal  government.  For  these 
events  had  all  the  characteristics  here 
referred  to.  (a)  They  were  one  of  a  se¬ 
ries  in  weakening  the  Papal  power  in 
Europe  —  heavy  blows  that  will  yet  be 
seen  to  have  been  among  the  means  pre¬ 
liminary  to  its  final  overthrow.  ( b )  They 
followed  in  their  order  the  invasion  of 
Northern  Italy — for  one  of  the  purposes 
of  that  invasion  was  to  attack  the  Aus- 
tnan  power  there,  and  ultimately  through 
the  Tyrol  to  attack  Austria  itself.  Na¬ 
poleon,  after  his  victories  in  Northern 
Italy,  above  referred  to  (comp.  ch.  xx. 
of  Alison’s  History  of  Europe),  thus  writes 
to  the  French  Directory:  “Coni,  Ceva, 
and  Alexandria  are  in  the  hands  of  our 
army;  if  you  do  not  ratify  the  convention  I 
will  keep  their  fortresses,  and  march  upon 
Turin.  Meanwhile,  I  shall  march  to¬ 
morrow  against  Beaulieu,  and  drive  him 
across  the  Po;  I  shall  follow  elose  at  his 
heels,  overawe  Lombardy,  and  in  a 
month  be  in  the  Tyrol,  join  the  army  of 
the  Rhine,  and  carry  our  united  forces 
into  Bavaria.  That  design  is  worthy  of 
you,  of  the  army,  and  of  the  destinies  of 
France.”  Alison,  i.  4Q1.  (c)  The  cam- 

paign  in  Germany  in  1796  followed  im¬ 
mediately  this  campaign  in  Italy.  Thus, 
in  ch.  xx.  of  Alison’s  History,  we  have 
an  account  of  the  campaign  in  Italy ;  in 
ch.  xxi.  we  have  the  account  of  the  cam¬ 
paign  in  Germany  —  and  the  other  wars 
in  Europe  that  continued  so  long,  and 
that  were  so  fierce  and  bloody,  followed 
in  quick  succession — all  tending,  in  their 
ultimate  results,  to  weaken  the  Papal 
power,  and  to  secure  its  final  overthrow. 
(d)  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  here 
that  these  wars  had  all  the  characteris¬ 
tics  here  supposed.  It  was  as  if  the 
sun  were  smitten  in  the  heavens,  and 
power  were  given  to  scorch  men  with 
fire.  Europe  seemed  to  be  on  fire  with 
musketry  and  artillery,  and  presented 
almost  the  appearance  of  the  broad  blaze 
of  a  battle-field.  The  number  that  perish¬ 
ed  was  immense.  These  wars  were  attend¬ 
ed  with  the  usual  consequences — blasphe¬ 
my,  profaneness,  and  reproaches  of  God 
in  every  form.  And  yet  there  was  ano¬ 
ther  effect  wholly  in  accordance  with  the 
statement  here,  that  none  of  these  judg¬ 
ments  brought  men  to  ‘repentance  that 


darkness  ;  »  and  they  gnawed  their 
tongues  for  pain, 

o.  c.  13.  2—4.  j)  c.  9.  2. 

they  might  give  God  the  glory.’  Perhaps 
these  remarks,  which  might  be  extended 
to  great  length,  will  show  that,  on  the 
supposition  that  it  was  intended  to  refer 
to  those  scenes  by  the  outpouring  of  this 
vial,  the  symbol  was  well  chosen  and 
appropriate. 

10.  And  the  fifth  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  seat  of  the  beast.  The  pre¬ 
vious  judgments  had  been  preparatory 
to  this.  They  all  had  a  bearing  on  this, 
and  were  all  preliminary  to  it;  but  the 
‘  seat  the  home,  the  centre  of  the  power 
of  the  beast,  had  not  yet  been  reached. 
Hera,  however,  there  was  a  direct  blow 
aimed  at  that  power,  yet  not  such  as 
to  secure  its  final  overthrow,  for  that  is 
reserved  to  the  pouring  out  of  the  last 
vial,  vs.  17-21.  All  that  is  represented 
here  is  a  heavy  judgment  which  was 
merely  preliminary  to  that  final  over- 
thiow,  but  which  affected  the  very  seat 
of  the  least.  The  phrase,  ‘the  seat  of 
the  beast  — rbv  Spdvov  rdv  Sjjpiov  —  means 
the  seat  or  throne  which  the  representa¬ 
tive  of  that  power  occupied;  the  central 
point  of  the  Antichristian  dominion. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  2.  See  also  eh. 
ii.  13.  I  understand  this  as  referring  to 
the  very  seat  of  the  Papal  power— Rome 
the  Vatican.  And  his  kingdom  was 
full  of  darkness.  Confusion;  disorder; 
distress;  for  darkness  is  often  the  emblem 
of  calamity.  Jer.  xiii.  16  ;  Isa.  lix.  9, 10; 
Ezekiel  xxx.  18,  xxxii.  7,  8,  xxxiv.  12  ; 
Joel  ii.  2.  And  they  gnawed  their 
tongues  for  pain.  This  is  a  “most  sig¬ 
nificant  expression  of  the  writhings  of 
anguish.”  The  word  here  rendered 
gnawed  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  the 
New  Testament,  nor  is  the  expression 
elsewhere  used  in  the  Bible,  but  its 
meaning  is  plain  —  it  indicates  deep  an¬ 
guish. 

11.  And  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven. 
The  same  effect  which  it  was  said  would 
be  produced  by  the  pouring  out  of  the 
fourth  vial,  ver.  9.  Because  of  their 
pains  and  their  sores.  Of  the  calamities 
that  had  come  upon  them,  tf  And  re¬ 
pented  not  of  their  deeds.  See  Notes  on 
ver.  9.  Comp.  eh.  ix.  21. 

In  regard  to  the  fulfilment  and  appli¬ 
cation  of  this,  the  following  general 
remarks  may  be  made  here,  (a)  It  , 


406 


REVELATION 


11  And  blasphemed  the  God  of 
heaven  because  of  their  pains  and 


■would  succeed,  at  no  great  interval  pro¬ 
bably,  what  is  referred  to  under  the  pre¬ 
vious  ‘vials,’  and  would  be  one  in  the 
series  tending  to  the  same  result,  (b)  It 
would  fall  directly  on  the  seat  of  the 
authority  of  the  ‘beast’ — on  the  central 
power  of  the  Papacy,  according  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  other  symbols,  and 
we  should  look,  therefore,  for  some  cala¬ 
mity  that  would  come  upon  Rome  itself, 
and  still  more  specifically  upon  the  Pope 
himself  and  those  immediately  around 
him.  (c)  This  would  be  attended  with 
deep  distress  and  darkness  in  the  Papal 
dominions,  (d)  There  would  be  an  in¬ 
crease  of  what  is  here  called  ‘blas¬ 
phemy;’  that  is,  of  impiety  and  re¬ 
proaches  of  the  divine  Being.  ( e )  There 
would  be  no  repentance  produced.  There 
would  be  no  reformation.  The  system 
would  be  as  corrupt  as  it  was  before,  and 
men  would  be  as  much  under  its  influ¬ 
ence.  And  (/)  we  should  not  expect 
that  this  would  be  the  final  overthrow 
of  the  system.  That  is  reserved  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  seventh  and  last  vial 
in  the  series  (vs.  17-21),  and  under  that 
the  system  would  be  overthrown,  and 
would  come  to  an  end.  This  is  distinctly 
stated  in  the  account  of  that  ‘vial,’  and 
therefore  we  are  not  to  expect  to  find  in 
the  application  of  the  fifth  ‘vial,’  that  the 
calamity  brought  upon  ‘  the  seat  of  the 
beast’  would  be  such  that  it  would  not 
recover  for  a  time,  and  maintain,  appa¬ 
rently,  in  some  good  degree,  its  former 
power  and  influence. 

With  this  view  of  what  we  are  to  ex¬ 
pect,  and  in  connexion  with  the  expla¬ 
nations  of  the  previous  symbols,  it  seems 
to  me  that  there  can  be  no  hesitation  in 
applying  this  to  the'  direct  attacks  on 
the  Papal  power  and  on  the  Pope  him¬ 
self,  as  one  of  the  consequences  of  the 
French  Revolution,  and  to  the  calami¬ 
ties  that  were  thus  brought  upon  the 
Papal  states.  In  order  to  show  the 
appropriateness  of  this  application,  I 
will  6tate  a  few  facts  which  will  show 
that,  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  the 
intention  in  this  symbol  to  refer  to  ’the 
Papal  power  at  that  time,  the  symbol 
has  been  well  chosen,  and  has  been  ful¬ 
filled.  And,  in  doing  this,  I  will  merely 
copy  from  Alison’s  History  of  Europe 


(A.  D.  96. 

their  sores,  a  and  repented  not  of 
their  deeds. 

a  ver.  2. 


(vol.  i.  pp.  542-546),  a  few  statements, 
which,  like  many  that  have  been  quoted 
from  Mr.  Gibbon  in  the  former  part  of 
these  Notes,  would  seem  almost  to  have 
been  penned  in  view  of  this  prophecy, 
and  with  a  view  to  record  its  fulfilment. 
The  statement  is  as  follows  :  — 

“  The  Ecclesiastical  States  were  the  next  object 
of  altaok.  It  had  long  been  an  avowed  object  of 
ambition  with  the  Republican  government  to  revo¬ 
lutionize  the  Roman  people,  and  plant  the  tricolor 
flag  in  the  city  of  Brutus,  and  fortune  at  length 
presented  them  with  a  favorable  opportunity  to 
accomplish  the  design. 

“  The  situation  of  the  pope  had  become,  since  the 
French  conquests  in  Italy,  in  the  highest  degree 
precarious.  Cut  off,  by  the  Cisalpine  Republic, 
from  any  support  from  Austria ;  left,  by  the  treaty 
of  Campo  Formio,  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
French  Republic ;  threatened  by  the  heavings  of 
the  democratic  spirit  within  his  own  dominions ; 
and  exposed  to  all  the  contagion  arising  from  the 
complete  establishment  and  close  vicinity  of  Re¬ 
publican  governments  in  the  north  of  Italy,  he  was 
almost  destitute  of  the  means  of  resisting  so  many 
seen  and  unseen  enemies.  The  pontifical  treasury 
was  exhausted  by  the  immense  payments  stipu¬ 
lated  by  the  treaty  of  Tolentino :  while  the  activity 
and  zeal  of  the  revolutionary  clubs  in  all  the  prin¬ 
cipal  towns  of  the  Ecclesiastical  States,  was  daily 
increasing  with  the  prospect  of  success.  To  enable 
the  government  to  meet  the  enormous  demands  of 
the  French  army,  the  principal  Roman  families, 
like  the  pope, had  sold  their  gold,  their  silver,  their 
jewels,  their  horses,  their  carriages  — in  a  word, 
all  their  valuable  effects ;  but  the  exactions  of  the 
Republican  agents  were  still  unabated.  In  despair, 
they  had  recourse  to  the  fatal  expedient  of  issuing 
a  paper  circulation ;  but  that,  in  a  country  destitute 
of  credit,  soon  fell  to  an  inconsiderable  value,  and 
augmented  rather  than  relieved  the  public  distress. 
Joseph  Bonaparte,  brother  to  Napoleon,  had  been 
appointed  ambassador  at  the  court  of  Rome ;  but 
as  his  character  was  deemed  too  honorable  for  po¬ 
litical  intrigue,  Generals  Duphot  and  Sherlock  were 
sent  along  with  him,  the  former  of  whom  had  been 
so  successful  in  effecting  the  overthrow  of  Genoese 
aristocracy.  The  French  embassy,  under  their 
direction,  soon  became  the  centre  of  the  revolu¬ 
tionary  action,  and  those  numerous  ardent  charac¬ 
ters  with  which  the  Italian  cities  abound,  flocked 
there  as  to  a  common  focus,  from  whence  the  next 
great  explosion  of  democratic  power  was  to  be 
expected.  In  this  extremity,  Pius  VI.,  who  was 
above  eighty  years  of  age,  and  sinking  into  the 
grave,  called  to  his  counsels  the  Austrian  general 
Provera,  already  distinguished  in  the  Italian  cam¬ 
paigns  ;  but  the  Directory  soon  compelled  the  hu¬ 
miliated  pontiff  to  dismiss  that  intrepid  counsellor. 
As  his  recovery  then  seemed  hopeless,  the  instruc¬ 
tions  of  government  to  their  ambassador  were  to 
delay  the  proclamation  of  a  Republic  till  his  death, 
when  the  vacant  chair  of  St.  Peter  might  be  over¬ 
turned  with  little  difficulty;  but  such  was  the 
activity  of  the  revolutionary  agents,  that  the  train 
was  ready  to  take  fire  before  that  event  took  place, 
and  the  ears  of  the  Romans  were  assailed  by  in¬ 
cessant  abuse  of  the  ecclesiastical  government,  and 
vehement  declamations  in  favor  of  Republican 
freedom. 

.“The  resolution  to  overturn  the  papal  govern¬ 
ment,  like  all  the  other  ambitious  projects  of  the 
Directory,  received  a  very  great  impulse  from  the 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


407 


reascendent  of  Jacobin  influence  at  Paris,  by  the 
results  of  the  revolution  of  18th  Fructidor.  One 
ot  the  first  measures  of  the  new  government  was 
to  despatch  an  order  to  Joseph  Bonaparte  at  Rome, 
to  promote,  by  all  the  means  in  his  power,  the  ap¬ 
proaching  revolution  in  the  papal  states;  and, 
above  all  things,  to  take  care  that  at  the  pope’s 
death  no  successor  should  be  elected  to  the  chair 
°f  Wter-  Napoleon’s  language  to  the  Roman 
pontiff  became  daily  more  menacing.  Immediately 
before  setting  out  for  Rastadt,  he  ordered  his  bro 
ther  Joseph  to  intimate  to  the  pope  that  three  thou 
sand  additional  troops  had  been  forwarded  to  An¬ 
cona;  that  if  Provera  was  not  dismissed  within 
twenty-four  hours,  war  would  be  declared  ;  that 
if  any  of  the  revolutionists  who  had  been  arrested 
were  executed,  reprisals  would  forthwith  be  exer¬ 
cised  on  the  cardinals;  and  that,  if  the  Cisalpine 
Republic  was  not  instantly  recognized,  it  would  be 
the  signal  for  immediate  hostilities.  At  the  same 
time,  ten  thousand  troops  of  the  Cisalpine  Republic 
advanced  to  St.  Leon,  in  the  papal  duchy  of  Ur- 
bino,  and  made  themselves  masters  of  that  fortress ; 
while  at  Ancona,  which  was  still  garrisoned  by 
french  troops,  notwithstanding  its  stipulated  re¬ 
storation  by  the  treaty  of  Tolentino  to  the  Holy  See, 
the  democratic  party  openly  proclaimed  ‘the  An- 
comte  Republic.’  Similar  revolutionary  movements 
took  place  at  Corneto,  Civita  Vecchia,  Pesaro,  and 
oenigagha;  while  at  Rome  itself,  Joseph  Bona¬ 
parte,  by  compelling  the  papal  government  to  libe¬ 
rate  all  persons  confined  for  political  offences, 
suddenly  vomited  forth  upon  the  capital  several 
hundreds  of  the  most  heated  Republicans  iu  Italy. 
After  this  great  addition,  measures  were  no  longer 
kept  with  the  government.  Seditious  meetings  were 
constantly  held  in  every  part  of  the  city  ;  immense 
collections  of  tricolor  cockades  were  made  to  dis¬ 
tinguish  the  insurgents,  and  deputations  of  the 
citizens  openly  waited  on  the  Frencli  ambassador 
to  invite  him  to  support  the  insurrection,  to  which 
he  replied,  in  ambiguous  terms,—'  The  fate  of  na- 
tions,  as  of  individuals,  being  buried  in  the  womb 
of  futurity,  it  is  not  given  to  me  to  penetrate  its 
mysteries.’ 

'*  In  this  temper  of  men’s  minds,  a  spark  was  suf¬ 
ficient  to  occasion  an  explosion.  On  the  27th  of 
December,  1798,  an  immense  crowd  assembled, 
with  seditious  cries,  and  moved  to  the  palace  of 
the  French  ambassador,  where  they  exclaimed, 

‘  Vive  la  Republique  Romaine  !’  and  loudly  invoked 
the  aid  of  the  French  to  enable  them  to  plant  the 
tricolor  flag  on  the  Capitol.  The  insurgents  dis¬ 
played  the  tricolor  cockade,  and  evinced  the  most 
menacing  disposition ;  the  danger  was  extreme  ■ 
from  similar  beginnings  the  overthrow  of  the  gov 
ern meats  of  Venice  and  Genoa  had  rapidly  fol¬ 
lowed.  The  papal  ministers  sent  a  regiment  of 
dragoons  to  prevent  any  sortie  of  the  Revolutionists 
from  the  palace  of  the  French  ambassador;  and 
they  repeatedly  warned  the  insurgents  that  their 
orders  were  to  allow  no  one  to  leave  the  precincts. 
Duphot,  however,  indignant  at  being  restrained  by 
the  pontifical  troops,  drew  his  sword,  rushed  down 
the  staircase,  and  put  himself  at  the  head  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  armed  Roman  democrats,  who 
were  now  contending  with  the  dragoons  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  palace.  He  was  immediately  killed 
by  a  discharge  ordered  by  the  sergeant  command¬ 
ing  the  patrol  of  the  papal  troops  ;  and  the  ambas¬ 
sador  himself,  who  had  followed  to  appease  the 
tumult,  narrowly  escaped  the  same  fate.  A  violent 
scuffle  ensued;  several  persons  were  killed  and 
wounded  on  both  sides :  and,  after  remaining  seve¬ 
ral  hours  in  the  greatest  alarm,  Joseph  Bonaparte, 
with  his  suite,  retired  to  Florence. 

“  This  catastrophe,  however  obviously  occasioned 
by  the  /evolutionary  schemes  which  were  in  agita¬ 
tion  at  the  residence  of  the  French  ambassador, 
having  taken  place  within  the  precincts  of  his  pal¬ 
ace,  was,  unhappily,  a  violation  of  the  law  of  na¬ 
tions,  ana  gave  the  Directory  too  fair  a  ground  to 


demand  satisfaction.  But  they  instantly  resolved 
to  make  it  the  pretext  for  the 'immediate  occupa¬ 
tion  of  Rome  and  overthrow  of  the  papal  govern¬ 
ment.  The  march  of  troops  out  of  Italy  was 
Countermanded,  and  Bertluer,  the  comniander-in- 
chief,  received  orders  to  advance  rapidly  into  the 
.Ecclesiastical  States.  Meanwhile,  the  democratic 
spirit  burst  forth  more  violently  than  ever  at  An¬ 
cona  and  the  neighbouring  towns,  and  the  papal 
authority  was  soon  lost  in  all  the  provinces  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Appenines.  To  these  accumu¬ 
lated  disasters  the  pontiff  could  only  oppose  the 
lasts  and  prayers  of  an  aged  conclave  —  weapons 
of  spiritual  warfare  little  calculated  to  arrest  the 
conquerors  of  Areola  and  Lodi. 

Berthier,  without  an  instant's  delay,  carried 
into  execution  the  orders  of  the  Directory  Six 
thousand  Poles  were  stationed  at  Rimini  to  cover 
theUsalpine  Republic;  a  reserve  was  established 
at  folentino,  while  the  commander-in-chief,  at  the 
head  of  eighteen  thousand  veteran  troops,  entered 
Ancona.  Having  completed  the  work  of  revolution 
in  that  turbulent  district,  and  secured  the  fortress 
he  crossed  the  Apennines;  and,  advancing  by  Fo- 
ligno  and  Nami,  appeared  on  the  10th  of  February 
before  the  Eternal  City.  The  pope,  in  the  utmost 
consternation,  shut  himself  up  in  the  Vatican  and 
spent  night  and  day  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  in  im¬ 
ploring  the  Divine  protection. 

“  Romd,  almost  defenceless,  would  have  offered 
no  obstacle  to  the  entrance  of  the  French  troops  • 
but  it  was  part  of  the  policy  of  the  Directory  to 
make  it  appear  that  their  aid  was  invoked  by  the 
spontaneous  efforts  of  the  inhabitants.  Contenting 
himself,  therefore,  with  occupying  the  castle  of  St. 
Angelo,  from  which  the  feeble  guards  of  the  pope 
were  soon  expelled,  Berthier  kept  his  troops  for 
five  days  encamped  without  the  walls.  At  length, 
the  Revolutionists  having  completed  their  prepara¬ 
tions,  a  noisy  crowd  assembled  in  the  Campo  Vac- 
cino,  the  ancient  Forum ;  the  old  foundations  of  the 
Capitol  were  made  again  to  resound  with  the  cries, 
if  not  the  spirit,  of  freedom,  and  the  venerable  en¬ 
signs,  S.  P.  Q.  R.,  after  the  lapse  of  fourteen  hun¬ 
dred  years,  again  floated  in  the  winds.  The  multi¬ 
tude  tumultuously  demanded  the  overthrow  of  the 
papal  authority ;  the  French  troops  were  invited  to 
enter;  the  conquerors  of  Italy,  with  a  haughty  air, 
passed  the  gates  of  Aurelian,  defiled  through  the 
Piazza  del  Popolo,  gazed  on  the  indestructible 
monuments  of  Roman  grandeur,  and,  amid  the 
shouts  of  the  inhabitants,  the  tricolor  flag  was 
displayed  from  the  summit  of  the  Capitol. 

’*  But  while  part  of  the  Roman  populace  were 
surrendering  themselves  to  a  pardonable  intoxica¬ 
tion  upon  the  fancied  recovery  of  their  liberties, 
the  agents  of  the  Directory  were  preparing  for  them 
the  sad  realities  of  slavery.  The  pope,  who  had 
been  guarded  by  five  hundred  soldiers  ever  since 
the  entry  of  the  Republicans,  was  directed  to  retire 
into  Tuscany;  his  Swiss  guard  relieved  by  a  French 
one,  and  he  himself  ordered  to  dispossess  himself 
of  all  his  temporal  authority.  He  replied,  with  the 
firmness  of  a  martyr,  ‘  I  am  prepared  for  every  spe 
cies  of  disgrace.  As  supreme  pontiff,  I  am  resolved 
to  die  in  the  exercise  of  all  my  powers.  You  may 
employ  force — you  have  the  power  to  do  so;  but 
know  that,  though  you  maybe  masters  of  my  body, 
you  are  not  so  of  my  soul.  Free  in  the  region  where 
it  is  placed,  it  fears  neither  the  events  nor  the  suf¬ 
ferings  of  this  life.  I  stand  on  the  threshold  of  ano¬ 
ther  world  ;  there  I  shall  be  sheltered  alike  from 
the  violence  and  impiety  of  this.’  Force  was  soon 
employed  to  dispossess  him  of  his  authority;  he 
was  dragged  from  the  altar  in  his  palace,  his  repos¬ 
itories  all  ransacked  and  plundered,  (he  rings  even 
torn  from  his  fingers,  the  whole  effects  in  the  Vati¬ 
can  and  Qujrinal  inventoried  and  seized,  and  the 
aged  pontiff  conducted,  with  only  a  few  domestics, 
amid  the  brutal  jests  and  sacrilegious  songs  of  the 
French  dragoons,  into  Tuscany,  wher*  the  gene¬ 
rous  hospitality  of  the  grand  duke  streve  U  soften 


408 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


12  And  the  sixth  angel  poured 


the  hardships  of  his  exile.  But,  though  a  captive 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  the  venerable  old  man 
still  letained  the  supreme  authority  in  the  Church 
From  his  retreat  in  the  convent  of  Chartreuse,  he 
yet  guided  the  counsels  of  the  faithful;  multitudes 
fell  on  their  knees  wherever  he  passed,  and  sought 
that  benediction  from  a  captive  which  they  would, 
perhaps,  have  disregarded  from  a  triumphant 
pontiff. 

“The  subsequent  treatment  of  this  venerable 
man  was  as  disgraceful  to  the  Republican  govern¬ 
ment  as  it  was  honorable  to  his  piety  and  constancy 
as  the  head  of  the  Church.  Fearful  that  from  his 
virtues  and  sufferings  he  might  have  had  too  much 
influence  on  the  continent  of  Italy,  he  was  removed 
by  their  orders  to  Leghorn,  in  March,  1799,  with 
the  design  of  transferring  him  to  Cagliari  in  Sar¬ 
dinia;  and  the  English  cruisers  in  the  Mediterra¬ 
nean  redoubled  their  vigilance,  in  the  generous 
hope  of  rescuing  the  father  of  an  opposite  church 
from  the  persecution  of  his  enemies.  Apprehensive 
of  losing  their  prisoner,  the  French  altered  his  des¬ 
tination,  and  forcing  him  to  traverse,  often  during 
the  night,  the  Apennines  and  the  Alps  in  a  rigorous 
season,  he  at  length  reached  Valence,  where,  after 
an  illness  of  ten  days,  he  expired,  in  the  eighty- 
second  year  of  his  age,  and  the  twenty- fourth  of 
his  pontificate  The  cruelty  of  the  Directory  in¬ 
creased  as  he  approached  their  dominions;  all  his 
old  attendants  were  compelled  to  leave  him,  and 
the  Father  of  the  Faithful  was  allowed  to  expire, 
attended  only  by  his  confessor.  Yet  even  in  this 
disconsolate  state  he  derived  the  highest  satisfac¬ 
tion  from  the  devotion  and  reverence  of  the  people 
in  the  provinces  of  France  through  which  he  passed. 
Multitudes  from  Gap,  Vizelle,  and  Grenoble  flocked 
to  the  road  to  receive  his  benediction ;  and  he  fre¬ 
quently  repeated,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  the  words 
of  Scripture,  ‘  Verilv,  1  say  unto  you,  I  have  not 
seen  such  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel.’ 

“  But  long  before  the  Pope  had  sunk  under  the 
persecution  of  his  oppressors,  Rome  had  expe¬ 
rienced  the  bitter  fruits  of  Republican  fraterniza¬ 
tion.  Immediately  after  the  entry  of  the  French 
troops  commenced  the  regular  and  systematic  pil¬ 
lage  of  the  city.  Not  only  the  churches  and  the 
convents  but  the  palaces  of  the  cardinals  and  of 
the  nobility  were  laid  waste.  The  agents  of  the 
Directory,  insatiable  in  the  pursuit  of  plunder,  and 
merciless  in  the  means  of  exacting  it,  ransacked 
every  quarter  within  its  walls,  seized  the  most 
valuable  works  of  art,  and  stripped  the  Eternal 
City  of  those  treasures  which  had  survived  the 
Gothic  fire  and  the  rapacious  hands  of  the  Spanish 
soldiers.  The  bloodshed  was  much  less,  but  the 
spoil  collected  incomparably  greater,  than  at  the 
disastrous  sack  which  followed  the  death  of  the 
Constable  Bourbon.  Almost  all  the  great  works 
of  art  which  have  since  that  time  been  collected 
throughout  Europe,  were  then  scattered  abroad. 
The  spoliation  exceeded  all  that  the  Goths  or  Van¬ 
dals  had  effected.  Not  only  the  palaces  of  the 
Vatican,  and  the  Monte  Cavallo,  and  the  chief 
nobility  of  Rome,  but  those  of  Castel  Gandolfo,  on 
the  margin  of  the  Alban  Lake,  of  Terraeina,  the 
Villa  Albani,  and  others  in  the  environs  of  Rome, 
were  plundered  of  every  article  of  value  which 
they  possessed.  The  whole  sacerdotal  habits  of 
the  pope  and  cardinals  were  burned,  in  order  to 
collect  from  the  flames  the  gold  with  which  they 
were  adorned.  The  Vatican  was  stripped  to  its 
naked  walls;  the  immortal  frescoes  of  Raphael 
and  Michael  Angelo  remained  in  solitary  beauty 
amid  the  general  desolation.  A  contribution  of 
four  millions  in  money,  two  millions  in  provisions, 
and  three  thousand  horses,  was  imposed  on  a  city 
already  exhausted  by  the  enormous  exactions  it 
had  previously  undergone.  Under  the  direction 
of  the  infamous  commissary  Haller,  the  domestic 
library,  museum,  furniture,  jewels,  and  even  the 


out  his  vial  upon  the  great  river 


private  clothes  of  the  pope,  were  sold.  Nor  did  the 
palaces  of  the  Roman  nobility  escape  devastation. 
The  noble  galleries  of  the  Cardinal  Brasc.hi,  and 
the  Cardinal  York,  the  last  relic  of  the  Stuart  line, 
underwent  the  same  fate.  Others,  as  those  of  the 
Chigi,  Borghese,  and  Doria  palaces,  were  rescued 
from  destruction  only  by  enormous  ransoms. 
Everything  of  value  that  the  Tolentiuo  had  left  in 
Rome  became  the  prey  of  Republican  cupidity,  and 
the  very  name  of  freedom  soon  became  odious, 
from  the  sordid  and  infamous  crimes  which  were 
committed  in  its  name. 

“  Nor  were  the  exactions  of  the  French  confined 
to  the  plunder  of  palaces  and  churches.  Eight 
cardinals  \»  ere  arrested  and  sent  to  Civita  Castel- 
lana,  while,  enormous  contributions  were  levied  on 
the  Papal  territory,  and  brought  home  the  bitter¬ 
ness  of  conquest  to  every  poor  man’s  door.  At  the 
same  time,  the  ample  territorial  possessions  of  the 
church  and  the  monasteries  were  confiscated,  and 
declared  national  property ;  a  measure  which,  by 
drying  up  at  once  the  whole  resources  of  the 
affluent  classes,  precipitated  into  the  extreme  of 
misery  the  numerous  poor  who  were  maintained 
by  their  expenditure  or  fed  by  their  bounty.  All 
the  respectable  citizens  and  clergy  were  in  fetters ; 
and  a  base  and  despicable  faction  alone,  among 
whom,  to  their  disgrace  be  it  told,  were  found  four¬ 
teen  cardinals  followed  in  the  train  of  the  oppres¬ 
sors  ;  and  at  a  public  festival,  returned  thanks  to 
God  for  the  miseries  they  had  brought  upon  their 
country.”  * 

12.  And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  great  river  Euphrates. 
On  the  situation  of  that  river,  and  the 
symbolical  meaning  of  this  language, 
see  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  14-21.  The  refe¬ 
rence  there  was  supposed  to  be  to  the 
Turkish  power,  and  the  analogy  of  inter¬ 
pretation  would  seem  to  require  that  it 
should  be  so  understood  here.  There  is 
every  reason,  therefore,  to  suppose  that 
this  passage  has  reference  to  something 
in  the  future  history  of  the  Turkish 
dominions,  and  to  some  bearing  of  the 
events  which  are  to  occur  in  that  his¬ 
tory  on  the  ultimate  downfall  of  the 

*  In  this  connexion,  I  may  insert  here  the  remark¬ 
able  calculation  of  Robert  Fleming,  in  his  work  en¬ 
titled  Apocalyptical  Key ,  or  the  Pouring  out  of  the 
Vials ,  first  published  in  1701.  It  is  in  the  following 
words:  44  The  fifth  vial  (ver.  10,  11),  which  is  to  be 
poured  out  on  the  seat  of  the  least ,  or  the  dominions 
which  more  immediately  belong  to  and  depend  on  the 
Roman  see  ;  that ,  /  sayy  this  judgment  will  probably 
begin  about  the  year  1794,  and  expire  about  A.  D,  1848; 
or  that  the  duration  of  it  upon  this  supposition  will  be 
the  space  of  fifty -four  years.  For  I  do  suppose  that 
seeing  the  Pope  received  the  title  of  Supreme  Bishop, 
no  sooner  than  A.  D.  606  he  cannot  be  supposed  to 
have  any  vial  poured  upon  his  seat  immediately  (so  a* 
to  receive  his  authority  so  signally  as  this  judgment 
must  be  supposed  to  all)  until  the  year  1848,  which  is 
the  date  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  in  pro - 
phetical  account  when  they  are  reckoned  from  A.  D% 
606,  But  yet  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  this  will 
totally  destroy  the  Papacy  (though  it  will  exceedingly 
weaken  it)  for  we  find  that  still  in  being  and  alive, 
when  the  next  vial  is  poured  out.”  p.  68.  Ed.  New 
York.  It  is  a  circumstauce  remarkably  in  accordance 
with  this  calculation,  that  in  the  year  1848  the  Pope  was 
actually  driven  away  to  Gaeta,  and  that  at  the  present 
time  (1851)  he  is  restored,  though  evidently  with 
diminished  power. 


409 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Euphrates  ;  °  and  the  water  thereof 
was  dried  up,  »  that  the  way  of 

°  c.  9. 14.  b  Is.  41.  3 ;  Je.  50.  38,  51.  36 


Antichristian  power  referred  to  by  the 
beast.  If  And  the  water  thereof  was 
dried  tip  that  the  way  of  the  Icings  of  the 
east  might  be  prepared.  That  is,  as  the 
effect  of  pouring  out  the  vial.  There  is 
an  allusion  here,  undoubtedly,  to  the 
dividing  of  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea, 
so  that  the  children  of  Israel  might  pass. 
See  Ex.  xiv.  21,  22.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Isa.  xi.  15.  In  this  description  the 
Euphrates  is  represented  as  a  barrier 
to  Prevent  the  passage  of  ‘  the  kings 
of  the  East  on  their  way  to  the  West 
tor  some  purpose  not  yet  specified; 
that  is,  applying  the  symbol  of  the 
Euphrates  as  being  the  seat  of  the 
lurkish  power,  the  meaning  is,  that 
that  power  is  such  a  hindrance,  and  that, 
m  some  way  that  hindrance  is  to  be  re- 
moved  as  if  the  waters  of  an  unbridged 
and  unfordable  river  were  dried  up  so 
as  to  afford  a  safe  and  easy  passage 
through.  Still  there  are  several  en¬ 
quiries  as  to  the  application  of  this  which 

ni-0t  easJ\and  as  i(i  refers  to  what  is 
still  future,  it  may  be  impossible,  to 
answer.  The  language  requires  us  to 
put  upon  it  the  following  interpreta- 
tion (a)  The  persons  here  referred  to 
as  ‘kings  of  the  East’  were  ready  to 
make  a  movement  towards  the  West, 
over  the  Euphrates,  and  would  do 
this  if  this  obstruction  were  not  in 
their  way.  Who  these  ‘  kings  of  the 
East  are,  is  not  said,  and  perhaps  can- 
not  be  conjectured.  The  natural  inter¬ 


bred”188  °f  ^  east  might  be  Pre- 
13  And  I  saw  three  unclean 


shall  come  unto  thee.”  “  AH  they  from 
feheba  shall  come ;  they  shall  bring  gold 
and  incense.”  “  The  isles  shall  wait  for 

brin^h  the  Sh,‘pS  of  Tarshish  first,  to 
ring  thy  sons  from  far,  their  silver  and 
their  gold  with  them.”  “  Thy  gates 
shal!  bl  °Pen  continually;  they  fhall 

briniV'bf111  0r,  night;  that  men  “ay 
bring  unto  thee  the  forces  of  the  Gen¬ 
tiles,  and  that  their  kings  may  be 
brought.  All  that  is  fairly  implied  in 
the  language  used  here  is,  that  the  kings 
ot  the  east  would  be  converted  to  the 
true  religion,  or  that  they  were  at  the 
time  referred  to  in  a  state  of  readiness  to 
be  converted  if  there  were  no  hindrance 
or  obstruction.  (6)  There  was  some  hin¬ 
drance  or  obstruction  to  their  conver- 
sion ;  that  is,  as  explained,  from  the 
lurkish  power:  in  other  words  they 
would  be  converted  to  the  true  faith  if 
it  were  not  for  the  influence  of  that 
power.  (e)  Tho  destruction  of  that 
power,  represented  by  the  drying  up  of 
the  Euphrates,  would  remove  that  ob¬ 
struction,  and  the  way  would  thus  be 
prepared’  for  their  conversion  to  the 
true  religion.  We  should  most  natu¬ 
rally  therefore,  look  in  the  fulfilment  of 
this  for  some  such  decay  of  tho  Turkish 
power  as  would  be  followed  by  the  con¬ 
version  of  the  rulers  of  the  east  to  the 
gospel. 

13.  And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits . 
Ihey  assumed  a  visible  form  which 
would  well  represent  their  odiousness  — 


pretation  is,  that  they  are  the  kings  that  that  of  frogs -butsti^ ff  they* arTTl~ 
re,e„  ,»  the  Kast,  or  **  prejl  over  |  of  aa  .»p,X  Se^va  p,P»e“ 


the  countries  of  the  eastern  hemisphere. 
Why  there  was  a  proposed  movement  to 
the  West  is  not  said.  It  might  have 
been  for  conquest,  or  it  might  have  been 
that  they  were  to  bring  their  tribute  to 
the  Spiritual  Jerusalem,  in  accordance 
with  what  is  so  often  said  in  the  pro¬ 
phets,  that  under  the  gospel,  kings  and 
princes  would  consecrate  themselves  and 
their  wealth  to  God.  See  Ps.  lxxii.  10, 
11,  “  The  kings  of  Tarshish  and  of  the 
isles  shall  bring  presents ;  the  kings  of 
Sheba  and  Seba  shall  offer  gifts.  Yea 
all  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him." 
So  also  Isa.  lx.,  “  Thy  sons  shall  come 
from  far.”  “  Tho  forces  of  the  Gentiles 
35 


or  evil  influences  (Ver.  14,  ‘spirits  of 
devils  ),  and  the  language  here  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  designed  to  represent  some 
such  power  or  influence,  which  would, 
at  that  period,  proceed  from  the  dragon, 
the  beast,  and  the  false  prophet,  f  Like 
frogs.—Parpaxoi!.  This  word  does  not 
occur  in  the  New  Testament  except  in 
the  passage  before  us.  It  is  properly 
translated  frogs.  The  frog  is  here  em¬ 
ployed  clearly  as  a  symbol ,  and  it  is 
designed  that  certain  qualities  of  the 
‘spirits’  here  referred  to  should  be  desig¬ 
nated  by  the  symbol.  For  a  full  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  meaning  of  the  symbol, 
the  reader  may  consult  Boohart,  Hieroz. 


410 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


spirits  like  frogs  come  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  dragon,  °  and  out  of 
a  c.  12.  3,  9. 

P.  II.  Lib.  v.  c.  iv.  According  to  Bo- 
chart,  the  frog  is  characterized,  as  a 
symbol,  (1)  for  its  rough,  harsh,  coarse 
voice ;  (2)  on  this  account  as  a  symbol 
of  complaining  or  reproaching ;  (3)  as  a 
symbol  of  empty  loquacity ;  (4)  as  a 
symbol  of  heretics  and  philosophers  — 
as  understood  by  Augustine;  (5)  because 
the  frog  has  its  origin  in  mud,  and  lives 
in  mud,  as  a  symbol  of  those  who  are 
horn  in  sin,  and  live  in  pollution ;  (6) 
because  the  frog  endures  all  changes  of 
the  season — cold  and  heat,  summer,  win¬ 
ter,  rain,  frost  —  as  a  symbol  of  monks 
who  practise  self-denial;  (7)  because  the 
frog,  though  abstemious  of  food,  yet  lives 
in  water  and  drinks  often,  as  a  symbol 
of  drunkards ;  (8)  as  a  symbol  of  impu¬ 
dence ;  (9)  because  the  frog  swells  his 
size,  and  distends  his  cheeks,  as  a  sym¬ 
bol  of  pride.  See  the  authorities  for 
these  uses  of  the  word,  in  Bochart.  How 
many  or  few  of  these  ideas  enter  into  the 
symbol  here,  it  is  not  easy  to  decide. 
We  may  suppose,  however,  that  the 
spirits  referred  to  would  be  character¬ 
ized  by  pride,  arrogance,  impudence, 
assumption  of  authority;  perhaps  im¬ 
purity  and  vilenebs,  for  all  these  ideas 
enter  into  the  meaning  of  the  symbol. 
They  are  not  here  probably  symbols  of 
persons,  but  of  influences  or  opinions 
which  would  be  spread  abroad,  and 
which  would  characterize  the  age  re¬ 
ferred  to.  The  reference  is  to  what  the 
‘  dragon,’  the  ‘  beast,’  and  the  ‘  false  pro¬ 
phet’  would  do  at  that  time  in  opposing 
the  truth,  and  in  preparing  the  world 
for  the  great  and  final  conflict.  Out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon.  One  of 
which  seemed  to  issue  from  the  month 
of  the  dragon.  On  the  symbolic  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  ‘dragon,’  see  Notes  on  ch. 
xii.  3.  It,  in  general,  represents  Satan, 
the  great  enemy  of  the  church ;  perhaps 
here  Satan  under  the  form  of  Heathen¬ 
ism  or  Paganism,  as  in  ch.  xii.  3, 4.  The 
idea  then  is,  that,  at  the  time  referred 
to,  there  would  be  some  manifestation 
of  the  power  of  Satan  in  the  heathen 
nations,  which  would  be  bold,  arrogant, 
proud,  loquacious,  hostile  to  truth,  and 
which  would  be  well  represented  by  the 
hoarse  murmur  of  the  frog.  And  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  least.  The  Papacy — 


the  mouth  of  the  beast, b  and  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet.® 
b  c.  13.  2.  c  c.  19.  20. 

as  above  explained. — Ch.  xiii.  That  is, 
there  would  be  some  putting  forth  of 
arrogant  pretensions ;  some  loud  denun¬ 
ciation  or  complaining ;  some  manifesta¬ 
tion  of  pride  and  self-consequence,  which 
would  be  well  represented  by  the  croak¬ 
ing  of  the  frog.  We  have  seen  above 
(Notes  on  vs.  5,  6)  that  although  the 
fifth  vial  was  poured  upon  ‘  the  seat  of 
the  beast,’  the  effect  was  not  to  crush 
and  overthrow  that  power  entirely.  The 
Papacy  would  still  survive,  and  would 
be  finally  destroyed  under  the  outpouring 
of  the  seventh  vial,  vs.  17-21.  In  the 
passage  before  us  we  have  a  representa¬ 
tion  of  it  as  still  living;  as  having  appa¬ 
rently  recovered  its  strength ;  and  as 
being  as  hostile  as  ever  to  the  truth,  and 
able  to  enter  into  a  combination,  secret 
or  avowed,  with  the  ‘dragon’  and  the 
‘false  prophet,’  to  oppose  the  reign  of 
truth  upon  the  earth.  And  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  The  word 
rendered  false  prophet — ipcvioirpotpijTvs — 
does  not  before  occur  in  the  book  of 
Revelation,  though  the  use  of  the  article 
would  seem  to  imply  that  some  well- 
known  power  or  influence  was  referred 
to  by  this.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  x.  3. 
The  word  occurs  in  other  places  in  the 
New  Testament — Matt.  vii.  15,  xxiv.  11, 
24;  Mark  xiii.  22;  Luke  vi.  26;  Acts 
xiii.  6 ;  2  Peter  ii.  1 ;  1  John  iv.  1 ;  and 
twice  elsewhere  in  the  book  of  Revela¬ 
tion  with  the  same  reference  as  here, 
ch.  xix.  20,  xx.  10.  In  both  these  latter 
places  it  is  connected  with  the  ‘beast:’ 
‘  And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him 
the  false  prophet;’  ‘And  tho  devil  that 
deceived  them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of 
fire  and  brimstone,  where  the  beast  and 
the  false  prophet  are.’  It  would  seem 
then  to  refer  to  some  power  that  was 
similar  to  that  of  the  beast,  and  that  was 
to  share  the  same  fate  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  enemies  of  the  gospel.  As  to  the 
application  of  this,  there  is  no  opinion 
so  probable  as  that  it  alludes  to  the 
Mohammedan  power  —  not  strictly  the 
Turkish  power,  for  that  was  to  be  ‘  dried 
up’  or  to  diminish,  but  to  the  Moham¬ 
medan  power  as  such,  that  was  still  to 
continue  for  a  while  in  its  vigor,  and 
that  was  yet  to  exert  a  formidable  influ¬ 
ence  against  the  gospel,  and  probably  in 


411 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XYI. 


14  For  they  are  the  spirits  of 
devils  “  working  miracles,  *  which 
go  forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth 
f,nd  °f tde  c  whole  world,  to  gather 
them  to  the  battle  -  of  that  great  day 
of  God  Almighty.  J 


Borne  combination,  in  fact,  if  not  in  form, 
with  Paganism  and  the  Papacy.  The 
reasons  for  this  opinion  are,  (a)  that  this 
was  referred  to  in  the  former  part  of  the 
book  as  one  of  the  formidable  powers 
that  would  arise,  and  that  would  mate¬ 
rially  affect  the  destiny  of  the  world,  and 
it  may  be  presumed  that  it  would  be 
again  referred  to  in  the  account  of  the 
final  consummation;  see  cli.  ix.  1-11- 
(b)  the  name  ‘ false  prophet'  would  bet¬ 
ter  than  any  other  describe  that  power, 
and  would  naturally  suggest  it  in  future 
times  —  for  to  no  one  that  has  ever  ap¬ 
peared  in  our  world  could  the  name  bo 
so  properly  applied  as  to  Mohammed: 
and  (c)  what  is  said  will  be  found  to 
agree  with  the  facts  in  regard  to  that 
power,  as,  in  connexion  with  the  Papacy 
and  with  Paganism,  constituting  the  sum 
of  the  obstruction  to  the  spread  of  the 
gospel  around  the  world. 

14.  For  they  are  the  spirits  of  devils. 
On  the  meaning  of  the  word  used  here, 
see  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  20.  It  is  used  here, 
as  it  is  in  ch.  ix.  20,  in  a  bad  sense  as 
denoting  evil  spirits.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Matt.  iv.  1,  2,  24.  *[  Working  miracles. 

Working  what  seemed  to  be  miracles; 
that  is,  such  wonders  as  to  deceive  the 
world  with  the  belief  that  they  were 
miracles.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  13,  14, 
where  the  same  power  is  ascribed  to  the 
‘  beast.’  Which  go  forth  into  the  kings 
of  the  earth.  Which  particularly  affect 
and  influence  kings  and  rulers.  No  class 
of  men  have  been  more  under  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  Pagan  superstition,  Mohamme¬ 
dan  delusion,  or  the  Papacy,  than  kings 
and  princes.  We  are  taught  by  this 
passage  that  this  will  continue  to  be  so 
in  the  circumstances  referred  to.  And 
of  the  whole  world.  That  is,  so  far  that 
it  might  be  represented  as  affecting  the 
whole  world  —  to  wit,  the  heathen,  the 
Mohammedan,  and  the  Papal  portions 
of  the  earth.  These  still  embrace  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  globe,  that  it  might 
be  said  that  what  would  affect  those 


lo  Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.* 
Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth,  and 
keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk 
naked,  ■>  and  they  see  his  shame. 


a  1  Ti.  4.  i. 
d  c.  19.  19. 


b  2  Th.  2.  9. 
e  2  Pe.  3. 10. 


c  1  Jno.  5. 19. 
/  c.  3.  4, 18. 


to  assemble  them  all  in  one  place,  but 
,lmto  and  combine  them  that  it 
fa!  f,°  ^Presented  as  an  assembling 
of  the  hosts  for  battle,  f  To  the  battle 
of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty.  Not 
the  day  of  judgment;  but  the  day  which 
would  determine  the  ascendency  of  true 
rehgion  in  the  world;— the  final  conflict 
with  those  powers  which  had  so  lone- 
opposed  the  gospel.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  that  there  would  be  a  literal 
battle,  in  which  God  would  be  seen  to 
contend  with ^  his  foes;  but  there  would 
be  that  which  might  be  properly  repre¬ 
sented  as  a  battle.  That  is,  there  would 
be  a  combined  struggle  against  the  truth, 
and  in  that  God  would  appear  by  his 
1  rovidenco  and  Spirit  on  the  side  of  the 
church,  and  would  give  it  the  victory. 
It  accords  with  all  that  has  occurred  in 
the  past,  to  suppose  that  there  will  be 
such  a  combined  struggle  before  the 

w!)ridh  Sha  1  finally  triumPfi  iu  the 

15.  Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  That 
is,  suddenly  and  unexpectedly.  See 
Notes  on  Matt.  xxiv.  43,  1  Thess.  v.  2. 
ihis  is  designed  evidently  to  admonish 
men  to  watch,  or  to  be  in  readiness  for 
his  coming  —  since,  whenever  it  would 
occur,  it  would  be  at  a  time  when  men 
were  not  expecting  him.  f  Blessed  is 
he  that  watcheth.  Comp.  Matt.  xxiv.  42- 

IZcl  f  mlftniDg  here  is>  that  be  who 
watches  for  these  events ;  who  marks  the 
indications  of  their  approach ;  and  who 
is  conscious  of  a  preparation  for  them, 
is  in  a  better  and  happier  state  of  mind 
than  he  on  whom  they  come  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly,  f  And  keepeth  his 
garments.  The  allusion  here  seems  to 
be  to  one  who,  regardless  of  danger,  or 
ot  the  approach  of  an  enemy,  should  lay 
aside  his  garments,  and  lie  down  to  sleep, 
-then  the  thief  might  come  and  take 
away  his  garments,  leaving  him  naked, 
the  essential  idea,  therefore,  here,  is  the 
duty  of  vigilance.  We  are  to  be  awake 
to  duty  and  to  danger;  we  are  not  to 


powers  now  would  influence  the  whole  be  found gGr;  W°  T  not  to 
w»M.  f  A  gMUr  Iitera.']y  I  £  £%  £  g 


412 


REVELATION. 


[A.  D.  96. 


16  And  he  gathered  them  toge- 


coming  of  the  Son  of  man.  Lest  he 
walk  naked.  His  raiment  being  carried 
away  while  he  is  asleep,  And  they 
tee  his  shame.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  iii. 
18.  The  meaning  here  is,  that,  as  Chris¬ 
tians  are  clothed  with  the  garments  of 
righteousness,  they  should  not  lay  them 
aside,  so  that  their  spiritual  nakedness 
should  be  seen.  They  are  to  be  always 
clothed  with  the  robes  of  salvation ;  al¬ 
ways  ready  for  any  event,  however  soon 
or  suddenly  it  may  come  upon  them. 

16.  And  he  gathered  them  together. 
Who  gathered  them  ?  Prof.  Stuart  ren¬ 
ders  it,  ‘they  gathered  them  together,’ 
supposing  that  it  refers  to  the  ‘  spirits’ — 
nvivyara — in  ver.  13,  and  that  this  is  the 
construction  of  the  neuter  plural  with  a 
singular  verb.  So  De  W ette  understands 
it.  Hengstenberg  supposes  that  it  means 
that  God  gathered  them  together;  others 
suppose  that  it  was  the  sixth  angel ; 
others  that  it  was  Satan ;  others  that  it 
was  the  beast;  and  others  that  it  was 
Christ.  See  Pool’s  Synopsis  in  loc.  The 
authority  of  De  Wette  and  Prof.  Stuart 
is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  construction 
which  they  adopt  is  authorized  by  the 
Greek,  as  indeed  no  one  can  doubt,  and 
perhaps  this  accords  better  with  the  con¬ 
text  than  any  other  construction  pro¬ 
posed.  Thus  in  ver.  14,  the  spirits  are 
represented  as  going  forth  into  the  whole 
world  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  the 
nations  together  to  the  great  battle,  and 
it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  reference 
is  to  them  here  as  having  accomplished 
what  they  went  forth  to  do.  But  who 
are  to  be  gathered  together?  Evidently 
those  who  in  ver.  14  are  described  by  the 
word  ‘them’  —  the  ‘kings  of  the  earth, 
and  the  whole  world ;’  that  is,  there  will 
be  a  state  of  things  which  would  be  well 
described  by  a  universal  gathering  of 
forces  in  a  central  battle-field.  It  is  by 
no  means  necessary  to  suppose  that  what 
is  here  represented  will  literally  occur. 
There  will  be  a  mustering  of  spiritual 
forces ;  there  will  be  a  combination  and 
a  unity  of  opposition  against  the  truth ; 
there  will  be  a  rallying  of  the  declining 
powers  of  Heathenism,  Mohammedanism, 
and  Komanism,  as  if  the  forces  of  the 
earth,  marshalled  by  kings  and  rulers, 
were  assembled  in  some  great  battle-field 
where  the  destiny  of  the  world  was  to  be 


ther  into  a  place  called  in  the  He¬ 
brew  tongue  Armageddon. 

decided.  Into  a  place  called  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  Armageddon.  The  word 
Armageddon  — ’ApyaycSSdv  —  occurs  no¬ 
where  else  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
is  not  found  in  the  Septuagint.  It  seems 

to  be  formed  from  the  Hebrew  I'HJO  “lil 

— Har  Megiddo — Mountain  of  Megiddo. 
Comp.  2  Chron.  xxxv.  22,  where  it  is 
said  that  Josiah  “came  to  fight  in  the 
valley  of  Megiddo.”  Megiddo  was  a  town 
belonging  to  Manasseh,  although  within 
the  limits  of  Issachar,  Josh.  xvii.  11.  It 
had  been  originally  one  of  the  royal  cities 
of  the  Canaanites  (Josh.  xii.  21),  and 
was  one  of  those  of  which  the  Israelites 
were  unable  for  a  long  time  to  take  pos¬ 
session.  It  was  rebuilt  and  fortified  by 
Solomon  (1  Kings  ix.  15),  and  thither 
Ahaziah  king  of  Judah  fled  when  wound¬ 
ed  by  Jehu,  and  died  there.  2  Kings  ix. 
27.  It  was  here  that  Deborah  and  Barak 
destroyed  Sisera  and  his  host  (Judges  v. 
19);  and  it  was  in  a  battle  near  this  that 
Josiah  was  slain  by  Pliaraoh-nechoh,  2 
Kings  xxiii.  29,  30;  2  Chron.  xxxv.  20-25. 
From  the  great  mourning  held  for  his 
loss,  it  became  proverbial  to  speak  of 
any  grievous  mourning  as  being  “like 
the  mourning  of  Hadadrimmon  in  the 
valley  of  Megiddon,”  Zech.  xii.  11.  It 
has  not  been  found  easy  to  identify  the 
place,  but  recent  researches  have  made 
it  probable  that  the  vale  or  plain  of 
Megiddo  comprehended,  if  it  was  not 
wholly  composed  of,  the  prolongation  of 
the  plain  of  Esdra-elon  towards  Mount 
Carmel ;  that  the  city  of  Megiddo  was 
situated  there ;  and  that  the  waters  of 
Megiddo,  mentioned  in  Judges  v.  19,  are 
identical  with  the  stream  Kishon  in  that 
part  of  its  course.  See  Bibli.  Repository, 
i.  602,  603.  It  is  supposed  that  the 
modern  town  called  Lcjjun  occupies  the 
site  of  the  ancient  Megiddo.  Robinson’s 
Biblical  Researches,  iii.  177—180.  Me¬ 
giddo  was  distinguished  for  being  the 
place  of  the  decisive  conflict  between 
Deborah  and  Sisera,  and  of  the  battle  in 
which  Josiah  was  slain  by  the  Egyptian 
invaders,  and  hence  it  became  emble¬ 
matic  of  any  decisive  battle-field — just 
as  Marathon,  Leuctra,  Arbela,  or  Water¬ 
loo,  is.  The  word  ‘mountain’  in  the 
term  Armageddon  —  ‘  Mountain  of  Me¬ 
giddo’ — seems  to  have  been  used  because 


413 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XYI. 


Megiddo  was  in  a  mountainous  region, 
though  the  battles  were  fought  in  a  val¬ 
ley  adjacent.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
there  would  be,  as  it  were,  a  decisive 
battle  which  would  determine  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  prevalence  of  true  religion  on 
the  earth.  What  we  are  to  expect  as 
the  fulfilment  of  this  would  seem  to  be, 
that  there  will  be  some  mustering  of 
strength — some  rallying  of  forces — some 
opposition  made  to  the  kingdom  of  God 
in  the  gospel  by  the  powers  here  referred 
to  which  would  be  decisive  in  its  charac¬ 
ter,  and  which  would  be  well  represented 
by  the  battles  between  the  people  of  God 
and  their  foes  in  the  conflicts  in  the  val¬ 
ley  of  Megiddo. 


As  this  constitutes,  according  to  the 
course  of  the  exposition  by  which  wo 
have  been  conducted,  an  important  di¬ 
vision  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  it  may 
be  proper  to  pause  here,  and  make  a  few 
remarks.  The  previous  parts  of  the 
book,  according  to  the  interpretation 
proposed,  relate  to  the  past,  and  thus  far 
we  have  found  such  a  correspondence 
between  the  predictions  and  facts  which 
have  occurred  as  to  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  these  predictions  have  been  fulfilled. 
At  this  point,  I  suppose,  we  enter  on 
that  part  which  remains  yet  to  be  ful¬ 
filled,  and  the  investigation  must  carry 
us  into  the  dark  and  unknown  future. 
The  remaining  portion  comprises  a  very 
general  sketch  of  things  down  to  the  end 
of  time,  as  the  previous  portion  has 
touched  on  the  great  events  pertaining 
to  the  church  and  its  progress  for  a  pe¬ 
riod  of  more  than  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  years.  A  few  general  remarks, 
therefore,  seem  not  inappropriate  at  this 
point. 

(a)  In  the  previous  interpretations  wo 
have  had  the  facts  of  history  by  which  to 
test  the  accuracy  of  the  interpretation. 
The  plan  pursued  has  been,  first,  to  in¬ 
vestigate  the  meaning  of  the  words  and 
symbols,  entirely  independent  of  any 
supposed  application,  and  then  to  inquire 
whether  there  have  been  any  facts  that 
may  be  regarded  as  corresponding  with 
the  meaning  of  the  words  and  symbols 
as  explained.  Of  this  method  of  testing 
the  accuracy  of  the  exposition  we  must 
now  take  our  leave.  Our  sole  reliance 
must  be  in  the  exposition  itself,  and  our 
Work  must  be  limited  to  that. 

(b)  It  is  always  difficult  to  interpret  a 
35  * 


prophecy.  The  language  of  prophecy  is 
often  apparently  enigmatical ;  the  sym¬ 
bols  are  sometimes  obscure,-  and  prophe¬ 
cies  relating  to  the  same  subject  are  often 
in  detached  fragments,  uttered  by  differ¬ 
ent  persons  at  different  times,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  collect  and  arrange  them, 
in  order  to  have  a  full  view  of  the  one 
subject.  Thus  the  prophecies  respecting 
the  Messiah  were  many  of  them  obscure, 
and  indeed  apparently  contradictory,  be¬ 
fore  he  came ;  they  were  uttered  at  dis¬ 
tant  intervals,  and  by  different  prophets  • 
at  one  time  one  trait  of  his  character  was 
dwelt  upon,  and  at  another  another;  and 
it  was  difficult  to  combine  these  so  as  to 
have  an  accurate  view  of  what  he  would 
be,  until  he  came.  The  result  has  shown 
what  the  meaning  of  the  prophecies  was; 
and  at  the  same  time  has  demonstrated 
that  there  was  entire  consistency  in  the 
various  predictions,  and  that  to  one  who 
could  have  comprehended  all,  it  would 
have  been  possible  to  combine  them  so 
as  to  have  had  a  correct  view  of  the 
Messiah  and  of  his  work  even  before  he 
came.  The  same  remark  is  still  more 
applicable  to  the  predictions  in  the  Book 
of  Revelation,  or  to  the  similar  predic¬ 
tions  in  the  Book  of  Daniel,  and  to  many 
portions  of  Isaiah.  It  is  easy  to  see  how 
difficult  it  would  have  been,  or  rather 
how  impossible  by  any  human  powers  to 
have  applied  these  prophecies  in  detail 
before  the  events  occurred ;  and  yet,  now 
that  they  have  occurred,  it  may  be  seen 
that  the  symbols  were  the  happiest  that 
could  have  been  chosen,  and  the  only 
ones  that  could  with  propriety  have 
been  selected  to  describe  the  remarkable 
events  which  were  to  take  place  in  future 
times. 

(c)  The  same  thing  we  may  presume  to 
be  the  case  in  regard  to  events  which  are 
to  occur.  We  may  expect  to  find  (1) 
language  and  symbols  that  are,  in  them¬ 
selves,  capable  of  clear  interpretation  as 
to  their  proper  meaning;  (2)  the  events 
of  the  future  so  sketched  out  by  that  lan¬ 
guage  and  by  those  symbols,  that  we  may 
obtain  a  general  view  that  will  be  accu¬ 
rate  ;  and  yet  (3)  an  entire  impossibility 
of  filling  up  beforehand  the  minute  de¬ 
tails. 

In  regard,  then,  to  the  application  of 
the  particular  portion  now  before  us,  vs. 
12-16,  the  following  remarks  may  be 
made : — 

(1)  The  Turkish  power,  especially 


414 


REVELATION, 


since  its  conquest  of  Constantinople  un¬ 
der  Mohamed  II.  in  1453,  and  its  estab¬ 
lishment  in  Europe,  has  been  a  grand 
hindrance  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
It  has  occupied  a  central  position;  it 
has  possessed  some  of  the  richest  parts 
of  the  world;  it  has,  in  general,  excluded 
all  efforts  to  spread  the  pure  gospel  within 
its  limits ;  and  its  whole  influence  has 
been  opposed  to  the  spread  of  pure  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  14-21. 
“  By  its  laws  it  was  death  to  a  Mussul¬ 
man  to  apostatize  from  his  faith,  and  be¬ 
come  a  Christian ;  and  examples,  not  a 
few,  have  occurred  in  recent  times  to 
illustrate  it.”  It  is  not  until  quite  re¬ 
cently,  and  that  under  the  influence  of 
missionaries  in  Constantinople,  that  evan¬ 
gelical  Christianity  has  been  tolerated  in 
the  Turkish  dominions. 

(2)  The  prophecy  before  us  implies 
that  there  would  be  a  decline  of  that 
formidable  power — represented  by  the 
‘drying  up  of  the  great' river  Euphrates.' 
See  Notes  on  ver.  12.  And  no  one  can 
be  insensible  to  the  fact  that  events  are 
occurring  which  would  he  properly  re¬ 
presented  by  such  a  symbol ;  or  that 
there  is,  in  fact,  now  such  a  decline  of 
that  Turkish  power,  and  that  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  that  decline  closely  followed,  in 
regard  to  time,  if  not  in  regard  to  the 
cause,  the  events  which  it  is  supposed 
were  designated  by  the  previous  vials — 
those  connected  with  the  successive  blows 
on  the  Papacy  and  the  seat  of  the  beast. 
In  reference,  then,  to  the  decline  of  that 
power,  we  may  refer  to  the  following 
things,  (a)  The  first  great  cause  was 
internal  revolt  and  insurrection.  In  1820, 
Ali  Pasha  asserted  his  independence, 
and  by  his  revolt  precipitated  the 
Greek  insurrection  which  had  been  a 
long  time  secretly  preparing  —  an  insur¬ 
rection  so  disastrous  to  the  Turkish 
power.  (6)  The  Greek  insurrection  fol¬ 
lowed.  This  soon  spread  to  the  Aegean 
isles,  and  to  the  districts  of  Northern 
Greece,  Epirus,  and  Thessaly;  while  at 
the  same  time  the  standard  of  revolt  was 
raised  in  Wallachia  and  Moldavia.  The 
progress  and  issue  of  that  insurrection 
are  well  known.  A  Turkman  army  of 
30,000  that  entered  the  Morea  to  recon¬ 
quer  it,  was  destroyed  in  1823  in  detail, 
and  the  freedom  of  the  peninsula  was 
nearly  completed  by  the  insurgents.  By 
sea  the  Greeks  emulated  their  ancestors 
of  Salamis  and  Mycale;  and,  attended 


[A.  D.  96. 

with  almost  uniform  success,  encountered 
and  vanquished  the  superior  Turkish  and 
Egyptian  fleets.  Meanwhile  the  sym¬ 
pathies  of  Western  Christendom  were 
awakened  in  behalf  of  their  brother 
Christians  struggling  for  independence ; 
and  just  when  the  tide  of  success  began 
to  turn,  and  the  Morea  was  again  nearly 
subjected  by  Ibrahim  Pasha,  the  united 
fleets  of  England,  France,  and  Russia 
(in  contravention  of  all  their  usual  prin¬ 
ciples  of  policy)  interposed  in  their  favor; 
attacked  and  destroyed  the  Tureo- 
Egyptian  fleets  in  the  battle  of  Navarino 
(September,  1827),  and  thus  secured  the 
independence  of  Greece.  Nothing  had 
ever  occurred  that  tended  so  much  to 
weaken  the  power  of  the  Turkish  empire, 
(c)  The  rebellion  of  the  great  Egyptian 
Pasha,  MehemetAli,  soon  followed.  The 
French  invasion  of  Egypt  had  prepared 
him  for  it,  by  having  taught  him  the 
superiority  of  European  discipline,  and 
thus  this  event  was  one  of  the  proper 
results  of  those  described  under  the  first 
four  vials.  Mehemet  Ali,  through  Ibra¬ 
him,  attacked  and  conquered  Syria;  de¬ 
feated  the  Sultan’s  armies  sent  against 
him  in  their  great  battles  of  Hems,  of 
Nezib,  and  of  Iconium ;  and,  but  for  the 
intervention  of  the  European  powers  of 
England,  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria, 
by  which  he  was  driven  out  of  Syria, 
and  forced  back  to  his  proper  Pashalic 
Egypt,  he  would  probably  have  ad¬ 
vanced  to  Constantinople,  and  subdued 
it.  (d)  There  has  been  for  centuries  a 
gradual  weakening  of  the  Turkish  power. 
It  has  done  nothing  to  extend  its  empire 
by  arms.  It  has  been  resting  in  inglo¬ 
rious  ease,  and,  in  the  mean  time,  its 
wealth  and  its  strength  have  been  grad¬ 
ually  decreasing.  It  has  lost  Moldavia, 
Wallachia,  Greece,  Algiers,  and  practi¬ 
cally  Egypt ;  and  is  doing  nothing  to  re¬ 
cruit  its  wasted  and  exhausted  strength. 
Russia  only  waits  for  a  favorable  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  strike  the  last  blow  on  that  en¬ 
feebled  power,  and  to  put  an  end  to  it 
for  ever,  (e)  The  general  condition  of 
the  Turkish  empire  is  thus  described  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Walsh,  Chaplain  to  the 
British  Ambassador  to  Constantinople : 
“  The  circumstances  most  striking  to  a 
traveller  passing  through  Turkey  is  its 
depopulation.  Ruins  where  villages  had 
been  built,  and  fallows  where  land  had 
been  cultivated,  are  frequently  seen  with 
no  living  thing  hear  them.  This  effect 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


-i  vujirjLiitt  AVI.  4JC 

out  his  vial  into  the  air;  and  there 

not  SO  visihlft  l'n  lo i. _  . - - - - 


is  not  so  visible  in  larger  towns,  though 
the  cause  is  known  to  operate  there  in  a 
still  greater  degree.  Within  the  last 
twenty  years,  Constantinople  has  lost 
more  than  half  its  population.  Two 
conflagrations  happened  while  I  was  in 
Constantinople,  and  destroyed  fifteen 
thousand  houses.  The  Russian  and 
.reek  wars  were  a  constant  drain  on  the 
jamsaries  of  the  capital;  the  silent  ope¬ 
ration  of  the  plague  is  continually  active, 
though  not  always  alarming;  it  will  be 
no  exaggeration  to  say  that,  within  the 
period  mentioned,  from  three  to  four 
Hundred  thousand  persons  have  been 
swept  away  in  one  city  in  Europe  by 
causes  which  were  not  operating  in  any 
other —conflagration,  pestilence,  and  civil 
commotion.  The  Turks,  though  natu¬ 
rally  of  a  robust  and  vigorous  constitu¬ 
tion,  addict  themselves  to  such  habits  as 
are  very  unfavorable  to  population— the 
births  do  little  more  than  exceed  the 
ordinary  deaths,  and  cannot  supply  the 
waste  of  casualties.  The  surrounding 
country  is,  therefore,  continually  drained 
to  supply  this  waste  in  the  capital,  which 
nevertheless  exhibits  districts  nearly  de¬ 
populated.  We  see  every  day  life  going 
out  in  the  fairest  portion  of  Europe;  and 
the  human  race  threatened  with  extinction 
in  a  soil  and  climate  capable  of  support- 
J“g  ,  most  abundant  population.”— 
Walshs  Narrative,  pp.  22-26,  as  quoted 
m  Bush  on  the  Millenium,  pp.  243,  244 
The  probability  now  is,  that  this  gradual 
decay  will  be  continued ;  that  the  Turk¬ 
ish  power  will  more  and  more  diminish  • 
that  one  portion  after  another  will  set 
up  for  independence;  and  that  by  a  gra¬ 
dual  process  of  decline,  this  power  will 
become  practically  extinct,  and  what  is 
here  symbolized  by  the  ( drying  up  of 
the  great  river  Euphrates’  will  have  been 
accomplished. 

(3)  This  obstacle  removed,  we  may 
look  for  a  general  turning  of  the  princes, 
and  rulers,  and  people  of  the  Eastern 
world  to  Christianity,  represented  (Ver. 

12)  by  its  being  said  that  ‘the  way  of  the 
kings  of  the  east  might  be  prepared.’ 

See  N otes  on  that  verse.  It  is  clear  that 
nothing  would  be  more  likely  to  contri¬ 
bute  to  this,  or  to  prepare  the  way  for  it 
than  the  removal  of  that  Turcoman  do¬ 
minion  which  for  more  than  four  hun¬ 
dred  years  has  been  an  effectual  barrier 


whehred!fUiSi0n  0f  the-  gospel  in  the  larTds 
where  it  has  prevailed.  How  rapidly 
we  may  suppose,  the  gospel  would  spread 
n  the  East,  if  all  the  obstacles  thrown  in 

'S  *'^  ?  ^0  Turkish  power  were  at 
once  removed  1 

(4)  In  accordance  with  the  interpreta¬ 
tion  suggested  on  vs.  13, 14,  we  may  look 

SntpThthlnS  thtl-  WOuId  be  wel1  ™pre- 
of  Wh7  a-  COm™n?d  effort  on  part 
f  heathenism,  Mohammedanism,  and 

Romanism,  to  stay  the  progress  and  pre¬ 
vent  the  spread  of  evangelical  religion. 

I  hat  is  according  to  the  fair  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  the  passage,  we  should  look  for 
some  simultaneous  movement  as  if  their 
influence  was  to  be  about  to  cease,  and 
as  it  it  were  necessary  to  arouse  all  their 
energies  for  a  last  and  desperate  struggle. 

II  added  that,  in  itself,  nothing 
would  be  more  probable  than  this;  but 
when  it  will  occur,  and  what  form  the 
aroused  energy  will  assume,  it  would  be 
vain  to  conjecture. 

(5)  And  in  accordance  with  the  inter¬ 
pretation  suggested  on  ver.  15,  we  are  to 
suppose  that  something  will  occur  which 
would  be  well  represented  by  the  decisive 
conflicts  in  the  valley  of  Megiddo;  that 
is,  something  that  will  determine  the 
ascendency  of  true  religion  in  the  world, 
os  i/ these  great  powers  of  heathenism, 
Mohammedanism,  and  Romanism  should 
stake  all  their  interests  on  the  issue  of  a 

wtle/  •  Ifc  is  not  necessary  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  this  will  literally  occur,  and 
there  are  no  certain  intimations  as  to  the 
time  when  what  is  represented  will  hap¬ 
pen  ;  but  all  that  is  meant  may  be  that 
events  will  take  place  which  would  be 
well  represented  by  such  a  conflict.  Still, 
ln  ,tbe  Prophecy  prevents  the 
supposition  that  these  combined  powers 
may  overthrown  in  some  fierce  conflict 
with  Christian  powers. 

17.  And  the  seventh  angel  poured  out 

v'al.mt0  the  «*>•  This  introduces 
tne  final  catastrophe  in  regard  to  the 
“east :  —his  complete  and  utter  over- 
.  accompanied  with  tremendous 
judgments. .  Why  the  vial  was  poured 
mto  the  air  is  not  stated.  The  most  pro¬ 
bable  supposition  as  to  the  idea  intended 
to  be  represented  is,  that  as  storms  and 
tempests  seem  to  be  engendered  in  the 
air,  so  this  destruction  would  come  from 
some  supernatural  cause,  as  if  the  whole 


416  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


came  a  great  voice  out  of  the  tem¬ 
ple  of  heaven,  from  the  throne, 
saying,  It  °  is  done. 

18  And  there  were  voices,  and 
thunders,  and  lightnings ;  and  there 
was  a  great  earthquake, b  such c  as 
a  c.  21.  6.  b  c.  11. 13. 


atmosphere  should  be  filled  with  wind 
and  storm,  and  a  furious  and  desolating 
whirlwind  should  be  aroused  by  some 
invisible  power,  f  And  there  came  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaven. 
The  voice  of  God.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xi. 
19.  From  the  throne.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  iv.  2.  This  shows  that  it  was  the 
voice  of  God,  and  not  the  voice  of  an 
angel.  Saying,  It  is  done.  The 
series  of  judgments  is  about  to  be  com¬ 
pleted;  the  dominion  of  the  beast  is 
about  to  come  to  an  end  for  ever.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  that  destruction 
was  so  certain,  that  it  might  be  spoken 
of  as  now  actually  accomplished. 

18.  And  there  were  voices,  and  thun¬ 
ders,  and  lightnings.  Accompanying 
the  voice  that  was  heard  from  the 
throne.  See  Notes  on  eh.  iv.  5,  xi.  19. 

And  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  &c. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  xi.  19,  and  ch.  vi.  12. 
The  meaning  is,  that  a  judgment  fol¬ 
lowed  as  if  the  world  were  shaken  by 
an  earthquake,  or  which  would  be  pro¬ 
perly  represented  by  that,  So  mighty 
an  earthquake,  and  so  great.  All  this  is 
intensive,  and  is  designed  to  represent 
the  severity  of  the  judgment  that  would 
follow. 

19.  And  the  city  was  divided  into  three 
parts.  The  city  of  Babylon;  or  the 
mighty  power  that  was  represented  by 
Babylon.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  8.  The 
division  here  mentioned  into  three  parts 
was  manifestly  with  reference  to  its 
destruction  :  —  either  that  one  part  was 
smitten  and  the  others  remained  for  a 
time;  or  that  one  form  of  destruction 
came  on  one  part  and  another  on  the 
others.  In  ch.  xi.  13,  it  is  said,  speak¬ 
ing  of  “  the  great  city  spiritually  called 
Sodom  and  Egypt” — representing  Borne, 
that  “  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell,  and 
in  the  earthquake  were  slain  of  men 
seven  thousand”  (see  Notes  on  that 
place);  here  it  is  said  that  the  whole 
city,  in  the  calamities  that  came  upon 
it,  was  divided  into  three  portions. 


was  not  since  men  were  upon  the 
earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake, 
and  so  great. 

19  And  the  great  city d  was  di¬ 
vided  into  three  parts,  and  the 
cities  of  the  nations  fell :  and  great 

e  Da.  12. 1.  d  c.  14.  8. 


though  it  is  evidently  implied  that  in 
these  calamities,  the  whole  city  was 
sooner  or  later  destroyed.  Prof.  Stuart 
(in  loc.)  supposes  that  the  number  three 
is  used  here  as  it  is  throughout  the 
book  “  in  a  symbolical  way,”  and  that 
the  meaning  is,  that  “  the  city  was 
severed  and  broken  in  pieces,  so  that 
the  whole  was  reduced  to  a  ruinous 
state.”  He  supposes  that  it  refers  to 
Pagan  Borne,  or  to  the  Pagan  Boman 
persecuting  power.  Others  refer  it  to 
Jerusalem,  and  suppose  that  the  allusion 
is  to  the  divisions  of  the  city,  in  the 
time  of  the  siege,  into  Jewish,  Sama¬ 
ritan,  and  Christian  parties ;  others 
suppose  that  it  refers  to  a  division  of 
the  Boman  empire  under  Honorius, 
Attalus,  and  Constantine ;  others  to 
the  fact  that  when  Jerusalem  was 
besieged  by  Titus  it  was  divided  into 
three  factions ;  and  others  that  the  num¬ 
ber  three  is  used  to  denote  perfection,  or 
the  total  ruin  of  the  city.  All  that  it 
seems  to  me  can  be  said  now  on  tho 
point  is,  (a)  that  it  refers  to  Papal  Borne, 
or  the  Papal  power ;  (6)  that  it  relates  to 
something  yet  future,  and  that  it  may 
not  be  possible  to  determine  with  pre¬ 
cise  accuracy  what  will  occur;  (c)  that 
it  probably  means  that,  in  the  time  of 
the  final  ruin  of  that  power,  there  will 
be  a  threefold  judgment;  either  a  dif¬ 
ferent  judgment  in  regard  to  some  three¬ 
fold  manifestation  of  that  power,  or  a 
succession  of  judgments  as  if  one  part 
were  smitten  at  a  time.  The  certain 
and  entire  ruin  of  the  power  is  predicted 
by  this,  but  still  it  is  not  improbable  that 
it  will  be  by  such  divisions,  or  such  suc¬ 
cessions  of  judgments,  that  it  is  proper 
to  represent  the  city  as  divided  into 
three  portions.  And  the  cities  of  the 
nations  fell.  In  alliance  with  it,  or 
under  the  control  of  the  central  power. 
As  the  capital  fell,  the  dependent  cities 
fell  also.  Considered  as  relating  to 
Papal  Borne  the  meaning  here  is,  that 
what  may  be  properly  called  ‘  the  cities 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Babylon  came  in  remembrance  be¬ 
fore  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  « 
of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his 
wrath. 

20  And b  every  island  fled  away, 
and  the  mountains  were  not 
found. 

a  Is.  51. 17,  23;  Je.  25. 15, 16.  b  c.  6. 14. 


of  the  nations’  that  were  allied  with  it 
would  show  the  same  fate.  The  cities 
of  numerous  ‘nations’  are  now,  and 
have  been  for  ages,  under  the  control  of 
the  Papal  power,  or  the  spiritual  Baby¬ 
lon,  and  the  calamity  that  will  smite 
the  central  power  as  such;  that  is,  as  a 
spiritual  power,  will  reach  and  affect 
them  all.  Let  the  central  power  at 
Rome  be  destroyed ;  the  Papacy  cease  ; 
the  superstition  with  which  Rome  is  re¬ 
garded  come  to  an  end ;  the  power  of 
the  priesthood  in  Italy  be  destroyed, 
and  however  widely  the  Roman  domi¬ 
nion  is  spread  now,  it  cannot  be  kept  up. 
If  it  falls  in  Rome  there  is  not  influence 
enough  out  of  Rome  to  continue  it  in 
being:  — and  in  all  its  extended  ramifi¬ 
cations  it  would  die,  as  the  body  dies 
when  the  head  is  severed;  as  the  power 
of  provinces  ceases  when  ruin  comes 
upon  the  capital.  This,  the  prophecy 
leads  us  to  suppose  will  be  the  final 
destiny  of  the  Papal  power.  And 
great  Babylon.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  8. 

If  Game  in  remembrance  before  God. 
That  is,  for  purposes  of  punishment. 
It  had  been,  as  it  were,  overlooked.  It 
had  been  permitted  to  carry  on  its  pur¬ 
poses,  and  to  practise  its  abominations, 
unchecked,  as  if  God  did  not  see  it. 
Now  the  time  had  come  when  all  that  it 
had  done  was  to  be  remembered,  and 
when  the  long-suspended  judgment  was 
to  fall  upon  it.  f  To  give  unto  her 
the  cup  of  the  wine,  &c.  To  punish ; 
to  destroy  her.  See  Notes  on  chapter 
xiv.  10. 

20.  And  every  island  fled  away.  Ex¬ 
pressive  of  great  and  terrible  judgments, 
as  if  the  very  earth  were  convulsed,  and 
every  thing  were  moved  out  of  its  place. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  vi.  14.  And  the 
mountains  were  not  found.  The  same 
image  occurs  in  ch.  vi.  14.  See  Notes 
on  that  place. 

21.  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great 
hail  out  of  heaven.  Perhaps  this  is 


417 

21  And  there  fell  upon  men  a 
great  hail c  out  of  heaven,  every 
stone  about  the  weight  of  a  talent : 
and  men  blasphemed  God  because 
of  the  plague  of  the  hail;  for 
the  plague  thereof  was  exceeding 
great.  ° 

c  c.  11. 19. 


an  allusion  to  one  of  the  plague*  of 
Egypt.  Ex.  ix.  22-26.  Comp?  Notes 
ch.  xi.  19.  For  a  graphic  description 
o  the  effects  of  a  hail  storm,  see 
Notes  on  Isa.  xxx.  30,  second  edition. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Job  xxxviii.  22.  f  Every 
stone  about  the  weight  of  a  talent.  The 
Attic  talent  was  equal  to  about  55  or 
56  lbs.  Troy  weight;  the  Jewish  talent 
to  about  113  lbs.  Troy.  Whichever 
weight  is  adopted,  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
what  must  be  the  horror  of  such  a  storm, 
and  what  destruction  it  must  cause.  We 
are  not,  of  course,  to  suppose  necessarily 
that  this  would  literally  occur :  it  is  a 
frightful  image  to  denote  the'  terrible 
and  certain  destruction  that  would  come 
upon  Babylon,  that  is,  upon  the  Papal 
power.  <jf  And  men  blasphemed  God. 
bee  Notes  on  ver.  9.  f  Because  of  the 
plague  of  the  hail.  Using  the  word 
plague  in  allusion  to .  the  plagues  of 
Egypt  ^f  For  the  plague  thereof  was 
exceeding  great.  The  calamity  was  great 
and  terrible.  The  design  of  the  whole 
is  to  show  that  the  destruction  would 
be  complete  and  awful. 

This  finishes  the  summary  state¬ 
ment  of  the  final  destruction  of  this 
formidable  Antichristian  power.  The 
details  and  the  consequences  of  that 
overthrow  are  more  fully  stated  in  the 
subsequent  chapters.  The  fulfilment  of 
what  is  here  stated  will  be  found,  ac¬ 
cording  to.  the  method  of  interpretation 
proposed,  in  the  ultimate  overthrow  of 
the  Papacy.  .  The  process  described  in 
this  chapter  is  that  of  successive  cala- 
mities  that  would  weaken  it,  and  prepare 
it  for  its  fall ;  then  a  rallying  of  its  dying 
strength ;  and  then  some  tremendous 
judgment  that  is  compared  with  a  storm 
of  hail,  accompanied  with  lightning,  and 
thunder,  and  an  earthquake,  that  would 
completely  overthrow  all  that  was  con¬ 
nected  with  it,  and  that  sustained  it. 
We  are  not  indeed  to  suppose  that  this 
will  literally  occur;  but  the  fair  inter- 


418 


REVELATION, 


pretation  of  prophecy  leads  us  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  that  formidable  power  will, 
at  no  very  distant  period,  be  over¬ 
thrown  in  a  manner  that  would  be  well 
represented  by  such  a  fearful  storm. 

CHAPTER  XYII. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter  properly  commences  a 
more  detailed  description  of  the  judg¬ 
ment  inflicted  on  the  formidable  Anti¬ 
christian  power  referred  to  in  the  last 
chapter,  though  under  a  new  image.  It 
contains  an  account  of  the  sequel  of  the 
pouring  out  of  the  last  vial,  and  the 
description,  in  various  forms,  continues 
to  the  close  of  ch.  xix.  The  whole  of 
this  description  (ch.  xvii.-xix.),  consti¬ 
tutes  the  last  great  catastrophe  repre¬ 
sented  under  the  seventh  vial  (ch.  xvi. 
17-21),  at  the  close  of  which  the  great 
enemy  of  God  and  the  church  will  be 
destroyed,  and  the  church  will  be 
triumphant,  ch.  xix.  17-21.  The  image 
n  this  chapter  is  that  of  a  harlot,  or 
abandoned  woman,  on  whom  severe 
judgment  is  brought  for  her  sins.  The 
action  is  here  delayed,  and  this  chapter 
has  much  the  appearance  of  an  ex¬ 
planatory  episode,  designed  to  give  a 
more  clear  and  definite  idea  of  the  cha¬ 
racter  of  that  formidable  Antichristian 
power  on  which  the  judgment  was  to 
descend. 

The  chapter,  without  any  formal  di¬ 
vision,  embraces  the  following  points  : — 

(1)  Introduction,  vs.  1-3.  One  of  the 
seven  angels  entrusted  with  the  seven 
vials,  comes  to  John  saying  that  he 
would  describe  to  him  the  judgment  that 
was  to  come  upon  the  great  harlot  with 
whom  the  kings  of  the  earth  had  com¬ 
mitted  fornication,  and  who  had  made 
the  dwellers  upon  the  earth  drunk  by 
the  wine  of  her  fornication  : — that  is,  of 
that  Antichristian  power  so  often  re¬ 
ferred  to  in  this  book,  which  by  its 
influence  had  deluded  the  nations,  and 
brought  their  rulers  under  its  control. 

(2)  A  particular  description  of  this 
Antichristian  power — represented  as  an 
abandoned  and  attractive  female — in  the 
usual  attire  of  an  harlot,  vs.  3-6.  She 
is  seated  on  a  scarlet-colored  beast 
covered  over  with  blasphemous  names — 
a  beast  with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 
She  is  arrayed  in  the  usual  gorgeous  and 
alluring  attire  of  an  harlot,  clothed  in 
purple,  decked  with  gold,  and  precious 


[A.  D.  96. 

stones,  and  pearls,  with  a  golden  cup  in 
her  hand  full  of  abomination  and  filthi¬ 
ness.  She  has  on  her  forehead  a  name 
expressive  of  her  character.  She  is  re¬ 
presented  as  drunken  with  the  blood  of 
the  saints,  and  is  sueh  as  to  attract 
attention  and  excite  wonder. 

(3)  An  explanation  of  what  is  meant 
by  this  scarlet-clothed  woman,  and  of 
the  design  of  the  representation,  vs.  7- 
18.  This  comprises  several  parts  : — 

(а)  A  promise  of  the  angel  that  he 
would  explain  this,  ver.  7. 

(б)  An  enigmatical  or  symbolical  re¬ 
presentation  of  the  design  of  the 
vision,  vs.  8-14.  This  description 
consists  of  an  account  of  the  beast 
on  which  the  woman  sat,  ver.  8 ;  of 
the  seven  heads  of  the  beast,  as 
representing  seven  mountains,  ver. 
9 ;  of  the  succession  of  kings  or 
dynasties  represented,  vs.  9,  10,  11 ; 
of  the  ten  horns  as  representing  ten 
kings  or  kingdoms  giving  their 
power  and  strength  to  the  beast, 
vs.  12,  13;  and  of  the  conflict  or 
warfare  of  all  these  confederated  or 
consolidated  powers  with  the  Lamb, 
and  their  discomfiture  by  him, 
ver.  14. 

(c)  A  more  literal  statement  of  what 
is  meant  by  this,  vs.  15-18.  The 
waters  on  which  the  harlot  sat 
represent  a  multitude  of  people  sub¬ 
ject  to  her  control,  ver.  15.  The 
ten  horns,  or  the  ten  kingdoms,  on 
the  beast,  would  ultimately  hate 
the  harlot,  and  destroy  her,  as  if 
they  should  eat  her  flesh,  and  con¬ 
sume  her  with  fire,  ver.  16.  This 
would  be  done  because  God  would 
put  it  into  their  hearts  to  fulfil  his 
purposes,  alike  in  giving  their  king¬ 
dom  to  the  beast,  and  then  turning 
against  it  to  destroy  it,  ver.  17.  The 
woman  referred  to  is  at  last  declared 
to  be  the  great  city  which  reigned 
over  the  kings  of  the  earth,  ver.  18. 
For  particularity  and  definiteness 
this  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
chapters  in  the  book,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  it  was  the  design 
in  it  to  give  such  an  explanation  of 
what  was  referred  to  in  these  visions, 
that  there  could  be  no  mistake  in 
applying  the  description.  “  All  that 
remains  between  this  and  the  twen¬ 
tieth  chapter,”  says  Andrew  Fuller 
“  would  in  modern  publications  bo 


419 


a-d-96.]  CHAPTER  XVII. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

ND  there  came  one  of  the  seven 
angels  which  had  the  seven 
vials,  and  talked  with  me,  saying 
unto  me,  Come  hither ;  I  will  show 
unto  thee  the  judgment  of  the 
a  Na.  3.  4;  a  19.  2.  6  Je.  51. 13.  c  18.  3. 


great  whore*  that  sitteth  upon 
many  waters :*  1 

2  With  whom c  the  kings  of  the 
earth  have  committed  fornication, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
have  been  made  drunk  with  the 
wine  of  her  fornication. 


called  notes  of  illustration.  No  new 
subject  is  introduced,  but  mere  en¬ 
largement  on  what  has  already  been 
announced.”  Works, \ i.  205. 

1.  And  there  came  one  of  the  seven 
angels  which  had  the  seven  vials.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xv.  1,  7.  Reference  is  again 
made  to  these  angels  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner  in  ch.  xxi.  9,  where  one  of  them 
says  that  he  would  show  to  John  ‘  the 
bride,  the  Lamb’s  wife.’  No  particular 
one  is  specified.  The  general  idea  seems 
to  be,  that  to  those  seven  angels  was 
entrusted  the  execution  of  the  last 
things,  or  the  winding  up  of  affairs  in¬ 
troductory  to  the  reign  of  God,  and  that 
the  communications  respecting  those  last 
events  were  properly  made  through 
them.  It  is  clearly  quite  immaterial  by 
which  of  these  it  is  done.  The  expres¬ 
sion  ‘  which  had  the  seven  vials,’  would 
seem  to  imply  that  though  they  had 
emptied  the  vials  in  the  manner  stated 
in  the  previous  chapter,  they  still  re¬ 
tained  them  in  their  hands.  And 
talked  with  me.  Spake  to  me.  The 
word  talk  would  imply  a  more  pro¬ 
tracted  conversation  than  occurred  here. 
^  Come  hither.  Gr.  icvpo — ‘  here,  hither.’ 
This  is  a  word  merely  calling  the  atten¬ 
tion,  as  we  should  say  now  ‘here.’  It 
does  not  imply  that  John  was  to  leave 
the  place  where  he  was.  I  will  show 
thee.  Partly  by  symbols,  and  partly  by 
express  statements  : — for  this  is  the  way 
in  which,  in  fact,  he  showed  him.  The 
judgment.  The  condemnation  and  cala¬ 
mity  that  will  come  upon  her.  *[  Of 
the  great  whore.  It  is  not  uncommon 
in  the  Scriptures  to  represent  a  city  under 
the  image  of  a  woman — a  pure  and  holy 
city  under  the  image  of  a  virgin  or  chaste 
female ;  a  corrupt,  idolatrous,  and  wicked 
city  under  the  image  of  an  abandoned 
or  lewd  woman.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  i. 
21 :  “  How  is  the  faithful  city  become 
an  harlot.”  Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  i.  8. 
In  ver.  18  of  this  chapter  it  is  expressly 
said  that  “this  woman  is  that  great 


city  which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of 
the  earth  ;”  that  is,  as  I  suppose,  Papal 
Rome,  and  the  design  here  is  to  repre¬ 
sent  it  as  resembling  an  abandoned 
female— fit  representative  of  an  apostate, 
corrupt,  unfaithful  church.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ch.  ix.  21.  f  That  sitteth  upon  many 
waters.  An  image  drawn  either  from 
Babylon,  situated  on  the  Euphrates,  and 
encompassed  by  the  many  artificial 
rivers  which  had  been  made  to  irri¬ 
gate  the  country,  or  Rome,  situated 
on  the  Tiber.  In  ver.  15,  these  wa¬ 
ters  are  said  to  represent  the  peoples, 
multitudes,  nations,  and  tongues  over 
which  the  government  symbolized  by 
the  woman  ruled.  See  Notes  on  that 
verse.  Waters  are  often  used  to  sym¬ 
bolize  nations. 

2.  With  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth 
have  committed  fornication.  Spiritual 
adultery.  The  meaning  is,  that  Papal 
Rome,  unfaithful  to  God,  and  idolatrous 
and  corrupt,  had  seduced  the  rulers  of 
the  earth,  and  led  them  into  the  same 
kind  of  unfaithfulness,  idolatry,  and  cor¬ 
ruption.  Comp.  Jer.  iii.  8,  9,  v.  7,  xiii. 
27,  xxiii,  14;  Ezek.  xvi.  32,  xxiii.  37; 
Hosea  ii.  2,  iv.  2.  How  true  this  is  in 
history,  need  not  be  stated.  All  the 
princes  and  kings  of  Europe  in  the  dark 
ages  and  for  many  centuries  were,  and 
not  a  few  of  them  are  now,  entirely  under 
the  influence  of  Papal  Rome.  *^And  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  have  been  made 
drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication. 
The  alluring  cup  which  as  an  harlot  she 
had  extended  to  them.  See  this  image 
explained  in  the  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  8. 
There  it  is  said  that  Babylon — referring 
to  the  same  thing  —  had  “  made  them 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  for¬ 
nication  ;”  that  is,  of  the  cup  that  led  to 
wrath  or  punishment.  Here  it  is  said 
that  the  harlot  had  made  them  “drunk 
with  the  wine  of  her  fornication ;”  that 
is,  they  had  been,  as  it  were,  intoxicated 
by  the  alluring  cup  held  out  to  them. 
What  could  better  describe  the  influence 


420 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


3  So  he  carried  me  away  in  the 

of  Rome  on  the  people  of  the  world,  in 
making  them,  under  these  delusions,  in¬ 
capable  of  sober  judgment,  and  in  com¬ 
pletely  fascinating  and  controlling  all 
their  powers  ? 

3.  So  he  carried,  me  away  in  the  Spirit. 
In  vision.  He  seemed  to  himself  to  be 
thus  carried  away*  or  the  scene  which 
he  is  about  to  describe  was  made  to  pass 
before  him  as  if  he  were  present.  Into 
the  wilderness.  Into  a  desert.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ch.  xii.  6.  Why  this  scene  is 
laid  in  a  wilderness  or  desert  is  not  men¬ 
tioned.  Prof.  Stuart  supposes  that  it  is 
because  it  is  “  appropriate  to  symbolize 
the  future  condition  of  the  beast.”  So 
De  Wette  and  Rosenmiiller.  The  im¬ 
agery  is  changed  somewhat  from  the  first 
appearance  of  the  harlot  in  ver.  1.  There 
she  is  represented  as  “  sitting  upon  many 
waters.”  Now  she  is  represented  as 
‘riding  on  a  beast,’  and,  of  course,  the 
imagery  is  adapted  to  that.  Possibly 
there  may  have  been  no  intentional  sig- 
nificancy  in  this ;  but  on  the  supposition, 
as  the  interpretation  has  led  us  to  be¬ 
lieve  all  along,  that  this  refers  to  Papal 
Rome,  may  not  the  propriety  of  this  be 
seen  in  the  condition  of  Rome  and  the 
adjacent  country,  at  the  rise  of  the  Papal 
power?  That  had  its  rise  (see  Notes  on 
Daniel  vii.  25,  seq.)  after  the  decline  of 
the  Roman  civil  power,  and  properly  in 
the  time  of  Clovis,  Pepih,  or  Charle¬ 
magne.  Perhaps  its  first  visible  appear¬ 
ance  as  a  power  that  was  to  influence 
the  destiny  of  the  world,  was  in  the  time 
of  Gregory  the  Great,  A.  D.  590-605.  On 
the  supposition  that  the  passage  before 
us  refers  to  the  period  when  the  Papal 
power  became  thus  marked  and  defined, 
the  state  of  Rome  at  this  time,  as  de¬ 
scribed  by  Mr.  Gibbon,  would  show  with 
what  propriety  the  term  wilderness  or 
desert  might  be  then  applied  to  it.  The 
following  extract  from  this  author,  in 
describing  the  state  of  Rome  at  the  ac¬ 
cession  of  Gregory  the  Great,  has  almost 
the  appearance  of  being  a  designed  com¬ 
mentary  on  this  passage,  or  is,  at  any 
rate,  such  as  a  partial  interpreter  of  this 
book  would  desire  and  expect  to  find. 
Speaking  of  that  period,  he  says  ( Decline 
and  Fall,  iii.  207-211,):  “Rome  had 
reached,  about  the  close  of  the  sixth 
century,  the  lowest  period  of  her  depres¬ 
sion.  By  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 


Spirit  into  the  wilderness:  and  I 

empire,  and  the  successive  loss  of  the 
province,  the  sources  of  private  and  pub¬ 
lic  opulence  were  exhausted;  the  lofty 
tree  under  whose  shade  the  nations  of 
the  earth  had  reposed,  was  deprived  of 
its  leaves  and  branches,  and  the  sapless 
trunk  left  to  wither  on  the  ground.  The 
ministers  of  command  and  the  messen¬ 
gers  of  victory  no  longer  met  on  the 
Appian  or  Flaminian  way;  and  the  hos¬ 
tile  approach  of  the  Lombards  was  often 
felt  and  continually  feared.  The  inha¬ 
bitants  of  a  potent  and  peaceful  capital, 
who  visit  without  an  anxious  thought 
the  garden  of  the  adjacent  country,  will 
faintly  picture  in  their  fancy  the  distress 
of  the  Romans ;  they  shut  or  opened 
their  gates  with  a  trembling  hand,  be¬ 
held  from  the  walls  the  flames  of  their 
houses,  and  heard  the  lamentations  of 
their  brethren  who  were  coupled  together 
like  dogs,  and  dragged  away  into  distant 
slavery  beyond  the  sea  and  the  moun¬ 
tains.  Such  incessant  alarms  must  anni¬ 
hilate  the  pleasures,  and  interrupt  the 
labors  of  rural  life;  and  the  Campagna 
of  Home  was  speedily  reduced  to  the  state 
of  a  dreary  WILDERNESS,  in  ichich  the 
land  is  barren,  the  waters  are  impure,  and 
the  air  infectious.  Curiosity  and  ambi¬ 
tion  no  longer  attracted  the  nations  to 
the  capital  of  the  world ;  but  if  chance  or 
necessity  directed  the  steps  of  a  wander¬ 
ing  stranger,  he  contemplated  with  hor¬ 
ror  the  vacancy  and  solitude  of  the  city ; 
and  might  be  tempted  to  ash,  where  is  the 
Senate,  and  where  are  the  people?  In 
a  season  of  excessive  rains,  the  Tiber 
swelled  above  its  banks,  and  rushed  with 
irresistible  violence  into  the  valleys  of 
the  seven  hills.  A  pestilential  disease 
arose  from  the  stagnation  of  the  deluge, 
and  so  rapid  was  the  contagion  that  four¬ 
score  persons  expired  in  an  hour  in  the 
midst  of  a  solemn  procession  which  im¬ 
plored  the  mercy  of  heaven.  A  society 
in  which  marriage  is  encouraged,  and 
industry  prevails,  soon  repairs  the  acci¬ 
dental  losses  of  pestilence  and  war;  but 
as  the  far  greater  part  of  the  Romans 
was  condemned  to  hopeless  indigence 
and  celibacy,  the  depopulation  icas  con¬ 
stant  and  visible,  and  the  gloomy  enthu¬ 
siasts  might  expect  the  approaching  fail¬ 
ure  of  the  human  race.  Yet  the  number 
of  citizens  still  exceeded  the  measure  of 
subsistence;  their  precarious  food  was 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


saw  a  woman  sit  upon  a  "  scarlet- 

a  c.  12.  3. 


421 


supplied  from  the  harvest  of  Sicily  and 

Egypt;  and  the  frequent  repetition  of 
iamine  betrays  the  inattention  of  the 
emperor  to  a  distant  province.  The  edi¬ 
fices  of  Rome  were  exposed  to  the  same 
ruin  and  decay ;  the  mouldering  fabrics 
were  easily  overthrown  by  inundations, 
tempests  and  earthquakes,  and  the  monks 
who  had  occupied  the  most  advantageous 
stations  exulted  in  their  base  triumph  over 
the  ruins  of  antiquity. 

,,  “  Tllekes,  or  Babylon,  or  Car¬ 
nage,  the  name  of  Rome  might  have 
been  erased  from  the  earth,  if  the  city 
had  not  been  animated  by  a  vital  prin- 
dple  which  again  restored  her  to  honor 
and  dominion.  The  power  as  well  as  the 
virtue  of  the  apostles  revived  with  livino- 
energy  in  the  breasts  of  their  successors: 
and  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  under  the  reign 
of  Maurice,  was  occupied  by  the  first  and 
greatest  of  the  name  of  Gregory.  The 
sword  of  the  enemy  was  suspended  over 
Rome;  it  was  averted  by  the  mild  elo- 1 
quence  and  seasonable  gifts  of  the  Pontiff 
who  commanded  the  respect  of  heretics 
and  barbarians.”  Comp.  Rev.  xiii.  3, 
.12-15.  On  the  supposition  now  that  the 
inspired  author  of  the  Apocalypse  had 
Rome  in  that  state  when  the  civil  power 
declined  and  the  Papacy  arose  in  his 
eye,  what  more  expressive  imagery  could 
he  have  used  to  denote  it  than  he  has 
employed  ?  On  the  supposition — if  such 
a  supposition  could  be  made  —  that  Mr 
Gibbon  meant  to  furnish  a  commentary  I 
on  this  passage,  what  more  appro¬ 
priate  language  could  he  have  used  ? 
Does  not  this  language  look  as  if  the 
author  of  the  Apocalypse  and  the  author 
of  the  Decline  and  Pall’  meant  to  play 
into  each  other’s  hands  ? 

And  in  further  confirmation  of  this  I 
may  refer  to  the  testimony  of  two  Roman 
Catholic  writers,  giving  the  same  view 
ot  Rome,  and  showing  that,  in  their 
apprehension,  also,  it  was  only  by  the 
reviving  influence  of  the  Papacy  that 
Iiome  was  saved  from  becoming  a  total 
waste.  They  are  both  of  the  middle, 
ages.  The  first  is  Augustine  Steuchus, 
who  thus  writes :  “  The  empire  having 
been  overthrown,  unless  God  had  raised  j 
up  the  Pontificate,  Rome,  resuscitated 
a,nd  restored  by  none,  would  have  be- 
some  uninhabitable,  and  been  a  most 
36 


colored  beast  full  of  names  of  bias- 


foul  habitation  thenceforward  of  cattle, 
But  in  the  Pontificate  it  revived  as  with 
a  second  birth, •  its  empire  in  magnitude, 
not  indeed  equal  to  the  old  empire,  but 
its  form  not  very  dissimilar:  because  all 
natmns,  from  East  and  from  West,  vene¬ 
rate  the  Pope,  not  otherwise  than  they 
before  obeyed  the  Emperors.’’  The  other 
is  Plavio  Blondas.  “  The  Princes  of  the 
world  now  adore  and  worship  as  Per¬ 
petual  Dictator  the  successor  not  of 
Caesar  but  of  the  Pisherman  Peter;  that 
is,  the  Suprenie  Pontiff,  the  substitute  of 

£ mpem”  See *he ”■«”*> 

f  And  I  saw  a  woman.  Evidently  the 
same  which  is  referred  to  in  ver.  1.  f  ${* 
upon  a  scarlet-colored  beast.  That  is 
either  the  beast  was  itself  naturally  of 
this  color,  or  it  was  covered  with  trap¬ 
pings  of  this  color.  The  word  scarlet 
properly  denotes  a  bright  red  color- 
brighter  than  crimson,  which  is  a  red 
color  tlnged  with  blue.  See  Notes  on 
Isa.  1. 18.  The  word  here  used— kUkivo{ 

.,  oci!,?1rs  ln  t*16  New  Testament  only  in 
the  foUowmg  places:  Matt,  xxvii.  28 ; 

in  ii  1Xn-19J  J}°V'  Xvii'  3>  4’  xviiL  12>  16, 
m  all  which  places  it  is  rendered  scarlet. 

See  Notes  on  Matt,  xxvii.  28,  and  Heb. 
ix.  19..  lhe  color  was  obtained  from  a 
smaii  insect  which  was  found  adhering 
to  the  shoots  of  a  species  of  oak  in  Spain 
and  Western  Asia.  This  was  the  usual 

lnr  tbeTr0beS  0f  Princes,  military 
cloaks,  Ac.  It  is  applicable  in  the  de¬ 
scription  of  Papal  Rome,  because  this  is 
a  favorite  color  there.  Thus  it  is  used 
in  ch.  xn.  3,  where  the  same  power  is 
represented  under  the  image  of  a  ‘red 
dragon.  See  Notes  on  that  passage.  It 
is  remarkable  that  nothing  would  better 
represent  the  favorite  color  at  Rome 
than  th!s,  or  the  actual  appearance  of 
the  Pope,  the  Cardinals,  and  the  priests 
their  robes,  on  some  great  festival 
occasion.  .  Those  who  are  familiar  with 
the  descriptions  given  of  Papal  Rome 
by  travellers,  and  those  who  have  passed 
much  time  in  Rome,  will  see  at  once  the 
propriety  of  this  description,  on  the  sup- 
posihon  that  it  was  intended  to  refer  to 
the  Papacy.  .1  caused  this  inquiry  to  be 
made  of  an  intelligent  gentleman  who 
bad  passed  much  time  in  Rome — without 
his  knowing  my  design  —  what  would 


422 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


phemy,  having  “  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns. 

4  And  the  woman  was  arrayed 
in  purple  and  scarlet  color,  and 
b  decked  with  gold  and  precious 

strike  a  stranger  on  visiting  Rome,  or 
what  would  be  likely  particularly  to  ar¬ 
rest  his  attention  as  remarkable  there, 
and  he  unhesitatingly  replied,  ‘  the  scar¬ 
let  eolor.’  This  is  the  color  of  the  dress 
of  the  cardinals — their  hats,  and  cloaks, 
and  stockings  being  always  of  this 
color.  It  is  the  color  of  the  carriages  of 
the  cardinals,  the  entire  body  of  the 
carriage  being  scarlet,  and  the  trappings 
of  the  horses  the  same.  On  occasion  of 
public  festivals  and  processions,  scarlet 
is  suspended  from  the  windows  of  the 
houses  along  which  processions  pass. 
The  inner  color  of  the  cloak  of  the  Pope 
is  scarlet;  his  carriage  is  scarlet;  the 
carpet  on  which  he  treads  is  scarlet.  A 
large  part  of  the  dress  of  the  body-guard 
of  the  Pope  is  scarlet ;  and  no  one  can 
take  up  a  picture  of  Rome  without  seeing 
that  this  color  is  predominant.  I  looked 
through  a  volume  of  engravings  repre¬ 
senting  the  principal  officers  and  public 
persons  of  Rome.  There  were  few  in 
which  the  scarlet  color  was  not  found  as 
constituting  some  part  of  their  apparel  ; 
in  not  a  few  the  scarlet  color  prevailed 
almost  entirely.  And  in  illustration  of 
the  same  thought,  I  introduce  here  an 
extract  from  a  foreign  newspaper,  copied 
into  an  American  newspaper  of  Feb.  22, 
1851,  as  an  illustration  of  the  fact  that 
the  scarlet  color  is  characteristic  of 
Rome,  and  of  the  readiness  with  which 
it  is  referred  to  in  that  respect :  “  Curious 
Costumes. — The  three  new  Cardinals,  the 
Archbishops  of  Toulouse,  Rheims,  and 
Bensapon,  were  presented  to  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  French  Republic  by  the 
Pope’s  Nuncio.  They  wore  red  caps, 
red  stockings,  black  Roman  coats  lined 
and  bound  with  red,  and  small  cloaks.” 
I  conclude,  therefore,  that  if  it  be  admit¬ 
ted  that  it  was  intended  to  represent 
Papal  Rome  in  the  vision,  the  precise 
description  would  have  been  adopted 
which  is  found  here.  Full  of  names 
of  blasphemy.  All  covered  over  with 
Wasphemous  titles  and  names.  What 
could  more  accurately  describe  Papal 
Rome  than  this?  Comp,  for  some  of 
these  names  and  titles,  the  Notes  on  2 


stones  and  pearls,  having  a  golden 
cup  in  her  hand  full  of  abominar 
tions  and  filthiness  of  her  fornica¬ 
tion.  c 

a  c.  13. 1.  S  Gilded.  c  Je.  51.  7. 


Thess.  ii.  4,  1  Tim.  iv.  1-4,  and  Notes  on 
Rev.  xiii.  1,  5.  Having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
xiii.  1. 

4.  And  the  woman  was  arrayed  in 
purple  and  scarlet  color.  On  the  nature 
of  the  scarlet  color,  see  Notes  on  ver.  3. 
The  purple  color — noprpvpa — was  obtained 
from  a  species  of  shell-fish  found  on  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean,  which  yield¬ 
ed  a  reddish-purple  dye,  much  prized  by 
the  ancients.  Robes  dyed  in  that  color 
were  commonly  worn  by  persons  of  rank 
and  wealth.  Luke  xvi.  19 ;  Mark  xv. 
17,  20.  The  purple  color  contains  more 
blue  than  the  crimson,  though  the  limits 
are  not  very  accurately  defined,  and  the 
words  are  sometimes  interchanged.  Thus 
the  mock  robe  put  on  the  Saviour  is  called 
in  Mark  xv.  17,  20,  -rroptpvpav — purple, 
and  in  Matt,  xxvii.  28,  kokkIvtjv — crimson. 
On  the  applicability  of  this  to  the  Papacy, 
see  Notes  on  ver.  3.  And  decked  with 
gold.  After  the  manner  of  an  harlot, 
with  rich  jewelry,  And  precious  stones. 
Sparkling  diamonds,  Ac.  And  pearls. 
Also  a  much-valued  female  ornament. 
Comp.  Notes  on  Matt.  vii.  6,  xiii.  46. 

Having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand.  As 
if  to  entice  lovers.  See  Notes  ch.  xiv.  8. 

Full  of  abominations.  Of  abominablo 
things ;  of  things  fitted  to  excite  abhor¬ 
rence  and  disgust;  things  unlawful  and 
forbidden.  The  word,  in  the  Scriptures, 
is  commonly  used  to  denote  the  impuri¬ 
ties  and  abominations  of  idolatry.  See 
Notes  on  Dan.  ix.  27.  The  meaning  here 
is,  that  it  seemed  to  be  a  cup  filled  with 
wine,  but  it  was  in  fact  a  cup  full  of  all 
abominable  drugs,  leading  to  all  kinds 
of  corruption.  How  much  in  accordance 
this  is  with  the  fascinations  of  the  Pa¬ 
pacy,  it  is  not  necessary  now  to  say,  after 
the  ample  illustrations  of  the  same  thing 
already  furnished  in  these  Notes.  And, 
filthiness  of  her  fornication.  The  image 
here  is  that  of  Papal  Rome,  represented 
as  an  abandoned  woman  in  gorgeous 
attire,  alluring  by  her  arts  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  seducing  them  into  all 
kinds  of  pollution  and  abomination.  It 
is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that  the  Pa- 


423 


A-D-96-]  CHAPTER  XVII. 


5  And  upon  her  forehead  was  a 
name  written,  MYSTERY,®  BABY¬ 
LON  THE  GREAT,  THE  MO¬ 


THER  OF  HARLOTS  6  AND 
ABOMINATIONS  OF  THE 
EARTH. 


a  2  Th.  2.  7. 


6  Or,  Fornications. 


pacy,  as  if  designing  to  furnish  a  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  this  prophecy,  has  chosen  to 
represent  itself  almost  precisely  in  this 


manner — as  a  female  extending  an  al¬ 
luring  cup  to  passers-by — as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  cut :  — 


Far  as  the  design  of  striking  this  medal 
may  have  been  from  confirming  this  por¬ 
tion  of  the  Book  of  Revelation,  yet  no 
one  can  fail  to  see  that  if  this  had  been 
the  design,  no  more  happy  illustration 
could  have  been  adopted.  Apostate 
churches,  and  guilty  nations,  often  fur¬ 
nish  the  very  proofs  necessary  to  con¬ 
firm  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures. 

5.  And  upon  her  forehead.  In  a  circlet 
around  her  forehead.  That  is,  it  was 
v  made  prominent  and  public,  as  if  written 
on  the  forehead  in  blazing  capitals.  In 
ch.  xiii.  1,  it  is  said  that  “  the  name  of 
blasphemy”  was  written  on  the  “heads” 
of  the  beast.  The  meaning  in  both 
places  is  substantially  the  same,  that  it 
was  prominent  and  unmistakeable.  See 
Notes  on  that  verse.  Comp.  Notes  on 
ch.  xiv.  1.  |  Was  a  name  written.  A 

title,  or  something  that  would  properly 
indicate  her  character.  Mystery.  It 
is  proper  to  remark  that  there  is  nothing 
in  the  original  as  written  by  John,  so  far 
as  now  known,  that  corresponded  with 
what  is  implied  in  placing  this  inscrip¬ 
tion  in  capital  letters ;  and  the  same 
remark  may  be  made  of  the  ‘title’  or 
inscription  that  was  placed  over  the 
head  of  the  Saviour  on  the  cross,  Matt, 
xxvii.  37 ;  Mark  xv.  26 ;  Luke  xxiii.  38 ; 
John  xix.  19.  Our  translators  have 
adopted  this  form,  apparently,  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  denoting  that  it  was  an 
inscription  or  title.  On  the  meaning  of 
the  word  mystery,  see  Notes  on  1  Cor.  ' 


ii.  7.  Comp.  Notes  on  1  Tim.  iii.  16. 
Here  it  seems  to  be  used  to  denote  that 
there  was  something  hidden,  obscure,  or 
enigmatical  under  the  title  adopted;  that 
is,  the  word  Babylon,  and  the  word  mo¬ 
ther,  were  symbolical.  Our  translators 
have  printed  and  pointed  the  word  mys¬ 
tery  as  if  it  were  part  of  the  inscription. 
It  would  probably  be  better  to  regard  it 
as  referring  to  the  inscription  thus — • 
a  name  was  written  —  a  mysterious 
name,  to  wit,  Babylon,’  Ac.  Or,  ‘a 
name  was  written  mysteriously.’  Ac¬ 
cording  to  this  it  would  mean,  not  that 
there  was  any  wonderful  ‘  mystery’  about 
the  thing  itself,  whatever  might  be  true 
on  that  point,  but  that  the  name  was 
enigmatical  or  symbolical;  or  that  there 
was  something  hidden  or  concealed  un¬ 
der  the  name.  It  was  not  to  be  literally 
understood.  Babylon  the  great.  Pa¬ 
pal  Rome,  the  nominal  head  of  the 
Christian  world,  as  Babylon  had  been 
of  the  heathen  world.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
xiv.  8.  The  mother  of  harlots,  (a) 
Of  _  that  spiritual  apostacy  from  God 
which  in  the  language  of  the  prophets 
might  be  called  adultery,  see  Notes  on 
ch.  xiv.  8;  (b)  the  promoter  of  lewdness 
by  her  institutions.  See  Notes  on  eh. 
ix.  21.  In  both  these  senses,  there  never 
was  a  more  expressive  or  appropriate 
title  than  the  one  here  employed.  And 
abominations  of  the  earth.  Abominable 
things  that  prevail  on  the  earth.  Ver.  4. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  20,  21. 


424  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


6  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken 
•  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and 
with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of 
Jesus ;  and  when  I  saw  her,  I  won¬ 
dered  with  great  admiration. 

7  And  the  angel  said  unto  me, 
Wherefore  didst  thou  marvel?  I 

c  c.  16.  6. 

6.  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with 

the  blood  of  the  saints.  A  reeling,  intox¬ 
icated  harlot — for  that  is  the  image  which 
is  kept  up  all  along.  In  regard  to  the 
phrase  ‘drunken  with  blood,’  comp.  Jer. 
xlvi.  10.  “  The  phraseology  is  derived 

from  the  barbarous  custom  (still  extant 
among  many  Pagan  nations)  of  drinking 
the  blood  of  the  enemies  slain  in  the  way 
of  revenge.  The  effect  of  drinking  blood 
is  said  to  be,  to  exasperate,  and  to  in¬ 
toxicate  with  passion  and  a  desire  of 
revenge.”  Prof.  Stuart,  in  loc.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  the  persecuting 
power  referred  to  had  shed  the  blood 
of  the  saints ;  and  that,  in  its  fury, 
it  had,  as  it  were,  drunk  the  blood  of 
the  slain,  and  had  become,  by  drinking 
that  blood,  intoxicated  and  infuriated. 
No  one  need  say  how  applicable  this  has 
been  to  the  Papacy.  Compare,  however, 
the  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  21,  25,  and  Rev. 
xii.  13,  14,  xiii.  15.  And  with  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus.  Especially 
with  their  blood.  The  meaning  is,  that 
the  warfare  in  which  so  much  blood  was 
shed  was  directed  against  the  saints  as 
such,  and  that  in  fact  it  terminated  par¬ 
ticularly  on  those  who,  amidst  oruel  suf¬ 
ferings,  were  faithful  witnesses  for  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  deserved  to  be  called, 
by  way  of  eminence,  martyrs.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ch.  ii.  13,  vi.  9,  xi.  5,  7.  How 
applicable  this  is  to  the  Papacy,  let  the 
blood  shed  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont; 
the  blood  shed  in  the  Low  Countries  by 
the  Duke  of  Alva;  the  blood  shed  on 
St.  Bartholomew’s  day;  and  the  blood 
shed  in  the  Inquisition,  testify,  f  And 
when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  with  great 
admiration.  I  was  astonished  at  her 
appearance ;  at  her  apparel,  and  at  the 
things  which  were  so  significantly  sym¬ 
bolized  by  her. 

7.  And  the  angel  said  unto  me,  Where¬ 
fore  didst  thou  marvel  ?  He  was  doubt¬ 
less  struck  with  the  appearance  of  John 
as  he  stood  fixed  in  astonishment.  The 
question  asked  him  why  he  wondered. 


will  tell  thee  the  mystery  of  the 
woman,  b  and  of  the  beast  c  that 
carrieth  her,  which  hath  the  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns. 

8  The  beast  that  thou  sawest 
was,  and  is  not ;  and  shall  ascend  4 
out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  go 

b  ver.  1.  c  ver.  3.  d  c.  11.  7. 

was  designed  to  show  him  that  the  cause 
of  his  surprise  would  be  removed  or  les¬ 
sened,  for  that  he  would  proceed  so  to 
explain  this  that  he  might  have  a  correct 
view  of  its  design.  I  will  tell  thee  the 
mystery  of  the  woman.  On  the  word 
mystery,  see  Notes  on  ver.  5.  The  sense 
is,  ‘  I  will  explain  what  is  meant  by  the 
symbol  —  the  hidden  meaning  that  is 
couched  under  it.’  That  is,  he  would 
so  far  explain  it  that  a  just  view  might 
be  obtained  of  its  signification.  The 
explanation  follows,  vs.  8-18.  And 
of  the  beast  that  carrieth  her,  &c.,  ver.  3. 

8.  The  beast  that  thou  sawest  was,  and 
is  not.  In  the  close  of  the  verse  it  is 
added,  “and  yet  is” — “the  beast  that 
was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is.”  There  are 
three  things  affirmed  here,  first,  that 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  it  might  be  said 
of  the  power  here  referred  to  that  it  ‘was/ 
or  that  before  this  it  had  an  existence ; 
second,  that  there  was  a  sense  in  which 
it  might  be  said  that  it  is  ‘not’ — that  is, 
that  it  had  become  practically  extinct; 
and,  third,  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which 
that  power  would  be  so  revived  that  it 
might  be  said  that  it  ‘still  is.’  The 
‘  beast'  here  referred  to  is  the  same  that 
is  mentioned  iu  ver.  3  of  this  chapter, 
and  in  ch.  xiii.  1,  2,  3,  and  in  ch.  xiii. 
11-16.  That  is,  there  was  one  great  for¬ 
midable  power,  having  essentially  the 
same  origin,  though  manifested  under 
somewhat  different  modifications,  to  one 
and  all  of  which  might,  in  their  different 
manifestations,  be  given  the  same  name, 
‘  the  beast.’  And  shall  ascend  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit.  it :  tov  d/Jxitraov.  On  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  used,  see  Notes 
on  ch.  ix.  1.  The  meaning  here  is,  that 
this  power  would  seem  to  come  up  from 
the  nether  world.  It  would  appear  at  one 
time  to  be  extinct,  but  would  revive  again 
as  if  coming  from  the  world  over  which 
Satan  presides,  and  would  in  its  revived 
character  be  such  as  might  be  expected 
from  such  an  origin.  And  go  into  per¬ 
dition.  That  is,  its  end  will  be  destiuo- 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


into  perdition,  0  and  they  that 
dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder, 
whose  names  were  not  written  in 
the  book  of  life  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  when  they  behold  the 
beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and 
yet  is. 


tion.  It  will  not  be  permanent,  but  will 
be  overthrown  and  destroyed.  The  word 
■perdition  here  is  properly  rendered  by 
Prof.  Stuart  destruction,  but  nothing  is 
indicated  by  the  word  of  the  nature  of 
the  destruction  that  would  come  upon  it. 
.IT  And  they  that  dwell  on  the  earth.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  generally;  that 
is,  the  matter  referred  to  will  be  so  re¬ 
markable  as  to  attract  general  attention. 
1  Shall  wonder.  It  will  be  so  contrary 
to  the  regular  course  of  events ;  so  diffi¬ 
cult  of  explanation;  so  remarkable  in 
itself,  as  to  excite  attention  and  surprise. 
^  Whose  names  were  not  written  in  the 
book  of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  See  this  explained  in  the  Notes 
on  ch.  xiii.  8.  The  idea  seems  to  be, 
that  those  whose  names  are  written  in 
the  book  of  life,  or  who  are  truly  the 
friends  of  God,  would  not  bo  drawn  off 
m  admiration  of  the  beast,  or  in  render¬ 
ing  homage  to  it.  f  When  they  behold 
the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is. 
That  is,  the  power  that  once  was  mighty; 
that  had  declined  to  such  a  state  that  it 
became,  as  it  were,  extinct;  and  that  was 
revived  again  with  so  much  of  its  origi¬ 
nal  strength  that  it  might  be  said  that  it 
still  exists.  The  fact  of  its  being  revived 
in  this  manner,  as  well  as  tho  nature  of 
the  power  itself,  seemed  fitted  to  excite 
this  admiration. 

9.  And  here  is  the  mind  which  hath 
wisdom.  Here  is  that  which  requires 
wisdom  to  interpret  it;  or,  here  is  a  case 
in  which  the  mind  that  shows  itself  able 
to  explain  it,  will  evince  true  sagacity. 
So  in  ch.  xiii.  18.  See  Notes  on  that 
place.  Prof.  Stuart  renders  this,  “  Here 
is  a  meaning  which  compriseth  wisdom.” 

It  is  undoubtedly  implied  that  the  sym¬ 
bol  might  be  understood — whether  in  the 
time  of  John  or  afterwards,  he  does  hot 
say,  but  it  was  a  matter  which  could  not 
be  determined  by  ordinary  minds,  or 
without  an  earnest  application  of  tho 
understanding,  f  The  seven  heads  are 
seven  mountains.  Referring  undoubtedly 
to  Rome — the  seven-hilled  city — Septi- 


425 

9  And  here  is  the  mind  which 
hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads  e 
are  seven  mountains,  on  which  the 
woman  sitteth, 

10  And  there  are  seven  kings ; 
five  are  fallen,  and  one  is,  and  the 

aver.  11.  6  c.  13. 3, 8.  cc.13.1. 


colhs  Roma.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xii.  3,  (d). 
f  On  which  the  woman  sitteth.  The  city 
represented  as  a  woman,  in  accordance 
with  a  common  usage  in  the  Scriptures. 
See  Notes  on  Isa.  i.  8. 

10.  And  there  are  seven  kings.  That 
is,  seven  in  all,  as  they  are  enumerated 
in  this  verse  and  the  next.  An  eighth  is 
mentioned  in  ver.  11,  but  it  is  at  the 
same  time  said  that  this  one  so  pertains 
to  the  seven,  or  is  so  properly  in  one 
sense  of  the  number  seven,  though  in 
another  sense  to  be  regarded  as  an 
eighth,  that  it  may  be  properly  reckoned 

as  the  seventh.  The  word  kings  here _ 

PaaiScts —  mny  be  understood,  so  far  as 
the  meaning  of  the  word  is  concerned, 
(a)  literally  as  denoting  a  king,  or  one 
who  exercises  royal  authority;  (b)  in  a 
more  general  sense  as  denoting  one  of 
distinguished  honor  —  a  viceroy,  prince 
leader,  chief,  Matt.  ii.  1,  3,  9,  Luke  i.  5’ 
Acts  xii.  1 ;  (e)  in  a  still  larger  sense  as 
denoting  a  dynasty,  a  form  of  govern¬ 
ment,  a  mode  of  administration — as  that 
which  in  fact  rules.  See  Notes  on  Dan. 
vii.  24,  where  the  word  king  undoubtedly 
denotes  a  dynasty,  or  form  of  rule.  The 
notion  of  ruling,  or  of  authority,  is  un¬ 
doubtedly  in  the  word  — for  the  verb 
PuoiXtvu  means  to  rule,  but  the  word 
may  be  applied  to  any  thing  in  which 
sovereignty  resides.  Thus  it  is  applied 
to  a  king  s  son ;  to  a  military  command¬ 
er;  to  the  gods;  to  a  Greek  archon,  Ac. 
bee  Passow,  It  would  be  contrary  to 
the  whole  spirit  of  this  passage,  and  to 
what  is  demanded  by  the  proper  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  word,  to  insist  that  the  word 
should  denote  literally  kings,  and  that  it 
could  nofc  be  applied  to  emperors,  or 
dictators,  or  to  dynasties,  f  Five  have 
fallen.  Have  passed  away  as  if  fallen; 
that  is,  they  have  disappeared.  Tho 
language  would  be  applicable  to  rulers 
who  have  died,  or  who  had  been  de¬ 
throned;  or  to  dynasties  or  forms  of  go¬ 
vernment  that  had  ceased  to  be.  In  the 
fulfilment  of  this,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  find  Jive  such  successive  kings  or 


426 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


other  is  not  yet  come ;  and  when  he 
cometh,  he  must  continue  a  short 
epace. 


rulers  who  had  died,  and  who  apper¬ 
tained  to  one  sovereignty  or  nation ;  or 
five  such  dynasties  or  forms  of  adminis¬ 
trations  that  had  successively  existed, 
but  which  had  ceased.  And  one  ia. 
That  is,  there  is  one — a  sixth — that  now 
reigns.  The  proper  interpretation  of  this 
would  be,  that  this  existed  in  the  time 
of  the  writer;  that  is,  according  to  the 
view  taken  of  the  time  of  the  writing  of 
the  Apocalypse  (see  Intro.  £  2),  at  the 
close  of  the  first  century,  And  the 
other  is  not  yet  conie.  The  sixth  one  is 
to  be  succeeded  by  another  in  the  same 
line,  or  occupying  the  same  dominion. 

And  when  he  cometh.  When  that  form 
of  dominion  is  set  up.  No  intimation  is 
yet  given  as  to  the  time  when  this  would 
occur.  If  He  must  continue  a  short  space. 
i\lyov.  A  short  time ;  his  dominion  will 
bo  of  short  duration.  It  is  observable 
that  this  characteristic  is  stated  as  appli¬ 
cable  only  to  this  one  of  the  seven ;  and 
the  fair  meaning  would  seem  to  be,  that 
the  time  would  be  short  as  compared  with 
the  six  that  preceded,  and  as  compared 
with  the  one  that  followed — the  eighth — 
into  which  it  was  to  be  merged,  ver.  11. 

11.  And  the  beast  that  teas,  and  is  not. 
That  is,  the  one  power  that  was  formerly 
mighty ;  that  died  away  so  that  it  might 
be  said  to  be  extinct;  and  yet  (ver.  8) 
that  ‘  still  is,’  or  has  a  prolonged  exist¬ 
ence.  It  is  evident  that  by  the  ‘  beast’ 
here  there  is  some  one  power,  dominion, 
empire,  or  rule,  whose  essential  identity 
is  preserved  through  all  these  changes, 
and  to  which  it  is  propec  to  give  the 
same  name.  It  finds  its  termination — 
or  its  last  form  —  in  what  is  here  called 
the  ‘  eighth ;’  a  power  which,  it  is  ob¬ 
served,  sustains  such  a  peculiar  relation 
to  the  seven  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  ‘  of 
the  seven,’  or  to  be  a  mere  prolongation 
of  the  same  sovereignty,  ^f  Even  he  is 
the  eighth.  The  eighth  in  the  succession. 
This  form  of  sovereignty,  though  a  mere 
prolongation  of  the  former  government 
— so  much  so  as  to  be  in  fact  but  keep¬ 
ing  up  the  same  empire  in  the  world, 
appears  in  such  a  novelty  of  form  that 
in  one  sense  it  deserves  to  be  called  the 
eighth  in  order,  and  yet  is  so  essentially 
n  mere  concentration  and  continuance 


11  And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is 
not,  even  he  is  the  eighth,  and  is  of 
the  seven,  and  goeth  into  perdition. 


of  the  one  power,  that  in  the  general 
reckoning  (ver.  10)  it  might  be  regarded 
as  pertaining  to  the  former.  There  was 
a  sense  in  which  it  was  proper  to  speak 
of  it  as  the  eighth  power;  and  yet, 
viewed  in  its  relation  to  the  whole,  it  so 
essentially  combined  and  concentrated 
all  that  there  was  in  the  seven,  that,  in 
a  general  view,  it  scarcely  merited  a 
separate  mention.  We  should  look  for 
the  fulfilment  of  this  in  some  such  con¬ 
centration  and  embodiment  of  all  that 
that  it  was  in  the  previous  forms  of  sove¬ 
reignty  referred  to,  that  it  perhaps  would 
deserve  mention  as  an  eighth  power,  but 
that  it  was  nevertheless  such  a  mere  pro¬ 
longation  of  the  previous  forms  of  the 
one  power,  that  it  might  be  said  to  be 
‘  of  the  seven ;’  so  that,  in  this  view,  it 
would  not  claim  a  separate  considera¬ 
tion.  This  seems  to  be  the  fair  meaning ; 
though  there  is  much  that  is  enigmatical 
in  the  form  of  the  expression,  And 
goeth  into  perdition.  Notes  ver.  8. 

In  enquiring  now  into  the  application 
of  this  very  difficult  passage,  it  may  be 
proper  to  suggest  some  of  the  principal 
opinions  which  have  been  held,  and 
then  to  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  true 
meaning. 

I.  The  principal  opinions  which  have 
been  held  may  be  reduced  to  the  follow¬ 
ing:— 

(1)  That  the  seven  kings  here  refer 
to  the  succession  of  Roman  emperors, 
yet  with  some  variation  as  to  the  manner 
of  reckoning.  Prof.  Stuart  begins  with 
Julius  Caesar,  and  reckons  them  in  this 
manner  :  the  ‘  five  that  are  fallen’  are  Ju¬ 
lius  Caesar,  Augustus,  Tiberius,  Caligula, 
Claudius.  N ero,  who,  as  he  supposes,  was 
the  reigning  prince  at  the  time  when  the 
book  was  written,  he  regards  as  the 
sixth ;  Galba,  who  succeeded  him,  as  the 
seventh.  Others,  who  adopt  this  literal 
method  of  explaining  it,  suppose  that  the 
time  begins  with  Augustus,  and  then 
Galba  would  be  the  sixth,  and  Otho,  who 
reigned  but  three  months,  would  be  the 
seventh.  The  expression  ‘  the  beast  that 
was  and  is  not,  who  is  the  eighth,’  Prof. 
Stuart  regards  as  referring  to  a  general 
impression  among  the  heathen  and 
among  Christians,  in  the  time  of  tho 


427 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XVH. 


persecution  under  Nero,  that  he  would 
again  appear  after  it  was  reported  that 
he  was  dead,  or  that  he  would  rise  from 
the  dead  and  carry  on  his  persecution 
again.  See  Prof.  Stuart,  Com.  vol.  ii. 
Exeur.  iii.  The  beast,  according  to  this 
view,  denotes  the  Roman  emperors,  spe¬ 
cifically  Nero,  and  the  reference  in  ver. 
8,  is  to  “  the  well-known  hariolation  re¬ 
specting  Nero,  that  he  would  be  assassi¬ 
nated,  and  would  disappear  for  a  while, 
and  then  make  his  appearance  again  to 
the  confusion  of  all  his  enemies.”  “  What 
the  angel,”  says  he,  “  says,  seems  to  be 
equivalent  to  this  :  '  The  beast  means  the 
Roman  emperors,  specifically  Nero,  of 
whom  the  report  spread  throughout  the 
empire  that  he  will  revive,  after  being 
apparently  slain,  and  will  come,  as  it 
were,  from  the  abyss  or  Hades,  but  he 
will  perish,  and  that  speedily.’  ”  vol.  ii. 
p.  323. 

(2)  That  the  word  'kings’  is  not  to  be 
taken  literally,  but  that  it  refers  to  forms 
of  government,  dynasties,  or  modes  of 
administration.  The  general  opinion 
among  those  who  hold  this  view  is,  that 
the  first  six  refer  to  the  forms  of  the 
Roman  government:  (1)  kings;  (2) 
consuls ;  (3)  dictators ;  (4)  decemvirs ; 
(5)  military  tribunes;  (6)  the  imperial 
form,  beginning  with  Augustus.  This 
has  been  the  common  Protestant  inter¬ 
pretation,  and  in  reference  to  these  six 
forms  of  government,  there  has  been  a 
general  agreement.  But,  while  the  mass 
of  Protestant  interpreters  have  supposed 
that  the  '  six’  heads  refer  to  these  forms 
of  administration,  there  has  been  much 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  seventh ; 
and  here,  on  this  plan  of  interpretation, 
the  main,  if  not  the  sole  difficulty  lies. 
Among  the  opinions  held  are  the  follow¬ 
ing:— 

(a)  That  of  Mr.  Mede.  He  makes  the 
seventh  head  what  he  calls  the  “  Demi- 
Crnsar,”  or  the  “Western  emperor  who 
reigned  after  the  division  of  the  empire 
into  East  and  West,  and  which  contin¬ 
ued,  after  the  last  division  under  Hono- 
rius  and  Arcadius,  about  sixty  years  — 
a  short  space.”  Works,  B.  iii.  ch.  8. 
v.  ch.  12. 

(b)  That  of  Bishop  Newton,  who  re¬ 
gards  the  sixth  or  imperial  ‘head’  as 
continuing  uninterruptedly  through  the 
line  of  Christian  as  well  as  Pagan  empe¬ 
rors,  until  Augustulus  and  the  Heruli ; 
and  the  seventh  to  be  the  Dukedom  of 


Romo  established  soon  after  under  the 
Exarchate  of  Ravenna.  Prophecies,  pp. 
575,  576. 

(c)  That  of  Dr.  More  and  Mr.  Cun- 
ninghame,  who  suppose  the  Christian 
emperors,  from  Constantine  to  Augustu¬ 
lus,  to  constitute  the  seventh  head,  and 
that  this  had  its  termination  by  the 
sword  of  the  Heruli. 

( d )  That  of  Mr.  Elliott,  who  supposes 
the  seventh  head  or  power  to  refer  to  a 
new  form  of  administration  introduced 
by  Diocletian,  changing  the  administra¬ 
tion  from  the  original  imperial  character 
to  that  of  an  absolute  A.siatic  sovereignty. 
For  the  important  changes  introduced 
by  Diocletian  that  justify  this  remark, 
see  the  1  Decline  and  Fall,’  vol.  i.  CD 
212-217. 

Numerous  other  solutions  may  be 
found  in  Pool’s  Synopsis,  but  these  em¬ 
brace  the  principal,  and  the  most  plausi¬ 
ble  that  have  been  proposed. 

II.  I  proceed,  then,  to  state  what 
seems  to  me  to  be  the  true  explanation. 
This  must  be  found  in  some  facts  that 
will  accord  with  the  explanation  given 
of  the  meaning  of  the  passage. 

(1)  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
refers  to  Rome — either  Pagan,  Christian, 
or  Papal.  All  the  circumstances  com¬ 
bine  in  this ;  all  respectable  interpreters 
agree  in  this.  This  would  be  naturally 
understood  by  the  symbols  used  by  John, 
and  by  the  explanations  furnished  by 
the  angel.  See  ver.  18,  “And  the  wo¬ 
man  which  thou  sawest  is  that  great 
city,  which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of 
the  earth.”  Every  circumstance  com¬ 
bines  here  in  leading  to  the  conclusion 
that  Rome  is  intended.  There  was  no 
other  power  or  empire  on  the  earth  to 
which  this  could  be  properly  applied; 
there  was  every  thing  in  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  the  writer  to  lead  us  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  this  was  referred  to;  there  is 
an  utter  impossibility  now  in  applying 
the  description  to  any  thing  else. 

(2)  It  was  to  be  a  revived  power;  not 
a  power  in  its  original  form  and  strength. 
This  is  manifest,  because  it  is  said  (ver. 

8)  that  the  power  represented  by  the 
beast  “was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is;” 
that  is,  it  was  once  a  mighty  power;  it 
then  declined  so  that  it  could  be  said 
that  '  it  is  not ;  ’  and  yet  there  was  so 
much  remaining  vitality  in  it,  or  so  much 
revived  power,  that  it  could  be  said  that 
it  'still  is’  —  Katnio  icruv.  Now,  this  is 


428 


REVELATION, 


strictly  applicable  to  Rome  when  the 
Papal  power  arose.  The  old  Roman 
might  had  departed ;  the  glory  and 
strength  evinced  in  the  days  of  the  con¬ 
suls,  the  dictators,  and  the  emperors,  had 
disappeared ;  and  yet  there  was  a  linger¬ 
ing  vitality,  and  a  reviving  of  power 
under  the  Papacy,  which  made  it  proper 
to  say  that  it  still  continued,  or  that  that 
mighty  power  was  prolonged.  The  civil 
power  connected  with  the  Papacy  was  a 
revived  Roman  power — the  Roman  pow¬ 
er  prolonged  under  another  form — for  it 
is  susceptible  of  clear  demonstration  that 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  rise  of  the  Pa¬ 
pal  power,  the  sovereignty  of  Rome  as 
such  would  have  been  wholly  extinct. 
For  the  proof  of  this,  see  the  passages 
quoted  in  the  Notes  on  ver.  3.  Comp. 
Notes  *on  ch.  xiii.  3,  12,  15. 

(3)  It  was  to  be  a  power  emanating 
from  the  ‘  abyss,’  or  that  would  seem  to 
ascend  from  the  dark  werld  beneath. 
See  ver.  8.  This  was  true  in  regard  to 
the  Papacy,  either  (a)  as  apparently  as¬ 
cending  from  the  lowest  state  and  the 
most  depressed  condition,  as  if  it  came 
up  from  below  (see  Notes  on  ver.  3, 
comp.  ch.  xiii.  11) ;  or  ( b )  as,  in  fact, 
having  its  origin  in  the  world  of  dark¬ 
ness,  and  being  under  the  control  of  the 
Prince  of  that  world — which,  according 
to  all  the  representations  of  that  formi¬ 
dable  Antichristian  power  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  is  true,  and  which  the  whole  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Papacy,  and  of  its  influence 
on  religion,  confirms. 

(4)  One  of  the  powers  referred  to  sus¬ 
tained  the  other.  “  The  seven  heads  are 
seven  mountains  on  which  the  woman 
sitteth,”  ver.  9.  That  is,  the  power  re¬ 
presented  by  the  harlot  was  sustained  or 
supported  by  the  power  represented  by 
the  seven  heads  or  the  seven  mountains. 
Literally  applied,  this  would  mean  that 
the  Papacy,  as  an  ecclesiastical  institu¬ 
tion,  was  sustained  by  the  civil  power 
with  which  it  was  so  closely  connected. 
For  the  illustration  and  support  of  this, 
see  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  2,  3,  12,  15.  In 
the  Notes  on  those  passages,  it  is  shown 
that  the  support  was  mutual ;  that  while 
the  Papacy  in  fact  revived  the  almost 
extinct  Roman  civil  power,  and  gave  it 
new  vitality,  the  price  of  that  was  that 
it  should  be  in  its  turn  sustained  by  that 
revived  Roman  civil  power.  All  history 
shows  that  that  has  been  the  fact ;  that 
in  all  its  aggressions,  assumptions,  and 


[A.  D.  96. 

persecutions,  it  has  in  fact,  and  profes¬ 
sedly,  leaned  on  the  arm  of  the  civil 
power. 

(5)  A  more  importaut  enquiry,  and  a 
more  serious  difficulty,  remains  in  re¬ 
spect  to  the  statements  respecting  the 
‘  seven  kings,’  vs.  10,  11.  The  state¬ 
ments  on  this  point  are,  that  the  yrhole 
number  properly  was  seven ;  that  of  this 
number  five  had  fallen  or  passed  away ; 
that  one  was  in  existence  at  the  time 
when  the  author  wrote;  that  another 
one  was  yet  to  appear  who  would  con¬ 
tinue  for  a  little  time ;  and  that  the 
general  power  represented  by  all  these 
would  be  embodied  in  the  “  beast  that 
was  and  is  not,”  and  that  might,  in 
some  respects,  be  regarded  as  an  *  eighth.' 
These  points  may  be  taken  up  in  their 
order. 

(a)  The  first  enquiry  relates  to  the 
five  that  were  fallen  and  the  one  that 
was  then  in  existence  —  the  first  six. 
These  may  be  taken  together,  for  they 
are  manifestly  of  the  same  class,  and 
have  the  same  characteristics,  at  least 
so  far  as  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
‘  seventh,'  and  the  ‘  eighth.’  The  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  word  ‘  kings’  here  has  been 
already  explained,  ver.  10.  It  denotes 
ruling  power,  or  forms  of  power,  and  so 
far  as  the  signification  of  the  word  is  con¬ 
cerned  it  might  be  applicable  to  royalty, 
or  to  any  other  form  of  administration. 
It  is  not  necessary,  then,  to  find  an 
exact  succession  of  princes  or  kings 
that  would  correspond  with  this  —  five 
of  whom  were  dead,  and  one  of  whom 
was  then  on  the  throne,  and  all  soon  to 
be  succeeded  by  one  more  who  would 
soon  die. 

The  true  explanation  of  this  seems  to 
be  that  which  refers  this  to  the  forms 
of  the  Roman  government  or  adminis¬ 
tration.  These  six  ‘heads’  or  forms 
of  administration  were,  in  their  order. 
Kings,  Consuls,  Dictators,  Decemvirs, 
Military  Tribunes,  and  Emperors.  Of 
these,  five  had  passed  away  in  the  time 
when  John  wrote  the  Apocalypse;  the 
sixth,  the  Imperial,  was  then  in  power, 
and  had  been  from  the  time  of  Augustus 
Caesar.  The  only  questions  that  can  be 
raised  are,  whether  these  forms  of  ad¬ 
ministration  were  so  distinct  and  pro¬ 
minent,  and  whether  in  the  times  pre¬ 
vious  to  John  they  so  embraced  the 
whole  Roman  power,  as  to  justify  this 
interpretation;  that  is,  whether  these 


A.  IK-96.]  CHAPTER  XVII. 


429 


forms  of  administration  were  so  marked 
in  this  respect  that  it  may  be  supposed 
j  that  John  would  use  the  language  here 
employed,  in  describing  them.  As 
showing  the  probability  that  he  would 
use  this  language,  I  refer  to  the  follow- 
ing  arguments,  viz.:— (1)  the  authority 
ot  Livy,  Lib.  'vi.  c.  i.  Speaking  of  the 
previous  parts  of  his  history,  and  of 
what  he  had  done  in  writing  it,  he 
says,  “  Quae  ab  condita  urbe  Roma  ad 
eaptam  eaudem  urbem  Romani  sub 
regibua  primurn,  consulibus  deindo  ac 
dictatoribua,  decemviri  a  ac  tribunia  con- 
suluribus  gessere,  foris  bella,  domi  sedi- 
tiones,  quinque  libris  exposui.”  That 
is,  “  In  five  books  I  have  related  what 
was  done  at  Rome,  pertaining  both  to 
foreign  wars,  and  domestic  strifes,  from 
|  the  foundation  of  the  city  to  the  time 

(when  it  was  taken,  as  it  was  governed 
by  kings,  by  consuls,  by  dictators,  by 
the  decemvirs,  and  by  consular  tribunes.’ 
Here  he  mentions  five  forms  of  adminis¬ 
tration  under  which  Rome  had  been 
governed  in  the  earlier  periods  of  its 
history.  The  imperial  power  had  a 
later  origin,  and  did  not  exist  until  near 
the  time  of  Livy  himself.  (2)  The  same 
distribution  of  power,  or  forms  of  go¬ 
vernment,  among  the  Romans,  is  made 
by  Tacitus,  Anna],  lib.  i.  cap.  1 : _ “  Ur¬ 

bem  Romam  a  principio  lieges  habuere. 
Libertatem  et  Coneulatum  L.  Brutus  in- 
stituit.  Dictatur<x  ad  tempus  sume- 
bantur.  Neque  Decemviralis  potestas 
ultra  biennium,  neque  tribunorum  mili- 
turn  consulare  jus  diu  vasuit.  Non 
Cinnae,  non  Syllae  longa  dominatio :  et 
Pompeii  Crassique  potentia  cito  in  Csesa- 
rem,  Lepidi  atque  Antonii  arma  in 
Augustum  cessere ;  qui  cuncta,  dis- 
cordiis  civilibus  fessa,  nomine  Prxncipis 
sub  imperium  accepit.”  That  is,  “In 
the  beginning,  Rome  was  governed  by 
kings.  Then  L.  Brutus  gave  to  her 
liberty  and  the  Consulship.  A  temporary 
power  was  conferred  on  the  Dictators. 
The  authority  of  the  Decemvirs  did  not 
continue,  beyond  the  space  of  two  years, 
neither  was  the  consular  power  of  the 
military  tribunes  of  long  duration.  The 
rule  of  Cinna  and  Sylla  was  brief,  and 
the  power  of  Pompey  and  Crassus  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Caesar,  and  the  arms  of 
Lepidus  and  Antony  were  surrendered 
to  Augustus,  who  united  all  things, 
broken  by  civil  discord,  under  the  name 
of  Prince  in  the  imperial  government.” 


Ilero  Tacitus  distinctly  mentions  the  six 
forms  of  administration  that  had  pre¬ 
vailed  in  Rome,  the  last  of  which  was 
the  imperial.  It  is  true  also  that  he 

mentions  the  brief  rule  of  certain  men _ 

as  Cinna,  Sylla,  Antony,  and  Lepidus  : 
but  these  are  not  forms  of  administra¬ 
tion, and  their  temporary  authority  did 
not  indicate  any  change  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  for  some  of  these  men  were  dic¬ 
tators,  and  none  of  them,  except  Brutus 
and  Augustus,  established  any  perma¬ 
nent  form  of  administration.  (3)  The 
same  thing  is  apparent  in  the  usual 
statements  of  history,  and  the  books 
that  describe  the  forms  of  government 
at  Rome.  In  so  common  a  book  as 
Adams  s  Roman  Antiquities,  a  descrip¬ 
tion  may  be  found  of  the  forms  of  Ro¬ 
man  administration  that  corresponds 
almost  precisely  with  this.  The  forms 
of  supreme  power  in  Rome,  as  enumerated 
there,  are  what  are  called  ordinary,  and 
extraordinary  magistrates.  Under  the 
former  are  enumerated  Kings,  Consuls, 
Praetors,  Censors,  Quaestors,  and  Tribunes 
of  the  people.  But,  of  these,  in  fact, 
the  supreme  power  was  vested  in  two, 
for  there  were,  under  this,  but  two 
forms  of  administration  —  that  of  kings 
and  consuls  — the  offices  of  Praetor, 
Censor,  Quaestor,  and  Tribune  of  the 
people  being  merely  subordinate  to  that 
of  the  consuls,  and  no  more  a  new  form 
of  administration  than  the  offices  of 
Secretary  of  the  State,  of  War,  of  the 
Navy,  of  the  Interior,  are  now.  Under 
the  latter  that  of  extraordinary  magis¬ 
trates —  are  enumerated  Dictators,  De¬ 
cemvirs,  Military  Tribunes,  and  the 
Interrex.  But  the  Interrex  did  not  con¬ 
stitute  a  form  of  administration,  or  a 
change  of  government,  any  more  than 
when  the  President  or  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States  should  die,  the  per¬ 
formance  of  the  duties  of  the  office 
of  President  by  the  Speaker  of  the 
Senate  would  indicate  a  change,  or  than 
the  Regency  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  in 
the  time  of  George  III.  constituted  a 
new  form  of  government.  So  that,  in 
fact,  we  have  enumerated,  as  constitut¬ 
ing  the  supreme  power  at  Rome,  Kings, 
Consuls,  Dictators,  Decemvirs,  and  Mili¬ 
tary  Tribunes  —  five  in  number.  The 
imperial  power  was  the  sixth.  (4)  In 
confirmation  of  the  same  thing,  I  may 
refer  to  the  authority  of  Bellarmine,  a 
distinguished  Roman  Catholic  writer. 


430 


REVELATION, 


fA.  D.  96. 


In  his  work  De  Pontiff,  cap.  2,  he  thus 
enumerates  the  changes  which  the  Ro¬ 
man  government  had  experienced,  or 
the  forms  of  administration  that  had 
existed  there :  —  1.  Kings ;  2.  Consuls ; 
3.  Decemvirs ;  4.  Dictators ;  5.  Military 
Tribunes  with  consular  power;  6.  Em¬ 
perors.  See  Pool’s  Synop.,  in  loc.  And 
(5)  it  may  be  added,  that  this  would  be 
understood  by  the  contemporaries  of 
John  in  this  sense.  These  forms  of  go¬ 
vernment  were  so  marked  that,  in  con¬ 
nexion  with  the  mention  of  the  “  seven 
mountains,”  designating  the  city,  there 
could  be  no  doubt  as  to  what  was  in¬ 
tended.  Reference  would  at  once  be 
made  to  the  Imperial  power  as  then 
existing,  and  the  mind  would  readily 
and  easily  turn  back  to  the  five  main 
forms  of  the  supreme  administration 
which  had  existed  before. 

( b )  The  next  enquiry  is,  what  is  de¬ 
noted  by  the  seventh.  If  the  word 
‘ kings’  here  refers,  as  is  supposed 
(Notes  on  ver.  10),  to  a  form  of  govern¬ 
ment  or  administration;  if  the  'five’ 
refer  to  the  forms  previous  to  the  Im¬ 
perial,  and  the  ‘  sixth’  to  the  Imperial ; 
and  if  John  wrote  during  the  imperial 
government,  then  it  follows  that  this 
must  refer  to  some  form  of  administra¬ 
tion  that  was  to  succeed  the  imperial. 
If  the  Papacy  was  ‘  the  eighth,  and  of 
the  seven,'  then  it  is  clear  that  this 
must  refer  to  some  form  of  civil  ad¬ 
ministrations  lying  between  the  decline 
of  the  Imperial,  and  the  rise  of  the 
Papal  power : — that  ‘  short  space’  —  for 
it  was  a  short  space  that  intervened. 
Now,  there  can  be  no  difficulty,  I  think, 
in  referring  this  to  that  form  of  adminis¬ 
tration  over  Rome  —  that  ‘Dukedom’ 
under  the  Exarchate  of  Ravenna,  which 
succeeded  the  decline  of  the  Imperial 
power,  and  which  preceded  the  rise  of 
the  Papal  power: — between  the  year 
566  or  568,  when  Rome  was  reduced 
to  a  Dukedom,  under  the  Exarchate 
of  Ravenna,  and  the  time  when  the 
city  revolted  from  this  authority  and 
became  subject  to  that  of  the  Pope, 
about  the  year  727.  This  period  con¬ 
tinued,  according  to  Mr.  Gibbon,  about 
two  hundred  years.  He  says,  “  Du¬ 
ring  a  period  of  two  hundred  years, 
Italy  was  unequally  divided  between 
the  kingdom  of  the  Lombards  and  the 
Exarchate  of  Ravenna.  The  offices  and 
professions,  which  the  jealousy  of  Con¬ 


stantine  had  separated,  were  united  by 
the  indulgence  of  Justinian ;  and  eighteen 
successive  exarchs  were  invested,  in 
the  decline  of  the  empire,  with  the  full 
remains  of  civil,  of  military,  and  even  of 
ecclesiastical  power.  Their  immediate 
jurisdiction,  which  was  aftencards  con¬ 
secrated  as  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter, 
extended  over  the  modern  Romagna,  the 
marshes  or  valleys  of  Ferrara  and  Comma- 
chio,  five  maritime  cities  from  Rimini  to 
Ancona,  and  a  second  inland  Peniapolis, 
between  the  Adriatic  coast  and  the  hills 
of  the  Apennine.  The  dutchy  of  Rome 
appears  to  have  included  the  Tuscan, 
Sabine,  and  Latian  conquests,  of  the  first 
four  hundred  years  of  the  city,  and  the 
limits  may  be  distinctly  traced  along  the 
coast,  from  Civita  Vecchia  to  Terracina, 
and  with  the  course  of  the  Tiber  from 
Ameria  and  Narni  to  the  port  of  Ostia.” 
Dec.  and  Fall,  iii.  202.  How  accurate 
is  this  if  it  be  regarded  as  a  statement 
of  a  new  power  or  form  of  administation 
that  succeeded  the  imperial  —  a  power 
that  was  in  fact  a  prolongation  of  the 
old  Roman  authority,  and  that  was 
designed  to  constitute  and  embody  it  all ! 
Could  Mr.  Gibbon  have  furnished  a 
better  commentary  on  the  passage  if  he 
had  adopted  the  interpretation  of  this 
portion  of  the  Apocalypse  above  pro¬ 
posed,  and  if  he  had  designed  to  describe 
this  as  the  seventh  power  in  the  succes¬ 
sive  forms  of  the  Roman  administration? 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,  also,  that  this 
account  in  Mr.  Gibbon’s  history  imme¬ 
diately  precedes  the  account  of  the  rise 
of  the  Papacy  :  the  record  respecting 
the  exarchate,  and  that  concerning 
Gregory  the  Great,  described  by  Mr. 
Gibbon  as  “  the  Saviour  of  Rome,”  oc¬ 
curring  in  the  same  chapter.  Yol.  iii. 
202-211. 

(c)  This  was  to  ‘continue  for  a  short 
spaco’ — for  a  little  time.  If  this  refers 
to  the  power  to  which  in  the  remarks 
above  it  is  supposed  to  refer,  it  is  easy 
to  see  the  propriety  of  this  statement. 
Compared  with  the  previous  form  of 
administration — the  imperial — it  was  of 
short  duration ;  absolutely  considered,  it 
was  brief.  Mr.  Gibbon  (iii.  202,)  has 
marked  it  as  extending  through  “  a  pe¬ 
riod  of  two  hundred  years ;”  and  if  this 
is  compared  with  the  form  of  adminis¬ 
tration  which  preceded  it,  extending  to 
more  than  five  hundred  years,  and  more 
especially  with  that  which  followed — the 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XVII. 


431 


12  And  the  a  ten  horns  which 
thou  sawest  are  ten  kings,  which 
have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet ; 


hut  receive  power  as  kings  one  hour 
with  the  beast. 

a  Da.  7.  20.  Zee.  1. 18-21. 


Papal  form— which  has  extended  now 
some  twelve  hundred  years,  it  will  be 
seen  with  what  propriety  this  is  spoken 
ot  as  continuing  for  “  a  short  space.” 

(d)  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not, 
even  he  is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the 
seven,  ver.  11.  If  the  explanations 
above  given  are  correct,  there  can  be  no 
difficulty  in  the  application  of  this  to  the 
Papal  power;,  for  (1)  all  this  power  was 
concentrated  in  the  Papacy,  for  all  that 
revived  or  prolonged  Roman  power,  that 
had  now  passed  into  the  Papacy,  consti¬ 
tuting  that  mighty  dominion  which  was 
to  be  set  up  for  so  many  centuries  over 
what  had  been  the  Roman  world.  See 
the  statements  of  Mr.  Gibbon  (iii.  207- 
211),  as  quoted  in  the  Notes  on  ver.  3. 
Compare,  also,  particularly,  the  remarks 
of  Augustine  Steuchus,  a  Roman  Catho¬ 
lic  writer,  as  quoted  in  the  Notes  on  that 
verse  :  “  The  empire  having  been  over¬ 
thrown,  unless  God  had  raised  up  the 
Pontificate.  Rome,  resuscitated  and  re¬ 
stored  by  none,  would  have  become  un¬ 
inhabitable,  and  been  thenceforward  a 
most  foul  habitation  of  cattle.  But  in 
the  Pontificate  it  revived  as  with  a  second 
birth;  in  empire  or  magnitude  not  indeed 
equal  to  the. old  empire,  but  its  form  not 
very  dissimilar:  because  all  nations, 
from  East  and  from  West,  venerate  the 
Pope,  not  otherwise  than  they  before 
obeyed  the  emperor.”  (2)  This  was  an 
eighth  power  or  form  of  administration — 
for  it  was  different,  in  many  respects, 
from  that  of  the  kings,  the  consuls,  the 
dictators,  the  decemvirs,  the  military 
tribunes,  the  emperors,  and  the  duke¬ 
dom — though  it  comprised  substantially 
the  power  of  all.  Indeed,  it  could  not 
have  been  spoken  of  as  identical  with 
either  of  the  previous  forms  of  adminis¬ 
tration,  though  it  concentrated  the  power 
which  had  been  wielded  by  them  all. 

(3)  It  was  ‘  of  the  seven ;’  that  is,  it  per¬ 
tained  to  them ;  it  was  a  prolongation  of 
the  same  power.  It  had  the  same  cen¬ 
tral  seat  Rome;  it  extended  over  the 
same  territory,  and  it  embraced  sooner 
or  later  the  same  nations.  There  is  not 
one  of  those  forms  of  administration 
which  did  not.find  a  prolongation  in  the 
Papacy ;  for  it  aspired  after,  and  sue- , 


ceeded  in  obtaining,  all  the  authority  oi 
kings,  dictators,  consuls,  emperors.  It 
was  in  fact  still  th e  Homan  sceptre  swayed 
over  the  world;  and  with  the  strictest 
propriety  it  could  be  said  that  it  was  ‘of 
the  seven,’  as  having  sprung  out  of  the 
seven,  and  as  perpetuating  the  sway  ot 
this  mighty  domination.  For  full  illus 
tration  of  this,  see  the  Notes  on  Dan  vii 
and  Rev  xiii.  (4)  It  would  ‘go  to  per- 
dition ;  that  is,  it  would  be  under  this 
form  that  this  mighty  domination  that 
had  for  so  many  ages  ruled  over  the 
earth  would  die  away,  or  this  would  bo 
the  last  in  the  series.  The  Homan  do¬ 
minion,  as  such,  would  not  be  extended 
to  a  ninth,  or  tenth,  or  eleventh  form, 
but  would  finally  expire  under  the  eighth. 
Every  indication  shows  that  this  is  to  bo 
so,  and  that  with  the  decline  of  the  Papal 
power  the  whole  Homan  domination  that 
has  swayed  a  sceptre  for  two  thousand 
five  hundred  years,  will  have  come  for 
ever  to  an  end.  If  this  is  so,  then  wo 
have  found  an  ample  and  exact  applica¬ 
tion  of  this  passage  even  in  its  most  mi¬ 
nute  specifications. 

12.  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  saw¬ 
est.  On  the  scarlet-colored  beast,  ver.  3. 

IT  ArC'  ten  kings.  Represent  or  denote 
ten  kings ;  that  is,  kingdoms  or  powers. 
See  Notes  on  Dan.  vii.  24.  Which 
have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet.  That 
is,  they  were  not  in  existence  when  John 
wrote.  It  is  implied  that  during  the 
period  under  review  they  would  arise, 
and  would  become  connected  in  an  im¬ 
portant  sense,  with  the  power  here  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  ‘beast.’  For  a  full  illus¬ 
tration  respecting  the  ten  ‘kings,’  or 
kingdoms  here  referred  to,  see  Notes  on 

TT/o^ir  at  c*ose  ^e  chapter. 

(2)  II  receive  power.  It  is  not 
said  from  what  source  this  power  is  re¬ 
ceived,  but  it  is  simply  implied  that  it 
would  in  fact  be  conferred  on  them, 
l  u  ^n98\  That  is,  the  power  would 
be  that  which  is  usually  exercised  by 
kings.  One  hour.  It  cannot  bo  sup¬ 
posed  that  this  is  to  be  taken  literally. 
The  meaning  clearly  is,  that  this  would 
be  brief  and  temporary;  that  is,  it  was 
a  form  of  administration  which  would  b« 
succeeded  by  one  more  fixed  an4  ptnu. 


432 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


13  These  have  one  mind,  and 
shall  give  their  power  and  strength 
unto  the  beast. 

a  c.  19. 19.  b  Je.  50.  44. 


nent.  Any  one  can  see  that,  in  fact, 
this  is  strictly  applicable  to  the  govern¬ 
ments,  as  referred  to  in  the  Notes 
on  Daniel,  which  sprang  up  after  the 
incursion  of  the  Northern  barbarians, 
and  which  were  finally  succeeded  by  the 
permanent  forms  of  government  in  Eu¬ 
rope.  Most  of  them  were  very  "brief  in 
their  duration,  and  they  were  soon  re¬ 
modelled  in  the  forms  of  permanent  ad¬ 
ministration.  Thus  to  take  the  arrange¬ 
ment  proposed  by  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  (1) 
the  kingdom  of  the  Vandals  and  Alans 
in  Spain  and  Africa;  (2)  the  kingdom  of 
the  Suevians  in  Spain;  (3)  the  kingdom 
of  the  Visigoths ;  (4)  the  kingdom  of  the 
Alans  in  Gallia;  (5)  the  kingdom  of  the 
Burgundians;  (6)  the  kingdom  of  the 
Kranks;  (7)  the  kingdom  of  the  Britons; 
(8)  the  kingdom  of  the  Huns;  (9)  the 
kingdom  of  the  Lombards;  (10)  the 
kingdom  of  Ravenna  —  how  temporary 
were  most  of  these;  how  soon  theypassed 
into  the  more  permanent  forms  of  ad¬ 
ministration  which  succeeded  them  in 
Europe  !  With  the  beast.  With  that 
rising  Papal  power.  They  would  exer¬ 
cise  their  authority  in  connection  with 
that,  and  under  its  influence. 

13.  These  have  one  mind.  That  is, 
they  are  united  in  the  promotion  of  the 
same  object.  Though  in  some  respects 
wholly  independent  of  each  other,  yet 
they  may  be  regarded  as,  in  fact,  so  far 
united  that  they  tend  to  prevent  the 
same  ultimate  end.  As  a  fact  in  history, 
all  these  kingdoms,  though  of  different 
origin,  and  though  not  unfrequently  en¬ 
gaged  in  war  with  each  other,  became 
Roman  Catholics,  and  were  united  in  the 
support  of  the  Papacy.  It  was  with  pro¬ 
priety,  therefore,  that  they  should  be  re¬ 
garded  as  so  closely  connected  with  that 
power  that  they  could  be  represented  as 
‘ten  horns’  on  the  seven-headed  mon¬ 
ster.  And  shall  give  their  power  and 
strength  unto  the  beast.  Shall  lend  their 
influence  to  the  support  of  the  Papacy, 
and  become  the  upholders  of  that  power. 
The  meaning,  according  to  the  inter¬ 
pretation  above  proposed,  is,  that  they 
would  all  become  Papal  kingdoms,  and 
supporters  of  the  Papal  power.  It  is 


14  These  shall  make  war  •  with 
the  Lamb,  and  the  Lamb  shall 
'’overcome  them:  for  he  is  Lord' of 
c  De.  10. 17 ;  1  Ti.  6. 15;  c.  19. 16. 


unnecessary  to  pause  to  show  how  true 
this  has  been  in  history.  At  first,  most 
of  the  people  out  of  whom  these  king¬ 
doms  sprang  were  Pagans ;  then  many 
of  them  embraced  Christianity  under 
the  prevailing  form  of  Arianism,  and 
this  fact  was  for  a  time  a  bar  to  their  per¬ 
fect  adhesion  to  the  Roman  See ;  but  they 
were  all  ultimately  brought  wholly  under 
its  influence,  and  became  its  supporters. 
In  A.  D.  496,  Clovis,  the  king  of  the 
Franks,  on  occasion  of  his  victory  over 
the  Allemanni,  embraced  the  Catholic 
faith,  and  so  received  the  title  transmit¬ 
ted  downward  through  nearly  thirteen 
hundred  years  to  the  French  kings  as 
his  successors,  of  ‘  the  eldest  son  of  the 
church;’  in  the  course  of  the  sixth  cen¬ 
tury,  the  kings  of  Burgundy,  Bavaria, 
Spain,  Portugal,  England,  embraced  the 
same  religion,  and  became  the  defenders 
of  the  Papacy.  It  is  well  known  that 
each  one  of  the  powers  above  enume¬ 
rated  as  constituting  these  ten  kingdoms, 
became  subject  to  the  Papacy,  and  con¬ 
tinued  so  during  their  separate  exist¬ 
ence,  or  when  merged  into  some  other 
power,  until  the  Reformation  in  the  six¬ 
teenth  century.  All  ‘  their  power  and 
strength  was  given  unto  the  beast;’  all 
was  made  subservient  to  the  purposes  of 
Papal  Rome. 

14.  These  shall  make  war  with  the 
Lamb.  The  Lamb  of  God  —  the  Lord 
Jesus  (Notes,  ch.  v.  6) ;  that  is,  they 
would  combine  with  the  Papacy  in  op¬ 
posing  evangelical  religion.  It  is  not 
meant  that  they  would  openly  and  avow¬ 
edly  proclaim  war  against  the  Son  of 
God,  but  that  they  would  practically  de 
this  in  sustaining  a  persecuting  power. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  show  how  true  this 
has  been  in  history;  how  entirely  they 
sustained  the  Papacy  in  all  its  measures 
of  persecution,  And  the  Lamb  shall 
overcome  them.  Shall  ultimately  gain 
the  victory  over  them.  The  meaning  is, 
that  they  would  not  be  able  to  extin¬ 
guish  the  true  religion.  In  spite  of  all 
opposition  and  persecution,  that  would 
still  live  in  the  world,  until  it  would  be 
said  that  a  complete  triumph  was  gained. 

For  he  is  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


438 


chosen,  c  and  faithful.* 

15  And  he  saith  unto  me,  The 
4  waters  which  thou  sawest,  where 

*•&?'„  *  Ho.  8. 30, 37.  c  Jno.  15. 16. 
d  c.  2. 10.  e  Is.  8.  7;  ver.  L 


kings.  He  has  supreme  power  over  all 
the  earth,  and  all  kings  and  princes  are 
subject  to  his  control.  Comp.  ch.  xix. 
16.  And  they  that  are  icith  him.  The 
reference  is  to  the  persecuted  saints  who 
have  adhered  to  him  as  his  faithful  fol¬ 
lowers  in  all  these  protracted  conflicts. 
jl  Are  called.  That  is,  called  by  him  to 
be  his  followers;  as  if  he  had  selected 
them  out  of  the  world  to  maintain  his 
cause.  See  Notes  on  Rom.  i.  7.  And 
chosen.'  See  Notes  on  John  xv.  16,  and 
1  Pet.  i.  2.  In  their  stedfast  adherence 
to  the  truth,  they  had  shown  that  they 
were  truly  e/toeen  by  the  Saviour,  and 
could  be  relied  on  in  the  warfare  against 
the  powers  of  evil.  %  And  faithful. 
ihey  had  shown  themselves  faithful  to 
him  in  times  of  persecution,  and  in  the 
hour  of  darkness. 

15.  And  he  saith  unto  me.  The  angel, 
ver.  7.  This  commences  the  more  lite¬ 
ral  statement  of  what  is  meant  by  these 
symbols.  See  the  Analysis  of  the  chap¬ 
ter.  *f  The  waters  which  thou  sawest. 
See  Notes  on  ver.  1.  f  Are  peoples,  and 
multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues. 
Por  an  explanation  of  these  terms,  see 
Notes  on  ch.  vii.  9.  The  meaning  here 
is,  (a)  that  these  waters  represent  a  mul¬ 
titude  of  people.  This  is  a  common  and 
an  obvious  symbol  —  for  outspread  seas 
or  raging  floods  would  naturally  repre¬ 
sent  such  a  multitude.  See  Jer.  xlvii. 

2;  Isa.  viii.  7,  8,  xvii.  12,  13.  Comp.’ 
Iliad,  v.  394.  The  sense  here  is,  that 
vast  numbers  of  people  would  be  subject 
to  the  power  here  represented  by  the 
woman,  (b)  They  would  be  composed 
of  different  nations,  and  would  be  of  I 
different  languages.  It  is  unnecessary  j 
to  show  that  this,  in  both  respects,  is 
applicable  to  the  Papacy.  Nations  have 
been,  and  are,  subject  to  its  control,  and 
nations  speaking  a  large  part  of  the 
languages  of  the  world.  Perhaps  under 
no  one  government— not  even  the  Baby- 


tongues. 

16  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou 
sawest  upon  the  beast,  these  *  shall 
hate  the  whore,  and  shall  make  her 

f  c- 13-  7-  g  Je.  50.  41,  42. 


languages,  and  having  so  different  an 
origin. 

16.  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  saw¬ 
est  upon  the  least.  Ver.  3.  The  ten 
powers  or  kingdoms  represented  by  those 
horns.  See  Notes  on  ver.  12.  <[  These 
shall  hate  the  whore.  There  seems  to  be 
some  incongruity  between  this  statement 
and  that  which  was  previously  made. 
In  the  former  (vs.  12-14),  thes?  ten 
governments  are  represented  as  in  alli¬ 
ance  with  the  beast;  as  'giving  all  their 
power  and  strength’  unto  it;  and  as 
uniting  with  it.  in  making  war  with  the 
JLamb.  What  is  here  said  must,  there- 
lore,  refer  to  some  subsequent  period, 
indicating  some  great  change  in  their 
feelings  and  policy.  We  have  seen  the 
evidence  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  former 
statements.  _  This  statement  will  be  ac¬ 
complished  if  these  same  powers  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  ten  horns,  that  were  for¬ 
merly  in  alliance  with  the  Papacy,  shall 
become  its  enemy,  and  contribute  to  its 
final  overthrow.  That  is,  it  will  be  ac¬ 
complished  if  the  nations  of  Europe 
embraced  within  the  limits  of  those  ten 
kingdoms,  shall  become  hostile  to  the 
Papacy,  and  shall  combine  for  its  over- 
it1hr"w-  J8  any  thing  more  probable  than 
this?  Prance  (see  Notes  on  ch.  xvi.) 
has  already  struck  more  than  one  heavy 
blow  ondhat  power;  England  has  been 
detached  from  it;  many  of  the  states 
I  of  Italy  are  weary  of  it,  and  are  ready 
to  rise  up  against  it;  and  nothing  is 
more  probable  than  that  Spain,  Portu¬ 
gal,  Prance,  Lombardy,  and  the  Papal 
states  themselves  will  yet  throw  off  the 
yoke  for  ever,  and  put  an  end  to  a  power 
that  has  so  long  ruled  over  men.  It  was 
with  the  utmost  difliculty  in  1848  that 
the  Papal  power  was  sustained,  and  this 
was  done  only  by  foreign  swords ;  the 
Papacy  could  not  probably  be  protected 
in  another  such  outbreak.  And  this 
passage  leads  us  to  anticipate  that  the 


.  “  . - .....  ...v  |  jjaosu-gt)  jeaus  us  __ 

Ionian,  the  Macedonian,  or  the  ancient  ;  period  will  come— and  that  probably  not 
Roman  — was  there  so  great  a  diversity  i  far  in  the  future  — when  those  powers 
oi  people,  speaking  so  many  different  that  have  for  so  many  ages  sustained  the 
37 


434 


REVELATION,  [A.D.96 


desolate  and- naked,  0  and  shall  eat 
her  flesh,  and  b  burn  her  with  fire. 

17  For  God  c  hath  put  in  their 
hearts  to  fulfil  his  will,  and  to  agree, 
and  give  their  kingdom  unto  the 
a  Eze.  16.  37-44.  b  c.  18.  8, 16. 

Papacy  will  become  its  determined  foes, 
and  will  rise  in  their  might  and  bring  it 
for  ever  to  an  end.  And  shall  make 
her  desolate  and  naked.  Strip  her  of  all 
her  power  and  all  her  attractiveness. 
That  is,  applied  to  Papal  Rome,  all  that 
is  so  gorgeous  and  alluring — her  wealth, 
and  pomp,  and  splendor — shall  be  taken 
away,  and  she  will  be  seen  as  she  is, 
without  any  thing  to  dazzle  the  eye  or 
to  blind  the  mind.  f  And  shall  eat  her 
flesh.  Shall  completely  destroy  her — 
as  if  her  flesh  were  consumed.  Perhaps 
the  image  is  taken  from  the  practices  of 
cannibals  eating  the  flesh  of  their  ene¬ 
mies  slain  in  battle.  If  so,  nothing  could 
give  a  more  impressive  idea  of  the  utter 
destruction  of  this  formidable  power,  or 
of  the  feelings  of  those  by  whom  its  end 
would  be  brought  about.  And  burn 
her  with  fire.  Another  image  of  total 
destruction.  Perhaps  the  meaning  may 
be,  that  after  her  flesh  was  eaten,  such 
parts  of  her  as  remained  would  be  thrown 
into  the  fire  and  consumed.  If  this  be 
the  meaning,  the  image  is  a  very  im¬ 
pressive  one  to  denote  absolute  and  total 
destruction.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xviii.  8. 

17.  For  God  hath  put  in  their  hearts 
to  fulfil  his  will.  That  is,  in  regard  to 
the  destruction  of  this  mighty  power. 
They  would  be  employed  as  his  agents 
in  bringing  about  his  designs.  Kings 
and  princes  are  under  the  control  of 
God,  and,  whatever  may  be  their  own 
designs,  they  are  in  fact  employed  to 
accomplish  his  purposes,  and  are  instru¬ 
ments  in  his  hands.  See  Notes  on  Isa. 
x.  7.  Comp.  Ps.  lxxvi.  10.  And  to 
agree.  See  ver.  13.  That  is,  they  act 
harmoniously  in  their  support  of  this 
power,  and  so  they  will  in  its  final  de¬ 
struction.  And  give  their  kingdom 
unto  the  beast.  Notes  ver.  13.  *[  Until 

the  words  of  God  shall  be  fulfilled.  Not 
for  ever;  not  as  a  permanent  arrange¬ 
ment.  God  has  fixed  a  limit  to  the 
existence  of  this  power.  When  his  pur¬ 
poses  are  accomplished,  these  kingdoms 
will  withdraw  their  support,  and  this 
mighty  power  will  fall  to  rise  no  more. 


beast,  until  the  words  of  God  shall 
he  fulfilled. d 

18  And  the  woman  which  thou 
sawest  is  that  great  city,  *  which 
reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
c  Ac.  4.  27,  28.  d  c.  10.  7.  e  c.  16. 19. 

18.  And  the  woman  which  thou  sawest. 
Ver.  3.  Is  that  great  city.  Represents 
that  great  city.  *[  Which  reigneth  over 
the  kings  of  the  earth.  Rome  would  of 
course  be  understood  by  this  language 
in  the  time  of  John,  and  all  the  circum¬ 
stances,  as  we  have  seen,  combine  to 
show  that  Rome,  in  some  form  of  its 
dominion,  is  intended.  Even  the  name 
could  hardly  have  designated  it  more 
clearly,  and  all  expositors  agree  in  sup¬ 
posing  that  Rome,  either  as  Pagan  or  as 
Christian,  is  referred  to.  The  chapter 
shows  that  its  power  is  limited ;  and 
that  although,  for  purposes  which  he 
saw  to  be  wise,  God  allows  it  to  have  a 
wide  influence  over  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  yet  in  his  own  appointed  time  the 
very  powers  that  have  sustained  it  will 
become  its  foes,  and  combine  for  its 
overthrow.  Europe  needs  but  little 
farther  provocation,  and  the  fires  of 
liberty,  which  have  been  so  long  pent 
up,  will  break  forth,  and  that  storm  of 
indignation  which  has  expelled  the  Jes¬ 
uits  from  all  the  courts  of  Europe ; 
which  has  abolished  the  Inquisition; 
which  has  more  than  once  led  hostile 
armies  to  the  very  gates  of  Papal  Rome, 
will  again  be  aroused  in  a  manner  which 
cannot  be  allayed,  and  that  mighty  pow¬ 
er  which  has  controlled  so  large  a  part 
of  the  nations  of  Europe  for  more  than 
a  thousand  years  of  the  world’s  history, 
will  come  to  an  end. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTEE. 

This  chapter  may  be  regarded  as  a 
still  further  explanatory  episode  (comp. 
Anal,  to  ch.  xvii.),  designed  to  show  the 
effect  of  pouring  out  the  seventh  vial 
(ch.  xvi.  17-21)  on  the  formidable  Anti¬ 
christian  power  so  often  referred  to. 
The  description  in  this  chapter  is  that 
of  a  rich  merchant-city  reduced  to  deso¬ 
lation,  and  is  but  carrying  out  the  gene¬ 
ral  idea  under  a  different  form.  The 
chapter  comprises  the  following  points : 

(1)  Another  angel  is  seen  descending 


435 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

AND  after  these  things  I  saw 
another  angel  come  down  from 
heaven,  having  great  power;  and 
the  earth  was  lightened  with  his 
glory.  - 

2  And  he  cried  mightily  with  a 

a  Eze.  43.  2. 


from  heaven,  having  great  power,  and 
making  proclamation  that  Babylon  the 
great  is  fallen,  and  is  become  utterly 
desolate,  vs.  1-3. 

(2)  A  warning  voice  is  heard  from 
heaven,  calling  on  the  people  of  God  to 
come  out  of  her,  and  to  be  partakers 
neither  of  her  sins  nor  her  plagues.  Her 
torment  and  sorrow  would  be  propor¬ 
tionate  to  her  pride  and  luxury;  and 
her  plagues  would  come  upon  her  sud¬ 
denly —  death,  and  mourning,  and  fam¬ 
ine,  and  consumption  by  fire,  vs.  4-8. 

(3)  Lamentation  over  her  fall _ by 

those  especiaHy  who  had  been  connected 
with  her;  who  had  been  corrupted  by 
her;  who  had  been  profited  by  her,  vs. 

9 — IQ, 

(a)  By  kings,  vs.  9,  10.  They  had 
lived  deliciously  with  her,  and  they 
would  lament  her. 

(b)  By  merchants,  vs.  11-17.  They 
had  trafficked  with  her,  but  v.zn 
that  traffic  was  to  cease,  and  no  man 
would  buy  of  her.  Their  business, 
so  far  as  she  was  concerned,  was  at 
an  end.  All  that  she  had  accumu¬ 
lated  was  now  to  be  destroyed ;  all 
her  gathered  riches  were  to  be  con¬ 
sumed;  all  the  traffic  in  those 
things  by  which  she  had  been  en¬ 
riched  was  to  be  ended;  and  the 
city  that  was  more  than  all  others 
enriched  by  these  things,  as  if 
clothed  in  fine  linen,  and  purple, 
and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold, 
and  precious  stones,  and  pearls,  was 
to  be  destroyed  for  ever. 

(c)  By  shipmasters  and  seamen,  vs. 

They  had  been  made  rich 
by  this  traffic,  but  now  all  was 
ended;  the  smoke  of  her  burning  is 
seen  to  ascend,  and  they  stand  afar 
off  and  weep. 

(4)  Rejoicing  over  her  fall,  ver.  20. 

Heaven  is  called  upon  to  rejoice,  and 
the  holy  apostles  and  prophets,  for  their 
blood  is  avenged,  and  persecution  ceases 
in  the  earth. 


strong  voice,  saying,  Babylon*  the 
great  is  fallen,  is  fallen,  and  is 
become  c  the  habitation  of  devils 
and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit’ 
and  a  cage  of  every  unclean  and 
hateful  bird. 

b  Is.  13. 19,  21.  9;  Je.51.8;  c.  14.  8. 
^Is^34. 11, 14;  Jc.  50.  39,  51.  37;  c.  17.  2. 


(* 2 3 4 5J.  ®}e  fiDal  destruction  of  the  city, 
vs.  21-24.  A  mighty  angel  takes  up  a 
stone  and  casts  it  into  the  sea  as  an 
emblem  of  the  destruction  that  is  to 
come  upon  it.  The  voice  of  harpers, 
and  musicians,  and  pipers  would  be 
heard  no  more  in  it;  and  no  craftsmen 
would  be  there,  and  the  sound  of  the 
millstone  would  be  heard  no  more,  and 
the  light  of  a  candle  would  shine  no 
more  there,  and  the  voice  of  the  bride¬ 
groom  and  the  bride  would  be  heard  no 
more. 

1.  And  after  these  things.  After  the 
vision  referred  to  in  the  previous  chapter. 
II  I  saw  another  angel  come  down  from 
heaven.  Different  from  the  one  that  had 
last  appeared,  and  therefore  comin®  to 
make  a  new  communication  to  him.°  It 
is  not  unusual  in  this  hook  that  dif¬ 
ferent  communications  should  be  en¬ 
trusted  to  different  angels.  Comp.  ch. 
4l'f.  8,  9,  15,  17,  18.  Having  great 

power.  That  is,  he  was  one  of  the 
higher  rank  or  order  of  angels,  r  And 
the  earth  was  lightened  x cith  his  glory. 
Ihe  usual  representation  respecting  the 
heavenly  beings.  Comp.  Luke  ii.  9  • 
Ex.  xxiv.  16;  Acts  ix.  3;  Matt.  xvii.  2. 
Ibis  would,  of  course,  add  greatly  to 
the  magnificence  of  the  scene. 

2.  And  he  cried  mightihj.  'Literally, 
he  cried  with  a  strong  great  voice.’ 
See  ch.  x.  3.  If  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen, 
xs  fallen.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  8.  Tho 
proclamation  here  is  substantially  the 
same  as  in  that  place,  and  no  doubt  tho 
same  thing  is  referred  to.  f  And  is 
become  the  habitation  of  devils.  Of 
demons  in  allusion  to  the  common 
opinion  that  the  demons  inhabited  aban¬ 
doned  cities,  old  ruins,  and  deserts.  See 
Notes  on  Matt.  xii.  43-45.  The  lan¬ 
guage  here  is  taken  from  the  description 
of  Babylon  in  Isa.  xiii.  20-22,  and  for  a 
full  illustration  of  the  meaning,  see 
Notes  on  that  passage,  And  the  hold 
of  every  foul  spirit — \ pv\aKt) .  A  watch- 
post,  station,  haunt  of  such  spirits. 


436 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


3  For  all  nations  have  drunk  °  of 
the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  forni¬ 
cation,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth 
have  committed  fornication  with 
her,  and  the  b  merchants  of  the 
a  Is  47. 15.  b  ver.  11. 15.  c  Or,  power. 


That  is,  they,  as  it  were,  kept  guard 
there ;  were  stationed  there ;  haunted  the 
place.  *|f  And  a  cage  of  every  unclean 
and  hateftd  bird.  That  is,  they  would 
resort  there,  and  abide  there  as  in  a 
cage.  The  word  translated  ‘  cage’  is  the 
same  which  is  rendered  ‘hold’ — <pv\aK>i. 
In  Isa,  xiii.  21,  it  is  said,  ‘  and  owls 
shall  dwell  there;’  and  in  Isa.  xiv.  23,  it 
is  said  that  it  would  be  a  ‘  possession 
for  the  bittern.’  The  idea  is  that  of  utter 
desolation ;  and  the  meaning  here  is, 
that  spiritual  Babylon  —  Papal  Rome 
(ch.  xiv.  8)  will  be  reduced  to  a  state  of 
utter  desolation  resembling  that  of  the 
real  Babylon.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  this  of  the  city  of  Rome  itself — 
for  that  is  not  the  object  of  the  repre¬ 
sentation.  It  is  the  Papacy,  repre¬ 
sented  under  the  image  of  the  city,  and 
having  its  seat  there.  That  is  to  be 
destroyed  as  utterly  as  was  Babylon  of 
old ;  that  will  become  as  odious,  and 
loathsome,  and  detestable  as  the  literal 
Babylon,  the  abode  of  monsters,  is. 

3.  For  all  nations  have  drunk  of  the 
wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  8.  This  is  given 
as  a  reason  why  this  utter  ruin  had 
come  upon  her.  She  had  beguiled  and 
corrupted  the  nations  of  the  earth,  lead¬ 
ing  them  into  estrangement  from  God, 
and  into  pollution  and  sin.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  ix.  20,  21.  And  the  kings  of  the 
earth  have  committed  fornication  with  her. 
Spiritual  adultery ;  that  is,  she  has  been 
the  means  of  seducing  them  from  God 
and  leading  them  into  sinful  practices. 

And  the  merchants  of  the  earth  are 
waxed  rich  through  the  abundance  of  her 
delicacies.  The  word  rendered  ‘  abund¬ 
ance’  here,  means  commonly  power.  It 
might  here  denote  influence,  though  it 
may  also  mean  number,  quantity,  wealth. 
Comp.  ch.  iii.  8,  where  the  same  word 
is  used.  The  word  rendered  delicacies 
—  crprjros — occurs  nowhere  else  in  the 
new  Testament.  It  properly  means 
rudeness,  insolence,  pride;  and  hence 
revel,  riot,  luxury.  It  may  be  rendered 


earth  are  waxed  rich  through  the 
abundance c  of  her  delicacies. 

4  And  I  heard  another  voice 
from  heaven,  saying,  Come  ouf'of 
her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  par¬ 
ti  Is.  48. 20, 52. 11 ;  Je.  50. 8, 51. 6, 45 ;  2  Co.  6. 17. 


here  properly  luxury,  or  proud  volup¬ 
tuousness  ;  and  the  reference  is  to  such 
luxuries  as  are  found  commonly  in  a 
great,  a  gay,  and  a  splendid  city.  These, 
of  course,  give  rise  to  much  traffic,  and 
furnish  employment  to  many  merchants 
and  sailors,  who  thus  procure  a  liveli¬ 
hood,  or  become  wealthy  as  the  result  of 
such  traffic.  Babylon — or  Papal  Rome — 
is  here  represented  under  the  image  of 
such  a  luxurious  city;  and  of  course 
when  she  falls  they  who  have  thus  been 
dependent  on  her,  and  who  have  been 
enriched  by  her,  have  occasion  for 
mourning  and  lamentation.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  expect  to  find  a  literal  ful¬ 
filment  of  this,  for  it  is  emblematic  and 
symbolical.  The  image  of  a  great,  rich, 
splendid,  proud,  and  luxurious  city 
having  been  employed  to  denote  that 
Antichristian  power,  all  that  is  said  in 
this  chapter  follows,  of  course,  on  its 
fall.  The  general  idea  is,  that  she 
was  doomed  to  utter  desolation,  and 
that  all  who  were  connected  with  her, 
far  and  near,  would  be  involved  in  her 
ruin. 

4.  And  1  heard  another  voice  from 
heaven.  He  does  not  say  whether  this 
was  the  voice  of  an  angel,  but  the  idea 
seems  rather  to  be  that  it  is  the  voice  of 
God.  Gome  out  of  her,  my  people.  The 
reasons  for  this,  as  immediately  stated, 
are  two : — (a)  that  they  might  not  partici¬ 
pate  in  her  sins  ;  and  (6)  that  they  might 
not  be  involved  in  the  ruin  that  would 
come  upon  her.  The  language  seems  to 
be  derived  from  such  passages  in  the 
Old  Testament  as  the  following:  Isa. 
xlviii.  20,  “  Go  ye  forth  of  Babylon,  flee 
from  the  Chaldeans,  with  a  voice  of 
singing.”  Jer.  li.  6,  “Flee  out  of  the 
midst  of  Babylon,  and  deliver  every 
man  his  soul;  be  not  cut  off  in  her 
iniquity.”  Jer.  li.  45,  “  My  people,  go 
ye  out  out  of  the  midst  of  her,  and 
deliver  ye  every  man  his  soul  from  the 
fierce  anger  of  the  Lord.”  Comp.  Jer. 
1.  8.  That  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her 
sins.  For  the  meaning  of  this  expre*- 


A.  D.  96.] 


\ 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 


437 


takers  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  re¬ 
ceive  not  of  her  plagues. 

5  For  her  sins  have  reached0 
unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  remem¬ 
bered  b  her  iniquities. 

6  Reward-  her  e  even  as  she  re- 

o  Je.  51.  9.  b  c.  16. 19. 


sion,  see  Notes  on  1  Tim.  v.  22.  It  is 
implied  here  that  by  remaining  in  Baby- 
Ion  they  would  lend  their  sanction  to 
its  sins  by  their  presence,  and  would,  in 
all  probability,  become  contaminated  by 
the  influence  around  them.  This  is  an 
universal  truth  in  regard  to  iniquity, 
and  hence  it  is  the  duty  of  those  who 
would  be  pure  to  come  out  from  the 
world,  and  to  separate  themselves  from 
all  the  associations  of  evil.  And  that 
ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues.  Of  tho 
punishment  that  was  to  come  upon  her 
as  they  must  certainly  do  if  they  re¬ 
mained  in  her.  The  judgment  of  God 
that  was  to  come  upon  the  guilty  city 
would  make  no  discrimination  among 
those  who  were  found  there ;  and  if  they 
would  escape  these  woes,  they  must 
make  their  escape  from  her.  As  ap¬ 
plicable  to  Papal  Rome,  in  view  of  her 
impending  ruin,  this  means  (a)  that 
there  might  he  found  in  her  some  who 
were  the  true  people  of  God ;  (b)  that  it 
was  their  duty  to  separate  wholly  from 
her:  a  command  that  will  not  only 
justify  the  Reformation,  but  which 
would  have  made  a  longer  continuance 
in  communion  with  the  Papacy,  when 
her  wickedness  was  fully  seen,  an  act  of 
guilt  before  God;  (e)  that  they  who  re¬ 
main  in  such  a  communion  cannot  but 
be  regarded  as  partaking  of  her  sin  ;  and 
(d)  that  if  they  remain,  they  must  ex¬ 
pect  to  be  involved  in  the  calamities  that 
will  come  upon  her.  There  never  was 
any  duty  plainer  than  that  of  with¬ 
drawing  from  Papal  Rome  ;  there  never 
has  been  any  act  attended  with  more 
happy  consequences  than  that  by  which 
the  Protestant  world  separated  itself 
for  ever  from  the  sins  and  the  plagues 
of  the  Papacy. 

5.  For  her  sins  have  reached  unto  hea¬ 
ven.  '  So  in  Jer.  li.  9,  speaking  of  Baby¬ 
lon,  it  is  said,  “for  her  judgment  reach- 
eth  unto  heaven,  and  is  lifted  up  even  to 
the  skies.”  The  meaning  is  not  that  the 
sins  of  this  mystical  Babylon  were  like 


warded  you,  and  double  unto  her 
double  according  to  her  works :  in 
the  cup  which  she  hath  filled,  fill  to 
her  double. 

7  How  much  she  hath  glorified 
herself,  and  lived  deliciously,  so 
e  Ps.  137.  8;  Je.  50. 15,  29. 


a  mass  or  pile  so  high  as  to  reach  to 
heaven,  but  that  it  had  become  so  pro¬ 
minent  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  God 
Comp.  Gen.  iv.  10,  “  The  voice  of  thy 
brother’s  blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the 
ground.”  See  also  Gen.  xviii.  20.  And 
God  hath  remembered  her  iniquities.  He 
had  seemed  to  forget  them  or  not  to  no¬ 
tice  them,  but  now  he  acted  as  if  they 
had  come  to  his  recollection.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  xvi.  19. 

6.  Bernard  her  even  as  she  rewarded 
you.  It  is  not  said  to  whom  this  com¬ 
mand  is  addressed,  but  it  would  seem  to 
be  to  those  who  had  been  persecuted  and 
wronged.  Applied  to  mystical  Babylon 

Papal  Rome  —  it  would  seem  to  be  a 
call  on  the  nations  that  had  been  so  long 
under  her  sway,  and  among  whom,  from 
time  to  time,  so  much  blood  had  been 
shed  by  her,  to  arise  now  in  their  might, 
and  to  inflict  deserved  vengeance.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xvii.  16,  17.  f  And  double 
unto  her  double  according  to  her  works. 
That  is,  bring  upon  her  double  the 
amount  of  calamity  which  she  has 
brought  upon  others ;  take  ample  ven¬ 
geance  upon  her.  Comp,  for  similar 
language,  Isa.  xl.  2.  “  She  hath  received 
o{  the  Lord’s  hand  double  for  all  her 
sins.”  Isa.  lxi.  7.  “For  your  shame  ye 
shall  have  double.”  In  the  cup  which 
she  hath  filled.  To  bring  wrath  on  others. 
Notes  ch.  xiv.  8.  Fill  to  her  double. 
Let  her  drink  abundantly  of  the  wine  of 
the  wrath  of  God  — double  that  which 
she  has  dealt  out  to  others.  That  is, 
either  let  the  quantity  administered  to 
her  bo  doubled,  or  let  the  ingredients  in 
the  cup  be  doubled  in  intensity. 

7.  How  much  she  lias  glorified  herself. 
Been  proud,  boastful,  arrogant.  This 
was  true  of  ancient  Babylon  that  she 
was  proud  and  haughty;  and  it  has  been 
no  less  true  of  mystical  Babylon — Papal 
Rome.  And  lived  deliciously.  By  as 
much  as  she  has  lived  in  luxury  and 
dissoluteness,  so  let  her  suffer  now.  Tho 
word  used  here  and  rendered  lived  deli- 


438 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  9t>. 


much  torment  and  sorrow  give  her; 
for  she  saith  in  her  heai-t,  I  sit  a 
°  queen,  and  am  no  widow,  and 
shall  see  no  sorrow. 

8  Therefore  shall  her  plagues 

a  Is.  47.  7-11 ;  Zep.  2. 15. 


ciously — (aTprjviaac — is  derived  from  the 
noun  —  c TTprivos — which  is  used  in  ver.  3, 
and  rendered  delicacies.  See  Notes  on 
that  verse.  It  means,  properly,  ‘  to  live 
strenuously,  rudely,’  as  in  English  ‘  to 
live  hard;’  and  then  to  revel,  to  live  in 
luxury,  riot,  dissoluteness.  No  one  can 
doubt  the  propriety  of  this  as  descriptive 
of  ancient  Babylon,  and  as  little  can  its 
propriety  be  doubted  as  applied  to  Papal 
Rome.  So  much  torment  and  sorrow 
give  her.  Let  her  punishment  correspond 
with  her  sins.  This  is  expressing  sub¬ 
stantially  the  same  idea  which  occurs  in 
the  previous  verse,  For  she  saith  in 
her  heart.  This  is  the  estimate  which 
she  forms  of  herself.  I  sit  a  queen. 
Indicative  of  pride,  and  of  an  asserted 
claim  to  rule.  And  am  no  widow.  Am 
not  in  the  condition  of  a  widow — a  state 
of  depression,  sorrow,  and  mourning.  All 
this  indicates  security  and  self-confi¬ 
dence,  a  description  in  any  way  applica¬ 
ble  to  Papal  Rome.  And  shall  see  no 
sorrow.  This  is  indicative  of  a  state 
where  there  was  nothing  feared,  notwith¬ 
standing  all  the  indications  which  existed 
of  approaching  calamity.  In  this  state 
we  may  expect  to  find  Papal  Rome,  even 
when  its  last  judgments  are  about  to 
come  upon  it;  in  this  state  it  has  usually 
been ;  in  this  state  it  is  now,  notwith¬ 
standing  all  the  indications  that  are 
abroad  in  the  world  that  its  power  is 
waning,  and  that  the  period  of  its  fall 
approaches. 

8.  Therefore.  In  consequence  of  her 
pride,  arrogance,  and  luxury,  and  of  the 
calamities  that  she  has  brought  upon 
others.  Shall  her  plagues  come  in  one 
day.  They  shall  come  in  a  time  when 
she  is  living  in  ease  and  security;  and 
they  shall  come  at  the  same  time  —  so 
that  all  these  terrible  judgments  shall 
seem  to  be  poured  upon  her  at  once. 

Death.  This  expression  and  those 
which  follow  are  designed  to  denote  the 
same  thing  under  different  images.  The 
general  meaning  is,  that  there  would  be 
utter  and  final  destruction.  It  would  be 
as  if  death  should  come  and  cut  off  the 


come  in  one  day,  death,  and  mourn¬ 
ing,  and  famine ;  and  she  shall  be 
utterly  b  burned  with  fire  :  foi 
strong  c  is  the  Lord  God  who  judg- 
eth  her. 

b  c.  17. 16.  c  Ps.  62. 11;  Je.  50.  34. 

inhabitants.  And  mourning.  As  there 
would  be  where  many  were  cut  off  by 
death.  And  famine.  As  if  famine 
raged  within  the  walls  of  a  besieged  city, 
or  spread  over  a  land,  And  she  shall 
be  utterly  burned  with  fire.  As  com¬ 
pletely  destroyed  as  if  she  were  entirely 
burned  up.  The  certain  and  complete 
destruction  of  that  formidable  Antichris¬ 
tian  power  is  predicted  under  a  great 
variety  of  emphatic  images.  See  ch.  xiv. 
10,  11,  xvi.  17-21,  xvii.  9,  16.  Perhaps 
in  this  so  frequent  reference  to  a  final 
destruction  of  that  formidable  Antichris¬ 
tian  power  by  fire,  there  may  be  more 
intended  than  merely  a  figurative  repre¬ 
sentation  of  its  final  ruin.  There  is  some 
degree  of  probability  at  least  that  Rome 
itself  will  be  literally  destroyed  in  this 
manner,  and  that  it  is  in  this  way  that 
God  intends  to  put  an  end  to  the  Papal 
power,  by  destroying  that  which  has  been 
so  long  the  seat  and  the  centre  of  this 
authority.  The  extended  prevalence  of 
this  belief,  and  the  grounds  for  it,  may 
be  seen  from  the  following  remarks  :  (1) 
It  was  an  early  opinion  among  the  Jew¬ 
ish  Rabbies  that  Rome  would  be  thus 
destroyed.  Yitringa,  in  the  Apocalypse, 
cites  some  opinions  of  this  kind;  the 
Jewish  expectation  being  founded,  as  he 
says,  on  the  passage  in  Isa.  xxxiv.  9,  as 
Edom  was  supposed  to  mean  Rome. 
“This  chapter,”  says  Kimchi,  “points 
out  the  future  destruction  of  Rome,  here 
called  Bozra,  for  Bozra  was  a  great  city 
of  the  Edomites.”  This  is  indeed  worth¬ 
less  as  a  proof  or  an  interpretation  of 
Scripture  —  for  it  is  a  wholly  unfounded 
interpretation ;  it  is  of  value  only  as 
showing  that  somehow  the  Jews  enter¬ 
tained  this  opinion.  (2)  The  same  ex¬ 
pectation  was  entertained  among  the 
early  Christians.  Thus  Mr.  Gibbon  (vol. 
i.  p.  263,  ch.  xv.),  referring  to  the  expect¬ 
ations  of  the  glorious  reign  of  the  Mes¬ 
siah  on  the  earth  (comp.  Notes  on  ch. 
xiv.  8),  says,  speaking  of  Rome  as  the 
mystic  Babylon,  and  of  its  anticipated 
destruction :  “  A  regular  series  was  pre¬ 
pared  [in  the  minds  of  Christians]  of  all 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


439 


A.  D.  96.] 

the  moral  and  physical  evils  which  can 
afflict  a  flourishing  nation ;  intestine  dis¬ 
cord,  and  the  invasion  of  the  fiercest 
barbarians  from  the  unknown  regions  of 
the  North ;  pestilence  and  famine,  comets 
and  eclipses,  earthquakes  and  inunda¬ 
tions.  All  these  were  only  so  many  pre¬ 
paratory  and  alarming  signs  of  the  great 
catastrophe  of  Rome,  when  the  company 
of  the  Seipios  and  Caesars  should  be  con¬ 
sumed  by  a  flame  from  heaven,  and  the 
city  of  the  seven  hills,  with  her  palaces, 
her  temples,  and  her  triumphal  arches, 
should  be  burned  in  a  vast  lake  of  fire 
and  brimstone.”  So  even  Gregory  the 
Great,  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  the 
Roman  Pontiffs,  himself  says,  acknow¬ 
ledging  his  belief  in  the  truth  of  the  tra¬ 
dition  —  Roma  it  Gentilibus  non  exter- 
minabitur;  sed  tempestatibus,  coruscis 
turbinibus,  ac  terrae  motu,  in  se  mar- 
cescet.  Dial.  ii.  15.  (3)  Whatever  may 

be  thought  of  these  opinions  and  expec¬ 
tations,  there  is  some  foundation  for  the 
opinion  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  (a) 
The  region  is  adapted  to  this.  “  It  is 
not  AStna,  the  Lipari  volcanie  islands, 
Vesuvius,  that  alone  offer  visible  indica¬ 
tions  of  the  physical  adaptedness  of  Italy 
for  such  a  catastrophe.  The  great  Apen- 
nine  mountain-chain  is  mainly  volcanic 
in  its  character,  and  the  country  of  Rome 
more  especially  is  as  strikingly  so  almost 
as  that  of  Sodom  itself.”  Thus  the  mine¬ 
ralogist  Ferber,  in  his  Tour  in  Italy, 
says,  “  The  road  from  Rome  to  Ostia  is 
ali  volcanic  ashes  till  within  two  miles 
of  Ostia.”  “  From  Rome  to  Tivoli  I  went 
on  fields  and  hills  of  volcanic  ashes  or 
tufa.”  “A  volcanic  hill  in  an  amphi- 
theatrical  form  includes  a  part  of  the 
plain  over  Albano,  and  a  flat  country  of 
volcanic  ashes  and  hills  to  Rome.  The 
ground  about  Rome  is  generally  of  that 
nature  ”  Pp.  189,  191,  200,  234.  (b)  Mr. 
Gibbon,  with  his  usual  accuracy,  as  if 
commenting  on  the  Apocalypse,  has  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  physical  adaptedness  of  the 
soil  of  Romo  for  such  an  overthrow. 
Speaking  of  the  anticipation  of  the  end 
of  the  world  among  the  early  Christians, 
he  says,  “In  the  opinion  of  a  general 
conflagration,  the  faith  of  the  Christian 
very  happily  coincided  with  the  tradition 
of  the  East,  the  philosophy  of  the  stoics, 
and  the  analogy  of  nature;  and  even  the 
country,  which,  from  religious  motives, 
had  been  chosen  for  the  origin  and  'prin¬ 
cipal  eeene  of  this  conflagration,  was  the 


best  adapted  for  that  purpose  by  natural 
and  physical  causes;  by  its  deep  caverns, 
beds  of  sulphur,  and  numerous  volca¬ 
noes,  of  which  those  of  AStna,  of  Vesuvius, 
and  of  Lipari,  exhibit  a  very  imperfect 
representation.”  Vol.  i.  p.  263,  ch.  xv. 
As  to  the  general  state  of  Italy  in  refe¬ 
rence  to  volcanoes,  the  reader  may  con¬ 
sult,  with  advantage,  Lyell’s  Geology, 
B.  II.,  chs.  ix.— xiL  See  also  Murray’s 
Encyclopedia  of  Geography,  II.  ii.  Of 
the  country  around  Rome  it  is  said,  in 
that  work,  among  other  things,  “The 
country  around  Rome,  and  also  the  hills 
on  which  it  is  built,  is  composed  of  ter¬ 
tiary  marls,  clays,  and  sandstones,  and 
intermixed  with  a  preponderating  quan¬ 
tity  of  granular  and  lithoidal  volcanic 
tufas.  The  many  lakes  around  Rome 
are  formed  by  craters  of  ancient  volca¬ 
noes.”  “  On  the  road  to  Rome  is  the 
lake  of  Vico,  formerly  the  lacus  Cimini, 
which  has  all  the  appearance  of  a 
crater.” 

The  following  extract  from  a  recent 
traveller  will  still  further  confirm  this 
representation: — “I  behold  everywhere 
— in  Rome,  near  Rome,  and  through  the 
whole  region  from  Rome  to  Naples — the 
most  astounding  proofs,  not  merely  of 
the  possibility,  but  the  probability,  that 
the  whole  region  of  central  Italy  will 
one  day  be  destroyed  by  such  a  catas¬ 
trophe,  [by  earthquakes  or  volcanoes.] 
The  soil  of  Rome  is  tufa,  with  a  volcanic 
subterranean  action  going  on.  At  Na¬ 
ples,  the  boiling  sulphur  is  to  be  seen 
bubbling  near  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
When  I  drew  a  stick  along  the  ground, 
the  sulphurous  smoke  followed  the  inden¬ 
tation;  and  it  would  never  surprise  me 
to  hear  of  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
southern  peninsula  of  Italy.  The  entire 
country  and  district  is  volcanic.  It  is 
saturated  with  beds  of  sulphur  and  the 
substrata  of  destruction.  It  seems  as 
certainly  prepared  for  the  flames,  as  the 
wood  and  coal  on  the  hearth  are  prepared 
for  the  taper  which  shall  kindle  the  fire 
to  consume  them.  The  Divine  hand 
alone  seems  to  me  to  hold  the  element 
of  fire  in  check  by  a  miracle  as  great  as 
that  which  protected  the  cities  of  the 
plain,  till  the  righteous  Lot  had  made 
his  escape  to  the  mountains.” — Town¬ 
send's  Tour  in  Italy  in  1850.  For 
strong  is  the  Lord  God  who  judgeth  her. 
That  is,  God  has  ample  power  to  bring 
all  these  calamities  upon  her. 


440  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


9  And  the  kings  °  of  the  earth, 
•who  have  committed  fornication 
and  lived  deliciously  with  her,  shall 
bewail  her,  and  lament  for  her, 
when  they  shall  see  the  smoke  of 
her  burning, 

10  Standing  afar  off  for  the  fear 
of  her  torment,  saying,  Alas,  alas ! 
that  great  city  Babylon,  that  mighty 

a  Eze.  26. 16,  17.  b  ver.  17, 19. 

9.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth.  This 
verse  commences  the  description  of  the 
lamentation  over  the  fall  of  the  mystical 
Babylon  (see  the  analysis  of  the  chap¬ 
ter).  *[  Who  have  committed  fornication. 
That  is,  who  have  been  seduced  by  her 
from  the  true  God,  and  have  been  led 
into  practical  idolatry.  Notes  ch.  xiv.  8. 
The  kings  of  the  earth  seem  to  be  repre¬ 
sented  as  among  the  chief  mourners, 
because  they  had  derived  important  aid 
from  the  power  which  was  now  to  be  re¬ 
duced  to  ruin.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
kings  of  Europe  have  owed  much  of  their 
influence  and  power  to  the  support  which 
has  been  derived  from  the  Papacy,  and 
when  that  power  shall  fall,  there  will  fall 
much  that  has  contributed  to  sustain 
oppressive  and  arbitrary  governments, 
and  that  has  prevented  the  extension  of 
popular  liberty.  In  fact,  Europe  might 
have  been  long  since  free,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  support  which  despotic  go¬ 
vernments  have  derived  from  the  Papacy. 

And  lived  deliciously  with  her.  In  the 
same  kind  of  luxury  and  dissoluteness 
of  manners.  See  vs.  3,  7.  The  courts 
of  Europe,  under  the  Papacy,  have  had 
the  same  general  character  for  dissolute¬ 
ness  and  licentiousness  as  Rome  itself. 
The  same  views  of  religion  produce  the 
same  effects  every  where.  Shall  be¬ 
wail  and  lament  her,  &c.  Because  their 
ally  is  destroyed,  and  the  source  of  their 
power  is  taken  away.  The  fall  of  the 
Papacy  will  be  the  signal  for  a  general 
overturning  of  the  thrones  of  Europe. 

When  they  shall  see  the  smoke  of  her 
burning.  When  they  shall  see  her  on 
fire,  and  her  smoke  ascending  towards 
heaven.  Notes  ch.  xiv.  11. 

10.  Standing  afar  off  for  the  fear  of 
her  torment.  Not  daring  to  approach  to 
attempt  to  rescue  and  save  her.  They 
who  had  so  long  contributed  to  the  sup¬ 
port  of  the  Papal  power,  and  who  had  in 
turn  been  upheld  by  that,  would  not 


city!  for  in  one  hour  b  is  thy  judg¬ 
ment  come. 

11  And  the  merchants  e  of  the 
earth  shall  weep  and  mourn  over 
her;  for  no  man  buyeth  her  mer¬ 
chandise  any  more : 

12  The  merchandise  of  gold, d 
and  silver,  and  precious  stones,  and 
of  pearls,  and  fine  linen,  and  pur- 

c  Eze.  27.  27-36.  d  c.  17.4. 

now  even  attempt  to  rescue  her,  but 
would  stand  by  and  see  her  destroyed — 
unable  to  render  relief.  Alas,  alas! 
that  great  city  Babylon.  The  language 
of  lamentation  that  so  great  and  so 
mighty  a  city  should  fall,  For  in  one 
hour  is  thy  judgment  come.  Notes  on 
ver.  8.  The  general  sentiment  here  is, 
that  in  the  final  ruin  of  Papal  Rome,  the 
kings  and  governments  that  had  sus¬ 
tained  her,  and  had  been  sustained  by 
her,  would  see  the  source  of  their  power 
taken  away,  but  that  they  would  not,  or 
could  not,  attempt  her  rescue.  There 
have  been  not  a  few  indications  already 
that  this  will  ultimately  occur,  and  that 
the  Papal  power  will  be  left  to  fall  with¬ 
out  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  those  go¬ 
vernments  which  have  been  so  long  in 
alliance  with  it,  to  sustain  or  restore  it. 

11.  And  the  merchants  of  the  earth. 
Who  have  been  accustomed  to  traffic 
with  her,  and  who  have  been  enriched 
by  the  traffic.  The  image  is  that  of  a 
rich  and  splendid  city.  Of  course,  such 
a  city  depends  much  on  its  merchandise ; 
and  when  it  declines  and  falls,  many 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  deal  with 
it  as  merchants  or  traffickers,  are  affected 
by  it,  and  have  occasion  to  lament  its 
fall.  Shall  weep  and  mourn  over  her, 
for  no  man  buyeth  their  merchandise  any 
more.  The  merchandise  which  they 
were  accustomed  to  take  to  the  city,  and 
by  the  sale  of  which  they  lived.  The 
enumeration  of  the  articles  of  merchan¬ 
dize  which  follows,  seems  to  have  been 
inserted  for  the  purpose  of  filling  out  the 
representation  of  what  is  usually  found 
in  such  a  city,  and  to  show  the  desola¬ 
tion  which  would  occur  when  this  traffic 
was  suspended. 

12.  The  merchandise  of  gold  and  silver. 
Of  course  these  constitute  an  important 
article  of  commerce  in  a  great  city. 
If  And  precious  stones.  Diamonds,  eme¬ 
ralds,  rubies,  Ac.  These  have  always 


441 


A-  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XVIII. 


pie,  and  silk,  and  scarlet,  and  all 
•  thyine  wood,  and  all  manner  ves¬ 
sels  of  ivory,  and  all  manner  vessels 
of  most  precious  wood,  and  of  brass, 
and  iron,  and  marble, 

13  And  cinnamon,  and  odours, 

been  important  articles  of  traffic  in  the 
world,  and  of  course  most  of  the  traffic 
in  them  would  find  its  way  to  great  com¬ 
mercial  cities,  f  And  pearls.  See  Notes 
on  Matt.  vii.  6,  xiii.  46.  These  too  have 
been  always,  and  were  particularly  in 
early  times,  valuable  articles  of  com¬ 
merce.  Mr.  Gibbon  mentions  them  as 
among  the  articles  that  contributed  to 
the  luxury  of  Rome  in  the  age  of  the 
Antonines  :  —  “  Precious  stones,  among 
which  the  pearl  claimed  the  first  rank 
after  the  diamond.”  Vol.  i,  p.  34.  «[  And 
fine  linen.  This  was  also  a  valuable 
article  of  commerce.  It  was  obtained 
chiefly  from  Egypt.  See  Notes  on  Isa. 
xix.  9. .  Linen  among  the  ancients  was 
an  article  of  luxury,  for  it  was  worn 
chiefly  by  the  rich.  Ex.  xxviii.  42 ;  Lev. 
vi.  10 ;  Luke  xvi.  19.  The  original  word 
here  is  fivacrvs — byssus,  and  it  is  found  in 
the  New  Testament  only  in  this  place 
and  in  Luke  xvi.  19.  It  was  a  “species 
of  fine  cotton,  highly  prized  by  the  an¬ 
cients.”  Various  kinds  are  mentioned, 
as  that  of  Egypt,  the  cloth  which  is  still 
found  wrapped  around  mummies ;  that 
of  Syria ;  and  that  of  India,  which  grew 
on  a  tree  similar  to  the  poplar;  and  that 
of  Achaia,  which  grew  in  the  vicinity  of 
Elis.  See  Hob.  Lex.  ^  And  purple.  See 
Notes  on  Luke  xvi.  19.  Cloth  of  this 
color  was  a  valuable  article  of  commerce, 
as  it  was  worn  by  rich  men  and  princes, 
f  And  silk.  Silk  was  a  very  valuable 
article  of  commerce,  as  it  was  costly,  and 
could  be  worn  only  by  the  rich.  It  is 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Gibbon  as  such  an 
article  in  Rome  in  the  age  of  the  Anto¬ 
nines: —  “Silk,  a  pound  of  which  was 
esteemed  not  inferior  in  value  to  a  pound 
of  gold.”  i.  34.  On  the  cultivation  and 
manufacture  of  silk  by  the  ancients,  see 
the  work  entitled  The  History  of  Silk, 
Cotton,  Linen,  and  Wool,  &c.,  published 
by  Harper  and  Brothers,  New  York,  1845, 
pp.  1-21.  And  scarlet.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  xvii.  3.  And  all  thyine  wood.  The 
word  here  used — Sv'ivoi — occurs  nowhere 
elso  in  the  New  Testament.  It  denotes 
an  evergreen  African  tree,  from  which 


and  ointments,  and  frankincense, 
and  wine,  and  oil,  and  fine  flour, 
and  wheat,  and  beasts,  and  sheep, 
and  horses,  and  chariots,  and 
slaves, b  and  souls  c  of  men. 

a  Or,  sweet.  b  Or,  bodies.  e  Eze.  27. 13. 


statues  and  costly  vessels  were  made.  It 
is  not  agreed,  however,  whether  it  was  a 
species  of  cedar,  savin,  or  lignum-vitm, 
which  latter  constitutes  the  modern  genus 
thuja,  or  thyia.  See  Bees’  Cyclop.,  art. 
Tnuja.  And  all  manner  vessels  of 
ivory.  Every  thing  that  is  made  of  ivory. 
Ivory,  or  the  tusk  of  the  elephant,  has 
always  been  among  the  precious  articles 
of  commerce.  And  all  manner  vessels 
of  most  precious  wood.  Eurniture  of 
costly  wood :  — cedar,  the  citron  tree, 
lignum- vitae,  Ac.  f  And  of  brass,  and 
iron,  and  marble.  Brass  or  copper  would 
of  course  be  a  valuable  article  of  com¬ 
merce.  The  same  would  be  the  case  with 
iron  j  and  so  marble  for  building,  for  sta¬ 
tuary,  Ac.,  would  likewise  be. 

13.  And  cinnamon.  Cinnamon  is  the 
aromatic  bark  of  the  Laurus  Cinna- 
momam,  which  grows  in  Arabia,  India, 
and  especially  in  the  island  of  Ceylon. 
It  was  formerly,  as  it  is  now,  a  valuable 
article  in  the  Oriental  trade,  And 
odours.  Aromatics  employed  in  reli¬ 
gious  worship,  and  for  making  perfumes. 

Gibbon  (i.  34)  mentions,  among  the 
articles  of  commerco  and  luxury  in  the 
age  of  the  Antonines,  “  a  variety  of  aro¬ 
matics  that  were  consumed  in  religious 
worship  and  the- pomp  of  funerals.”  It 
is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  use  of 
such  odors  has  been  always  common 
at  Rome.  And  ointments.  Unguents 
as  spikenard,  Ac.  These  were  in  com¬ 
mon  use  among  the  ancients.  See 
Notes  on  Matt.  xxvi.  7 ;  Mark  xiv.  3. 
f  And  frankincense.  See  Notes  on 
Matt  ii.  11.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say 
that  incense  has  been  always  much  used 
in  public  worship  in  Rome,  and  that  it 
has  been,  therefore,  a  valuable  article  of 
commerce  there,  f  And  wine.  An  ar¬ 
ticle  of  commerce  and  luxury  in  all 
ages.  .  And  oil.  That  is,  olive  oil. 
This,  in  ancient  times,  and  in  Oriental 
countries  particularly,  was  an  import¬ 
ant  article  of  commerce.  And  fine 
flour.  The  word  here  means  the  best 
and  finest  kind  of  flour.  And  beasts, 
and  sheep,  and  horses.  Also  important 


442 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


14  And  the  fruits  that  thy  soul 
lusted  after  are  departed  from 
thee,  and  all  things  which  were 


articles  of  merchandise.  And  chariots. 
The  word  here  used — peba — means,  pro¬ 
perly,  a  carriage  with  four  wheels ;  or  a 
carriage  drawn  by  mules  (Prof.  Stuart). 
It  was  properly  a  travelling  carriage. 
The  word  is  of  Gallic  origin.  Quinctil. 
i.  9 ;  Cic.  Mil.  10,  Att.  v.  17,  vi.  1.  See 
Adame’s  Rom,.  Ant.  p.  525.  It  was  an 
article  of  luxury.  And  slaves.  The 
Greek  here  is  auipdreiv —  ‘of  bodies.’ 
Prof.  Stuart  renders  it  grooms,  an<J  sup¬ 
poses  that  it  refers  to  a  particular  kind 
of  slaves  who  were  employed  in  taking 
care  of  horses  and  carriages.  The  word 
properly  denotes  body — an  animal  body, 
whether  of  the  human  body  living  or 
dead ;  or  the  body  of  a  beast ;  and  then 
the  external  man — the  person,  the  indi¬ 
vidual.  In  later  usage,  it  comes  to  de¬ 
note  a  slave  (see  Rob.  Lex.)  and  in  this 
sense  it  is  used  here.  The  traffic  in 
slaves  was  common  in  ancient  times,  as 
it  is  now.  We  know  that  this  traffic 
was  carried  on  to  a  large  extent  in 
ancient  Rome  —  the  city  which  John 
probably  had  in  his  eye  in  this  descrip¬ 
tion.  See  Gibbon,  Dec.  and  Fall,  i.  pp. 
25,  26.  Athenaeus  as  quoted  by  Mr. 
Gibbon  (p.  26),  says  that  “  he  knew  very 
many  Romans  who  possessed,  not  for 
use,  but  for  ostentation,  ten  and  even 
twenty  thousand  slaves.”  It  should  be 
said  here,  however,  that  although  this 
refers  evidently  to  traffic  in  slaves,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  suppose  that  it  would 
be  literally  characteristic  of  Papal  Rome. 
All  this  is  symbolical,  designed  to  ex¬ 
hibit  the  Papacy  under  the  image  of  a 
great  city,  with  what  was  customary  in 
such  a  city,  or  with  what  most  naturally 
presented  itself  to  the  imagination  of 
John  as  found  in  such  a  city,  and  it  is 
no  more  necessary  to  suppose  that  the 
Papacy  would  be  engaged  in  the  traffic 
of  slaves,  than  in  the  traffic  of  cinnamon, 
or  fine  flour,  or  sheep  and  horses.  And 
soids  of  men.  The  word  used,  and  ren¬ 
dered  souls  —  —  though  commonly 

denoting  the  soul  (properly  the  breath, 
or  vital  principle),  is  also  employed  to 
denote  the  living  thing — the  animal — in 
which  the  soul  or  vital  principle  resides  ; 
and  hence  may  denote  a  person  or  a  man. 
Under  this  form  it  is  used  to  denote  a 


dainty  and  goodly  are  departed 
from  thee,  and  thou  shalt  find  them 
no  more  at  all. 


servant,  or  slave.  (See  Rob.  Lex.)  Prof. 
Robinson  supposes  that  the  word  here 
means  female  slaves,  in  distinction  from 
those  designated  by  the  previous  word. 
Prof.  Stuart  (in  loc.)  supposes  that  the 
previous  word  denotes  a  particular  kind 
of  slaves  —  those  who  had  the  care  of 
horses — and  that  the  word  here  is  used 
in  a  generic  sense,  denoting  slaves  in 
general.  This  kind  of  traffic  in  the 
‘  persons’  or  souls  of  men  is  mentioned 
as  characterizing  ancient  Tyre,  in  Ezek. 
xxvii.  13  :  “Javan,  Tubal,  and  Mechech, 
they  were  thy  merchants ;  they  traded  in 
the  persons  of  men.”  It  is  not  quite  clear 
why,  in  the  passage  before  us,  this  traffic 
is  mentioned  in  two  forms — as  that  of  the 
bodies,  and  the  souls  of  men ;  but  it  would 
seem  most  probable  that  the  writer  meant 
to  designate  all  that  would  properly  come 
under  this  traffic :  —  whether  male  or 
female  slaves  were  bought  and  sold; 
whether  they  were  for  servitude,  or  for 
the  gladiatorial  sports  (see  Wetstein,  in 
loc.)-,  whatever  might  be  the  lcind  of 
servitude  that  they  might  be  employed 
in ;  and  whatever  might  be  their  con¬ 
dition  in  life.  The  use  of  the  two  words 
would  include  all  that  is  implied  in  the 
traffic  —  for  in  most  important  senses,  it 
extends  to  the  body  and  the  soul.  In 
slavery  both  are  purchased,  both  are 
supposed,  so  far  as  he  can  avail  himself 
of  them,  to  become  the  property  of  the 
master. 

14.  And  the  f  ruits  that  thy  soul  lusted 
after.  Literally,  1  The  fruits  of  the 
desire  of  thy  soul.’  The  word  rendered 
fruits — imhpa — properly  means,  late  sum¬ 
mer  ;  dog-days — the  time  when  Sirius, 
or  the  dog  star,  is  predominant.  In  the 
East  this  is  the  season  when  the  fruits 
ripen,  and  hence  the  word  comes  to 
denote  fruit.  The  reference  is  to  any 
kind  of  fruit  that  would  be  brought  for 
traffic  into  a  great  city,  and  that  would 
be  regarded  as  an  article  of  luxury. 

Are  departed  from  thee.  That  is,  they 
are  no  more  brought  for  sale  into  the 
city.  And  all  things  which  were  dainty 
and  goodly.  These  words  “characterize 
all  kinds  of  furniture  and  clothing 
which  were  gilt,  or  plated,  or  em¬ 
broidered,  and  therefore  were  bright  or 


443 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XVIII. 


15  The  merchants  of  these  things 
which  were  made  rich  by  her,  shall 
stand  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her 
torment,  weeping  and  wailing, 

16  And  saying,  Alas,  alas !  that 
great  city  that  was  clothed  ■  in  fine 
linen,  and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and 
decked  with  gold,  and  precious 
stones,  and  pearls ! 

17  For  in  one  hour  so  great 

a  Lu.  16. 19,  &e.  6  Is.  23. 14.  c  Je.  51.  37. 


Inches  is  come  to  nought.  And 
every  ship-master,  and  all  the  com¬ 
pany  in  ships, 4  and  sailors,  and 
as  many  as  trade  by  sea,  stood 
afar  off, 


io  And  cried  when  they  saw 
the  smoke  of  her  burning,  saving, 
city ^  is  like  unto  this  great 


19  And  they  cast  dust*  on  their 
d  Jos.  7.  6;  Job  2. 12;  Eze.  27.  30. 


spiendici  -  Prof.  Stuart.  If  And  thou 
shatt  find  them,  no  more  at  all .  The  ad- 
dress  here  is  decidedly  to  the  city  itself. 
The  meaning  is,  that  they  would  no 
more  be  found  there. 

The  merchants  of  these  things . 
Who  trafficked  in  the  e  things,  and  who 
supplied  the  city  with  them,  ver.  11 
If  Which  •were  made  rich  by  her.  By 
traffic  with  her.  Shall  stand  afar  off. 
Ver.  10.  .  <[  For  fear  of  her  torment. 
btruck  with  terror  by  her  torment,  so 
that  they  did  not  dare  to  approach  her. 
Ver.  10. 

16.  And  saying,  Alas,  alas,  Ac.  Notes, 
ver.  10.  ^f  That  was  clothed  in  fne  linen, 
&c.  In  the  previous  description  (vs.  12, 
13),  these  are  mentioned  as  articles  of 
traffic;  here  the  city,  under  the  image 
of  a  female,  is  represented  as  clothed  in 
the  most  rich  and  gay  of  these  articles. 

If  And  purple  and  scarlet.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  xvii.  3, 4.  Comp.  ver.  12.  of  this 
chapter.  *'  And  gold,  and  precious 
stones,  and  pearls.  Notes,  ch.  xvii.  4. 

17.  For  in  one  hour.  In  a  very  brief 
period — so  short  that  it  seemed  to  them 
to  be  but  one  hour.  In  the  prediction 
(ver.  8)  it  is  said  that  it  would  be  ‘  in 
one  day  (see  Notes  on  that  place);  here 
it  is  said  that  to  the  lookers-on  it  seemed 
to  be  but  an  hour.  There  is  no  incon¬ 
sistency,  therefore,  between  the  two 
statements.  So  great  riches  is  come  to 
nought.  All  the  accumulated  wealth  of 
so  great  and  rich  a  city.  This  should 
have  been  united  with  ver.  16,  as  it  is  a 
part  of  the  lamentation  of  the  merchants, 
and  as  the  lamentation  of  the  mariners 
commences  in  the  other  part  of  the  verse. 

It  is  so  divided  in  the  Greek  Testaments. 

IT  And  every  ship-master.  This  intro¬ 
duces  the  lamentation  of  the  mariners, 
who  would,  of  course,  be  deeply  inte¬ 
rested  in  the  destruction  of  a  city  with 


which  they  had  been  accustomed  to 
trade,  and  by  carrying  merchandise  to 
which  they  had  been  enriched.  The 
word  shipmaster — KvPcpvqTijs — means  pro¬ 
perly  a  governor ;  then  a  governor  of  a 
sh'p— the  steersman,  or  pilot.  Acts  xxvii. 

c  c<  ^ie  compuny  in  ships. 

Erof.  Stuart  renders  this  coasters.  There 
is  here,  however,  an  important  diffe¬ 
rence  in  the  reading  in  the  text.  The 
commonly  received  text  is,  rSs  hi  rfiv 
irAoiwv  o  SSjuXos — 'the  whole  company  in 
ships,  as  in  our  common  version;  the 
reading  which  is  now  commonly  adopted, 
and  which  is  found  in  Griesbach,  Hahn, 
and  Tittinann,  is  b  M  r6nov  Tr\(u)v  —  ‘  he 
who  sails  to  a  place ;’  that  is,  he  who 
sails  from  one  place  to  another  along 
the  coast,  or  who  does  not  venture  out 
far  to  sea;  and  thus  the  phrase  would 
denote  a  secondary  class  of  sea-captains 
or  officers  those  less  venturesome,  ex¬ 
perienced,  or  bold  than  others.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  this  is  the  cor¬ 
rect  reading  (Comp.  Wetstein,  in  loc.), 
and  hence  the  class  of  seamen  here  re¬ 
ferred  to  is  coasters.  Such  seamen  would 
naturally  be  employed  where  there  was 
a  great  and  luxurious  maritime  city, 
and  would  have  a  deep  interest  in  its 
1 \  And  sailors.  Common  seamen, 
f  And  as  many  as  trade  by  sea.  In  any 
kind  of  craft,  whether  employed  in  a 
near  or  a  remote  trade,  f  Stood  afar 
off.  Notes  ver.  10. 

18.  And  cried,  Ac.  That  is,  as  they 
had  a  deep  interest  in  it,  they  would,  on 
their  own  account,  as  well  as  hers,  lift 
UP  the  voice  of  lamentation,  f  What 
city  is  like  unto  this  great  city  ?  In  her 
destruction.  What  calamity  has  ever 
come  upon  a  city  like  this  ? 

19.  And  they  cast  dust  on  their  heads. 

A  common  sign  of  lamentation  and 
mourning  among  the  Orientals.  See 


444 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96, 


heads,  and  cried,  weeping  and 
wailing,  saying,  Alas,  alas !  that 
great  city,  wherein  were  made  rich 
all  that  had  ships  in  the  sea  by 
reason  of  her  costliness  !  for  in  one 
hour  is  she  made  desolate. 

20  Rejoice  over  her,  “  tliou  hea¬ 
ven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and  pro- 
a  Je.  51.  48. 

Notes  on  Job  ii.  12.  By  reason  of  her 
costliness.  The  word  rendered  costliness 
— Tiyidri/s — means  properly  precioitsness, 
costliness ;  their  magnificence,  costly 
merchandise.  The  luxury  of  a  great 
city  enriches  many  individuals,  however 
much  it  may  impoverish  itself,  For 
in  one  hour  is  she  made  desolate.  So  it 
seemed  to  them.  Notes,  ver.  17. 

20.  Rejoice  over  her.  Over  her  ruin. 
There  is  a  strong  contrast  between  this 
language  and  that  which  precedes. 
Kings,  merchants,  and  seamen,  who  had 
been  countenanced  and  sustained  by  her 
in  the  indulgence  of  corrupt  passions,  or 
who  had  been  enriched  by  traffic  with 
her,  would  have  occasion  to  mourn. 
But  not  so  they  who  had  been  perse¬ 
cuted  by  her.  Not  so  the  church  of  the 
redeemed.  Not  so  heaven  itself.  The 
great  oppressor  of  the  church,  and  the 
corrupter  of  the  world,  was  now  de¬ 
stroyed;  the  grand  hindrance  to  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  was  now  removed, 
and  all  the  holy  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
would  have  occasion  to  rejoice.  This  is 
not  the  language  of  vengeance,  but  it  is 
the  language  of  exultation  and  rejoicing 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  cause  of 
truth  might  now  spread  without  hin¬ 
drance  through  the  earth,  Thou  hea¬ 
ven.  The  inhabitants  of  heaven.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Isa.  i.  2.  The  meaning  here 
is,  that  the  dwellers  in  heaven — -the  holy 
angels  and  the  redeemed — had  occasion 
to  rejoice  over  the  downfall  of  the  great 
enemy  of  the  church.  And  ye  holy 
apostles.  Prof.  Stuart  renders  this, 
“  Ye  saints,  and  apostles,  and  prophets.” 
In  the  common  Greek  text  it  is,  as  in 
our  version,  ‘  holy  apostles  and  pro¬ 
phets.’  In  the  text  of  Griesbach,  Hahn, 
and  Tittmann,  the  word  k at  (and)  is 
interposed  between  the  word  ‘  holy’  and 
* apostle .’  This  is  doubtless  the  true 
reading.  The  meaning,  then,  is,  that 
the  saints  in  heaven  are  called  on  to 
rejoice  over  the  fall  of  the  mystical 


phets ;  for  God  bath  avenged  b  you 
on  her. 

21  And  a  mighty  angel  took  up 
a  stone  like  a  great  millstone,  and 
cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  Thus 
c  with  violence  shall  that  great  city 
Babylon  be  thrown  down,  and  shall 
be  found  no  more  at  all. 
b  De.  34. 43;  Lu.18. 7,  8 ;  c.  19. 2.  c  Je.  51. 64. 

Babylon.  Apostles.  The  twelve  who 
were  chosen  by  the  Saviour  to  be  her 
icitnesses  on  earth.  See  Notes  on  1  Cor. 
ix.  1.  The  word  is  commonly  limited  to 
the  twelve,  but  in  a  larger  sense  it  is 
applied  to  other  distinguished  teachers 
and  preachers  of  the  gospel.  See  Notes 
on  Acts  xiv.  14.  There  is  no  impro¬ 
priety,  however,  in  supposing  that  the 
apostles  are  referred  to  here  as  such, 
since  they  would  have  occasion  to  re¬ 
joice  that  the  great  obstacle  to  the 
reign  of  the  Kedeemer  was  now  taken 
away,  and  that  that  cause  in  which  they 
had  suffered  and  died  was  now  to  be 
triumphant.  And  prophets.  Prophets 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  distinguished 
teachers  of  the  New.  See  Notes  on 
Rom.  xii.  6.  All  these  would  have  oc¬ 
casion  to  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  the 
final  triumph  of  the  true  religion,  For 
God  hath  avenged  you  on  her.  Has 
taken  vengeance  on  her  for  her  treat¬ 
ment  of  you.  That  is,  as  she  had  per¬ 
secuted  the  church  as  such,  they  all 
might  be  regarded  as  interested  in  it, 
and  affected  by  it.  All  the  redeemed, 
therefore,  in  earth  and  in  heaven,  are 
interested  in  whatever  tends  to  retard 
or  to  promote  the  cause  of  truth.  All 
have  occasion  to  mourn  when  the  ene¬ 
mies  of  the  truth  triumph ;  to  rejoice 
when  they  fall. 

21.  And  a  mighty  angel.  Notes  ver.  1. 
This  seems,  however,  to  have  been  a 
different  angel  from  the  one  mentioned 
in  ver.  1,  though,  like  that,  he  is  de¬ 
scribed  as  having  great  power,  Took 
up  a  stone  like  a  great  millstone.  On  the 
structure  of  mills  among  the  ancients, 
see  Notes  on  Matt.  xxiv.  41.  And 
cast  it  into  the  sea.  As  an  emblem  of 
the  utter  ruin  of  the  city;  an  indication 
that  the  city  would  be  as  completely 
destroyed  as  that  stone  was  covered  by 
the  waters.  Saying,  Thus  with  vio¬ 
lence.  With  force  —  as-  the  stone  was 
thrown  into  the  sea.  The  idea  is,  that 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


445 


2-j  And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and 
musicians,  and  of  pipers,  and  trum¬ 
peters,  shall  be  heard  no  more  at 
all  in  thee ;  and  no  craftsman,  of 
whatsoever  craft  he  he,  shall  be 
found  any  more  in  thee ;  and  the 
sound  of  a  millstone  “  shall  be  heard 
no  more  at  all  in  thee. 
oJe.  25. 10.  b  Je.  7.  34;  16.  9;  33. 11. 


it  would  not  be  by  a  gentle  and  natural 
decline,  but  by  the  application  of  foreign 
power.  This  accords  with  all  the  repre¬ 
sentations  in  this  book,  that  violence  will 
be  employed  to  overthrow  the  Papal 
power.  _  See  eh.  xvii.  16,  17.  The  origin 
of  this  image  is  probably  Jer.  li.  63,  64  : 

And  it  shall  be,  when  thou  hast  made 
an  end  of  reading  this  book,  that  thou 
skalt  bind  a  stone  to  it,  and  cast  it  into 
the  midst  of  Euphrates :  and  thou  shalt 
say,  Thus  shall  Babylon  sink,  and  shall 
not  rise  from  the  evil  that  I  will  brin°- 
on  her.”  ° 

22.  And  the  voice  of  harpers.  Those 
who  play  on  the  harp.  This  was  usually 
accompanied  with  singing.  The  idea  in 
this  verse  and  the  following  is  substan¬ 
tially  the  same  as  in  the  previous  parts 
of  the  chapter,  that  the  mystical  Baby- 
lou  Papal  Rome — would  be  brought  to 
utter  desolation.  This  thought  is  here 
exhibited  under  another  form  —  that  all 
which  constituted  festivity,  joy,  and 
amusement,  and  all  that  indicated  thrift 
and  prosperity,  would  disappear.  Of 
course  in  a  great  and  gay  city  there 
would  be  all  kinds  of  music,  and  when 
it  is  said  that  this  would  be  heard  there 
no  more,  it  is  a  most  striking  image  of 
utter  desolation.  And  musicians.  Mu¬ 
sicians  in  general;  but  perhaps  here 
singers,  as  distinguished  from  those  who 
played  on  instruments.  ^f  And  of  pipers. 
Those  who  played  on  pipes  or  flutes. 
See  Notes  on  1  Cor.  xiv.  7;  Matt.  xi.  17. 

IT  And,  trumpeters.  Trumpets  were  com¬ 
mon  instruments  of  music,  employed  on 
festival  occasions,  in  wa.r,  and  in  worship. 
Only  the  principal  instruments  of  music 
are  mentioned  here,  as  representatives 
of  the  rest.  The  general  idea  is,  that 
the  sound  of  music,  as  an  indication  of 
festivity  and  joy,  would  cease,  f  Shall 
be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee.  It  would 
become  utterly  and  permanently  deso¬ 
late.  f  And  no  craftsman  of  whatsoever  J 
craft.  That  is,  artificers  of  all  kinds 
38 


23  And  the  light  of  a  candle 
shall  shine  no  more  at  all  in  thee  • 
and  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom 
and  of  the  bride  shall  be  heard 
do  more  at  all  in  thee :  for  thy  mer¬ 
chants  were c  the  great  men  of  the 
earth ;  _  for  by  thy  sorceries  d  were 
ail  nations  deceived. 

c  Is.  23.  8.  d  2  Ki.  9.  22;  Na.  3.  4. 


would  cease  to  ply  their  trades  there. 
The  word  here  used  —  r^vir^  —  would 
include  all  artizans  or  mechanics  •  all 
who  were  engaged  in  any  kind  of  trade 
or  craft.  The  meaning  here  is,  that  all 
these  would  disappear;  an  image,  of 
course,  of  utter  decay,  f  And  the  sound 
of  a  millstone  shall  be  heard  no  more. 
Taylor  {Frag,  to  Cal.  Die.  vol.  iv.  p.  346) 
supposes  that  this  may  refer  not  so  much 
to  the  rattle  of  the  mill,  as  to  the  voice 
of.  singing  which  usually  accompanied 
grinding.  The  sound  of  a  mill  is  cheer¬ 
ful,  and  indicates  prosperity;  its  ceasing 
is  an  image  of  decline. 

23.  And  the  light  of  a  candle  shall 
shine  no  more  at  all  in  thee.  Another 
image  of  desolation,  as  if  every  light 
were  put  out,  and  there  were  total  dark- 
ness.  If  And  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom 
and  of  the  bride  shall  be  heard  no  more 
at  all  in  thee.  The  merry  and  cheerful 
voice  of  the  marriage  procession  in  the 
streets  (Notes  on  Matt.  xxv.  1-7),  or  the 
cheerful,  glad  voice  of  the  newly-married 
couple  in  their  own  dwelling  (Notes  John 
in.  29).  If  For  thy  merchants  were  the 
great  men  of  the  earth.  Those  who  dealt 
with  thee  were  the  rich,  and  among  them 
were  even  nobles  and  princes,  and  now 
that  they  trade  with  thee  no  more,  there 
is  occasion  for  lamentation  and  sorrow. 
The  contrast  is  great  between  the  time 
when  distinguished  foreigners  crowded 
thy  marts,  and  now,  when  none  of  any 
kind  come  to  traffic  with  thee.  The  ori¬ 
gin  of  this  representation  is  probably  th« 
description  of  Tyre  in  Ezekiel  xxvii. 
ij  Fof  by  thy  sorceries  icere  all  nations 
deceived.  This  is  stated  as  a  reason  for 
the  ruin  that  had  come  upon  her.  It  is 
a  common  representation  of  Papal  Rome 
that  she  has  deceived  or  deluded  the  na¬ 
tions  of  the  earth  (see  Notes  on  ch.  xiii. 
14),  and  no  representation  ever  made 
accords  more  with  facts  as  they  have 
occurred.  The  word  sorceries  here  refers 
to  the  various  arts  —  the  tricks,  impos- 


446 


REVEL 

24  And  in  her  was  found  the 
blood  of  prophets,  and  of  saints, 


tures,  and  false  pretences,  by  which  this 
has  been  done.  See  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  21. 

24.  And  in  her.  When  she  came  to  be 
destroyed,  and  her  real  character  was 
seen,  Was  found  the  blood  of  pro¬ 
phets.  Of  the  public  teachers  of  the  true 
religion.  On  the  word  prophets,  see 
Notes  on  ver.  20.  And  of  saints.  Of 
the  holy.  See  Notes  on  ver.  20.  And 
of  all  that  icere  slain  upon  the  earth.  So 
numerous  have  been  the  slain ;  so  con¬ 
stant  and  bloody  have  been  the  persecu¬ 
tions  there,  that  it  may  be  said  that  all 
the  blood  ever  shed  has  been  poured  out 
there.  Comp.  Notes  on  Matt,  xxiii.  35. 
No  one  can  doubt  the  propriety  of  this 
representation  with  respect  to  Pagan  and 
Papal  Rome. 

In  regard  to  the  general  meaning  and 
application  of  this  chapter,  the  following 
remarks  may  be  made:  — 

(1)  It  refers  to  Papal  Rome,  and  is 
designed  to  describe  the  final  overthrow 
of  that  formidable  Antichristian  power. 
The  whole  course  of  the  interpretation 
of  the  previous  chapters  demands  such 
an  application,  and  the  chapter  itself 
naturally  suggests  it. 

(2)  If  it  be  asked  why  so  much  of  this 
imagery  is  derived  from  the  condition 
of  a  maritime  power,  or  pertains  to  com¬ 
merce,  since  both  Babylon  and  Rome 
were  at  some  distance  from  the  sea,  and 
neither  could  with  propriety  be  regarded 
as  sea-port  towns,  it  may  be  replied,  (a) 
that  the  main  idea  in  the  mind  of  John 
was  that  of  a  rich  and  magnificent  city ; 
(5)  that  all  the  things  enumerated  were 
doubtless  found  in  fact  in  both  Babylon 
and  Rome  ;  (e)  that  though  not  properly 
sea-port  towns,  they  were  situated  on 
rivers  that  opened  into  seas,  and  were 
therefore  not  unfavorably  situated  for 
commerce ;  and  ( d )  that  in  fact  they 
traded  with  all  parts  of  the  earth.  The 
leading  idea  is  that  of  a  great  and 
luxurious  city,  and  this  is  filled  up 
and  decorated  with  images  of  what  is 
commonly  found  in  large  commercial 
towns.  We  are  not,  therefore,  to  look 
for  a  literal  application  of  this,  and  it  is 
not  necessary  to  attempt  to  find  all  these 
things  in  fact  in  the  city  referred  to. 
Much  of  the  description  may  be  for  the 
mere  sake  of  keeping,  or  ornament. 


ATION,  [A.  D.  96. 

and  of  all  that  were  slain  a  upon 
the  earth. 

a  Je.  51.  49. 


(3)  If  this  refers  to  Rome,  as  is  sup¬ 
posed,  then,  in  accordance  with  the  pre¬ 
vious  representations,  it  shows  that  the 
destruction  of  the  Papal  power  is  to  be 
complete  and  final.  The  image  which 
John  had  in  his  eye  as  illustrating  that 
was  undoubtedly  ancient  Babylon  a3 
prophetically  described  in  Isa.  xiii.,  xiv., 
and  the  destruction  of  the  power  here 
referred  to  is  to  be  as  complete  as  was 
the  destruction  described  there.  It  would 
not  be  absolutely  necessary  in  the  fulfil¬ 
ment  of  this  to  suppose  that  Rome  itself 
is  to  become  a  heap  of  ruins  like  Baby¬ 
lon,  whatever  may  be  true  on  that  point, 
but  that  the  Papal  power  as  such  is  to 
be  so  utterly  destroyed  that  the  ruins 
of  desolate  Babylon  would  properly  re¬ 
present  it. 

(4)  If  this  interpretation  is  correct, 
then  the  Reformation  was  in  entire  ac¬ 
cordance  with  what  God  would  have  his 
people  do,  and  was  demanded  by  solemn 
duty  to  him.  Thus  in  ver.  4  of  this 
chapter,  his  people  are  expressly  com¬ 
manded  to  “  come  out  of  her,  that 
they  might  not  be  partakers  of  her  sins, 
nor  of  her  plagues.”  If  it  had  been  the 
design  of  the  Reformers  to  perform  a 
work  that  should  be  in  all  respects  a 
fulfilling  of  the  command  of  God,  they 
could  have  done  nothing  that  would 
have  more  literally  met  the  divine 
requirement.  Indeed  the  church  has 
never  performed  a  duty  more  manifestly 
in  accordance  with  the  divine  will,  and 
more  indispensable  for  its  own  purity, 
prosperity,  and  safety,  than  the  act  of 
separating  entirely  and  for  ever  from 
Papal  Rome. 

(5)  The  Reformation  was  a  great 
movement  in  human  affairs.  It  was  the 
index  of  great  progress  already  reached, 
and  the  pledge  of  still  greater.  The 
affairs  of  the  world  were  at  that  period 
placed  on  a  new  footing,  and  from  the 
period  of  the  Reformation,  and  just  in 
proportion  as  the  principles  of  the  Re¬ 
formation  are  acted  on,  the  destiny  of 
mankind  is  omoard. 

(6)  The  fall  of  Papal  Rome,  as  de¬ 
scribed  in  this  chapter,  will  remove  one 
of  the  last  obstructions  to  the  final  tri¬ 
umph  of  the  gospel.  In  the  Notes  on 
ch.  xvi.  10-16,  we  saw  that  one  great 


-A..  I>-  96.]  CHAPTER  XIX. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 


AND  after  these  things  I  heard 
a  great  voice  °  of  much  people 

hindrance  to  the  spread  of  the  true  reli¬ 
gion  would  bo  taken  away  by  the  decline 
and  fall  of  the  Turkish  power.  A  still 
more  formidable  hindrance  will  be  taken 
away  by  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Papal 
power  ;  for  that  power  holds  more  mil¬ 
lions  of  the  race  under  its  subjection, 
and  with  a  more  consummate  art,  and  a 
more  powerful  spell.  The  Papal  influ¬ 
ence  has  been  felt,  and  still  is  felt,  in  a 
considerable  part  of  the  world.  It  has 
churches  and  schools  and  colleges  in 
almost  all  lands.  It  exercises  a  vast 
influence  over  governments.  It  has 
powerful  societies  organized  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  propagating  its  opinions ;  and  it 
so  panders  to  some  of  the  most  powerful 
passions  of  our  nature,  and  so  converts 
to  its  own  purposes  all  the  resources  of 
superstition,  as  still  to  retain  a  mighty, 
though  a  waning  hold,  on  the  human 
mind.  When  this  power  shall  finally 
cease,  any  one  can  see  that  perhaps  the 
most  mighty  obstruction  which  has  ever 
been  on  the  earth  for  a  thousand  years 
to  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  will  have 
been  removed,  and  the  way  will  be  pre¬ 
pared  for  the  introduction  of  the  long- 
hoped-for  Millennium. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

'ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter,  as  well  as  the  last,  is  an 
episode,  delaying  the  final  catastrophe, 
and  describing  more  fully  the  effect  of 
the  destruction  of  the  mystical  Babylon. 
The  chapter  consists  of  the  following 
parts : — 

I.  A  Hymn  of  the  heavenly  hosts  in 
view  of  the  destruction  of  the  mystical 
Babylon,  vs.  1-7.  (a)  A  voice  is  heard 

in  heaven  shouting  Hallelujah,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  God  had  judged  the  great 
harlot  that  had  corrupted  the  earth,  vs. 

1,  2.  (6)  The  sound  is  echoed  and  re¬ 

peated  as  the  smoke  of  her  torment 
ascends,  ver.  3.  (c)  The  four  and  twenty 

elders,  and  the  four  living  creatures,  as 
interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
church,  unite  in  that  shout  of  Hallelujah, 
ver.  4.  ( d )  A  voice  is  heard  from  the 

throne  commanding  them  to  praise  God, 
ver..  5,  and  ( e )  the  mighty  shout  of  Hal¬ 
lelujah  is  echoed  and  repeated  from  un¬ 
numbered  hosts,  vs.  6,  7. 


447 

in  heaven,  3aying,  Alleluia;  *  Sat 

a  c.  11. 15. 

b  ver.  3.  4, 6. 

II.  The  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  vs.  8,  9 
The  Lamb  of  God  is  united  to  his  bride 
— the  church — never  more  to  be  sepa¬ 
rated,  and  after  all  the  persecutions,  con¬ 
flicts  and  embarrassments  which  had 
existed,  this  long-desired  union  is  con¬ 
summated,  and  the  glorious  triumph  of 
the  church  is  described  under  the  image 
°f  a  joyous  wedding  ceremony. 

III.  John  is  so  overcome  with  this  re¬ 
presentation,  that  in  his  transports  of  feel¬ 
ing  he  prostrates  himself  before  the  angel 
who  shows  him  all  this,  ready  to  worship 
one  who  discloses  such  bright  and  glori¬ 
ous  scenes,  ver.  10.  He  is  gently  re¬ 
buked  for  allowing  himself  to  be  so 
overcome  that  he  would  render  divine 
homage  to  any  creature,  and  is  told  that 
he  who  communicates  this  to  him  is  but 
a  fellow-servant,  and  that  God  only  is  to 
be  worshipped. 

IV.  The  final  conquest  over  the  beast 
and  the  false  prophet,  and  the  subjuga¬ 
tion  of  all  the  foes  of  the  church,  vs. 
11-21.  ’ 

(a)  A  description  of  the  conqueror — 
the  Son  of  God,  vs.  11—16.  He  appears 
on  a  white  horse  —  emblem  of  victory. 
He  has  on  his  head  many  crowns  ;  wears 
a  vesture  dipped  in  blood;  is  followed  by 
the  armies  of  heaven  on  white  horses; 
from  his  mouth  goes  a  sharp  sword ;  and 
his  name  is  prominently  written  on  his 
vesture  and  his  thigh— all  emblematic  of 
certain  victory. 

(b)  An  angel  is  seen  standing  in  the 
sun,  calling  on  all  the  fowls  of  heaven  to 
come  to  the  great  feast  prepared  for  them 
in  the  destruction  of  the  enemies  of  God 
—as  if  there  were  a  great  slaughter  suffi¬ 
cient  to  supply  all  the  fowls  that  feed  on 
flesh,  vs.  17,  18. 

(c)  The  final  war,  vs.  19-21.  The 
beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
their  armies  are  gathered  together  for 
battle ;  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet 
are  taken,  and  are  cast  into  the  lake  that 
burns  with  fire  and  brimstone;  and  all 
that  remain  of  the  enemies  of  God  are 
slain,  and  the  fowls  are  satisfied  with 
their  flesh.  The  last  obstacle  that  pre¬ 
vented  the  dawn  of  the  Millennial  morn¬ 
ing  is  taken  away,  and  the  church  is  tri¬ 
umphant. 

1.  And  after  these  things.  The  things 


448 


KEVELATION, 


vation,  a  and  glory,  and  honor,  and 
power,  unto  the  Lord  our  God : 

2  For  true  b  and  righteous  are 
his  judgments :  for  he  hath  judged 
the  great  whore,  which  did  corrupt 
the  earth  with  her  fornication,  and 
nath  avenged  c  the  blood  of  his  ser¬ 
vants  at  her  hand. 

a  c.  7. 10, 12.  b  c.  16.  7. 

particularly  that  were  exhibited  in  the 
previous  chapter.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
xviii.  1.  /  heard  a  voice  of  much  peo- 

ple  in  heaven.  The  voice  of  the  wor¬ 
shippers  before  the  throne.  Saying, 
Alleluia.  The  Greek  method  of  writing 
Hallelujah.  This  word — aWrjXovm — oc¬ 
curs  in  the  New  Testament  only  in  this 
chapter,  vs.  1, 3, 4, 6.  The  Hebrew  phrase 

— Hallelujah,  occurs  often  in 

the  Old  Testament.  It  means  properly 
Praise  Jehovah,  or  Praise  the  Lord.  The 
occasion  on  which  it  is  introduced  here 
is  very  appropriate.  It  is  uttered  by  the 
inhabitants  of  heaven,  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  God  himself,  and  in  view  of 
the  final  overthrow  of  the  enemies  of  the 
church  and  the  triumph  of  the  gospel. 
In  such  circumstances  it  was  fit  that 
heaven  should  render  praise,  and  that  a 
song  of  thanksgiving  should  be  uttered 
in  which  all  holy  beings  could  unite. 

Salvation.  That  is,  the  salvation  is  to 
be  ascribed  to  God.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
vii.  10.  And  glory  and  honor.  Notes 
ch.  v.  12.  And  power.  Notes  ch.  v. 
13.  Unto  the  Lord  our  God.  That  is, 
all  that  there  is  of  honor,  glory,  power, 
in  the  redemption  of  the  world  belongs 
to  God,  and  should  be  ascribed  to  him. 
This  is  expressive  of  the  true  feelings 
of  piety  always ;  this  will  constitute  the 
song  of  heaven.  * 

2.  For  true  and  righteous  are  his  judg¬ 
ments.  That  is,  the  calamities  that  come 
upon  the  power  here  referred  to,  are  de¬ 
served.  For  he  hath  judged  the  great 
whore.  The  power  represented  by  the 
harlot.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xvii.  1.  Which 
did  corrupt  the  earth  by  her  fornication. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  8,  xvii.  2,  4,  5, 
xviii.  3.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  21.  And 
hath  avenged  the  blood  of  his  servants. 
See  Notes  on  eh.  xviii.  20,  24.  At  her 
hand.  Shed  by  her  hand. 

3.  And  again  they  said,  Alleluia. 
Notes  ver.  1.  The  event  was  so  glorious 


[A.  D.  9b. 

3  And  again  they  said,  Alleluia. 
And  her  smoke  d  rose  up  for  ever 
and  ever. 

4  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders 
and  the  four  beasts  fell  down  and 
worshipped  God  that  sat  on  the 
throne,  saying,  Amen  ;  Alleluia. 

5  And  a  voice  came  out  of  the 

c  c.  18.  20.  d  Is.  34. 10;  c.  18.  9, 18. 

and  so  important;  the  final  destruction 
of  the  great  enemy  of  the  church  was  of 
so  much  moment  in  its  bearing  on  the 
welfare  of  the  world,  as  to  call  forth  re¬ 
peated  expressions  of  praise,  f  And  her 
smoke  rose  up  for  ever  and  ever.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  11.  Thi3  is  an  image 
of  final  ruin ;  the  image  being  derived 
probably  from  the  description  in  Genesis 
of  the  smoke  that  ascended  from  the 
cities  of  the  plain.  Gen.  xix.  28.  On  the 
joy  expressed  here  in  her  destruction, 
comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xviii.  20. 

4.  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders  and 
the  four  beasts.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  4, 
6,  7.  As  representatives  of  the  church, 
and  as  interested  in  its  welfare,  they  are 
now  introduced  as  rejoicing  in  its  final 
triumph,  and  in  the  destruction  of  its 
last  foe.  Fell  down.  Prostrated  them¬ 
selves —  the  usual  posture  of  worship. 

And  worshipped  God  that  sat  on  the 
throne.  Ch.  iv.  2,  3,  10.  That  is,  they 
now  adored  him  for  what  he  had  done  in 
delivering  the  church  from  all  its  perse¬ 
cutions,  and  causing  it  to  triumph  in  the 
world.  Saying,  Amen.  See  Notes  on 
Matt.  vi.  13.  The  word  here  is  expres¬ 
sive  of  approbation  of  what  God  had 
done ;  or  of  their  solemn  assent  to  all 
that  had  occurred  in  the  destruction  of 
the  great  enemy  of  the  church.  *f  Alleluia. 
Notes  ver.  1.  The  repetition  of  this  word 
so  many  times  shows  the  intenseness  of 
the  joy  of  heaven  in  view  of  the  final 
triumph  of  the  church. 

5.  And  a  voice  came  out  of  the  throne. 
A  voice  seemed  to  come  from  the  very 
midst  of  the  throne.  It  is  not  said  by 
whom  this  voice  was  uttered.  It  cannot 
be  supposed,  however,  that  it  was  uttered 
by  God  himself,  for  the  command  which 
it  gave  was  this  :  “  Praise  our  God,”  &c. 
For  the  same  reason  it  seems  hardly 
probable  that  it  was  the  voice  of  the 
Messiah,  unless  it  be  supposed  that  he 
here  identifies  himself  with  the  redeemed 
church,  and  speaks  of  God  as  his  God 


A.  B.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


throne,  saying,  Praise  »  our  God  all 
ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear 
him,  both  small  and  great. 

6  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the 
voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as 
the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as 
a  Ps.  135. 1. 
b  Ps.  97. 1,  12. 


449 


and  hers.  It  would  seem  rather  that  it 
was  a  responsive  voice  that  came  from 
those,  nearest  the  throne,  calling  on  all 
to  unite  in  praising  God  in  view  of  what 
was  done.  The  meaning  then  will  be, 
that  all  heaven  was  interested  in  the  tri¬ 
umph  of  the  church,  and  that  one  por¬ 
tion  of  the  dwellers  there  called  on  the 
others  to  unite  in  offering  thanksgiving 
"  Praise  our  God.  The  God  that  we 
worship.  IT  All  ye  his  servants.  All  in 
heaven  and  earth  ;  all  have  occasion  for 
thankfulness.  V  And  alt  ye  that  fear 
him.  That  reverence  and  obey  him.  The 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  a  common  expression 
in  the  Scriptures  to  denote  true  piety. 
H  Both  small  and  great.  All  of  every 

class  and  condition  —  poor  and  rich _ 

young  and  old;  those  of  humble,  and 
those  of  exalted  rank.  Comp.  Ps.  cxlviii 
7-13. 

6.  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of 
a  great  multitude.  In  verse  1,  he  says 
that  he  ‘heard  a  great  voice  of  much 
people;’  here  he  says  he  ‘heard  as  it 
were  a  voice  of  a  great  multitude.’  That 
is,  in  the  former  case  he  heard  a  shout 
that  he  at  once  recognized  as  the  voice 
of  a  great  multitude  of  persons ;  here  he 
says  that  he  heard  a  sound  not  distinctly 
recognized  at  first  as  such,  but  which 
resembled  such  a  shout  of  a  multitude. 
In  the  former  case  it  was  distinct ;  here 
it  was  confused — bearing  a  resemblance 
to  the.  sound  of  roaring  waters,  or  to 
muttering  thunder,  but  less  distinct  than 
the  former.  This  phrase  would  imply 
(«)  a  louder  sound;  and  (b)  that  the 
sound  was  more  remote,  and  therefore 
less  clear  and  distinct.  IT  And  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters.  The  comparison 
of  the  voices  of  a  host  of  people  with  the 
roar  of  mighty  waters,  is  not  uncommon 
in  the  Scriptures.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xvii. 

12,  13.  So  in  Ilomer, 


the  voice  of  many  thunderings,  sav- 
mg,  Alleluia :  for  *  the  Lord  God 
omnipotent  reigneth. 

.  7  Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and 
gi\  e  honor  to  him :  for  the  marriage 
*  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his  wife 
hath  made  herself  ready. d 


c  Matt.  25: 10. 


d  Is.  62. 1. 


‘The  monarch  spoke,  and  straight  a  murmur  rose, 
Loud  as  the  surges  when  the  tempest  blows; 

That  dash’d  on  broken  rocks  tumultuous  roar, 

And  foam  and  thunder  on  the  stony  shore.” 

H  And  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings. 
38  * 


The  loud,  deep,  heavy  voice  of  thunder. 
I  he  distant  shouts  of  a  multitude  may 
properly  be  represented  by  the  sound  of 
heavy  thunder.  IT  Saying,  Alleluia. 
Notes  ver.  1.  .  This  is  the  fourth  time 
in  which  this  is  uttered  as  expressive  of 
the  joy  of  the  heavenly  hosts  in  view  of 
the  overthrow  of  the  enemies  of  the 
church.  The  occasion  will  be  worthy  of 
this  emphatic  expression  of  joy.  IT  For 
the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth.  Jeho¬ 
vah— God  Almighty — the  true  God.  The 
meaning  is,  that  as  the  last  enemy  of  the 
church  is  destroyed,  he  now  truly  reigns. 
This  is  the  result  of  his  power,  and  there¬ 
fore  it  is  proper  that  he  should  be  praised 
as  the  omnipotent  or  Almighty  God — for 
he  has  shown  that  he  can  overcome  all 
his  enemies,  and  bring  the  world  to  his 
feet. 

7.  Let  us  rejoice.  Let  all  in  heaven 
rejoice — for  all  have  an  interest  in  the 
triumph  of  truth  ;  all  should  be  glad  that 
the  government  of  God  is  set  up  over  an 
apostate  world.  And  give  honor  to 
him.  Because  the  work  is  glorious  ;  and 
because  it  is  by  his  power  alone  that  it 
has  been  accomplished.  Notes  ch.  v.  12. 

If  For  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come. 
Of  the  Lamb  of  God  —  the  Redeemer  of 
the  world.  Notes  ch.  v.  6.  The  re¬ 
lation  of  God,  and  especially  of  the 
Messiah,  to  the  church,  is  often  in  the 
Scriptures  represented  under  the  image 
of  marriage.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  liv.  4-6, 
lxii.  4,  5,  2  Cor.  xi.  2,  Eph.  v.  23-33. 
Comp.  Jer.  iii.  14,  xxxi.  32,  Hos.  ii.  19, 
20.  The  idea  is  also  said  to  be  common 
in  Arabic  and  Persian  poetry.  It  is  to 
be  remembered  also  that  Papal  Rome 
has  just  been  represented  as  a  gay  and 
meretricious  woman,  and  there  is  a  pro¬ 
priety,  therefore,  in  representing  the  truo 
church  as  a  pure  bride,  the  Lamb’s  wife, 
and  tho  final  triumph  of  that  church  as 
a  joyous  marriage.  The  meaning  is,  that 
the  church  was  now  to  triumph  and  re¬ 
joice  as  if  in  permanent  union  with  her 
glorious  head  and  Lord,  f  And  his  wife 


450 


REVELATION, 


8  And  to  her  was  granted  that 
she  should  be  arrayed  °  in  fine  lin¬ 
en,  clean  and  b  white :  for  the  fine 
linen  is  the  righteousness c  of  saints. 

9  And  he  saith  unto  me,  Write, 

a  Is.  61. 10 ;  c.  3. 4.  b  Or,  bright,  c  Ps.  132. 9. 

hath  made  herself  ready.  By  putting  on 
her  beautiful  apparel  and  ornaments. 
All  the  preparations  had  been  made  for 
a  permanent  and  uninterrupted  union 
with  its  Redeemer,  and  the  church  was 
henceforward  to  be  recognized  as  his 
beautiful  bride,  and  was  no  more  to  ap¬ 
pear  as  a  decorated  harlot — as  it  had 
during  the  Papal  supremacy.  Between 
the  church  under  the  Papacy,  and  the 
church  in  its  true  form,  there  is  all  the 
difference  which  there  is  between  an 
abandoned  woman  gayly  decked  with 
gold  and  jewels,  and  a  pure  virgin, 
chastely  and  modestly  adorned,  about  to 
be  led  to  be  united  in  bonds  of  love  to  a 
virtuous  husband. 

8.  And  to  her  was  granted.  It  is  not 
said  here  by  ichom  this  was  granted,  but 
it  is  perhaps  implied  that  this  was  con¬ 
ferred  by  the  Saviour  himself  on  his 
bride,  That  she  should  be  arrayed  in 
fine  linen,  clean  and  white.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  iii.  4,  5,  18,  vii.  13.  White  has 
perhaps  in  all  countries  been  the  usual 
color  of  the  bridal  dress — as  an  emblem 
of  innocence.  For  the  fine  linen  is  the 
righteousness  of  saints.  Represents  the 
righteousness  of  the  saints ;  or  is  an  em¬ 
blem  of  it.  It  should  be  remarked,  how¬ 
ever,  that  it  is  implied  here,  as  it  is  every¬ 
where  in  the  Scriptures,  that  this  is  not 
their  own  righteousness,  for  it  is  said 
that  this  was  ‘given’  to  the  bride  —  to 
the  saints.  It  is  the  gracious  bestow- 
ment  of  their  Lord;  and  the  reference 
here  must  be  to  that  righteousness  which 
they  obtain  by  faith  —  the  righteousness 
which  results  from  justification  through 
the  merits  of  the  Redeemer.  Of  this 
Paul  speaks,  when  he  says  (Phil.  iii.  9), 
“And  be  found  in  him,  not  having  mine 
own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law, 
but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of 
God  by  faith.”  Comp.  Notes  on  Rom. 
iii.  25,  26. 

9.  And  he  saith  unto  me.  The  angel 
who  made  these  representations  to  him. 
See  ver.  10.  IT  Write,  blessed  are  they. 
See  Notes  on  eh.  xiv.  13.  IF  Which  are 


[A.  D.  96. 

d  blessed  are  they  which  are  called 
unto  the  marriage-supper  *  of  the 
Lamb.  And  he  saith  unto  me, 
These  {  are  the  true  sayings  of  God. 
10  And  e  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  wor- 

d  Lu.  14. 15.  ec.3.20.  /  c.22.6.  0.22.8,9. 

called  unto  the  marriage-supper  of  the 
Lamb.  The  idea  of  a  festival,  or  a  mar¬ 
riage-supper,  was  a  familiar  one  to  the 
Jews  to  represent  the  happiness  of  hea¬ 
ven,  and  is  frequently  found  in  the  New 
Testament.  Comp.  Notes  on  Luke  xiv. 
15,  16,  xvi.  22,  xxii.  16,  Matt.  xxii.  2. 
The  image  in  the  passage  before  us  is 
that  of  many  guests  invited  to  a  great 
festival.  And  he  saith  unto  me,  These 
are  the  true  sayings  of  God.  Confirming 
all  by  a  solemn  declaration.  The  im¬ 
portance  of  what  is  here  said;  the  de¬ 
sirableness  of  having  it  fixed  in  the 
mind  amidst  the  trials  of  life  and  the 
scenes  of  persecution  through  which  the 
church  was  to  pass,  makes  this  solemn 
declaration  proper.  The  idea  is,  that  in 
all  times  of  persecution ;  in  every  dark 
hour  of  despondency;  the  church,  as 
such,  and  every  individual  member  of 
the  church,  should  receive  it  as  a  solemn 
truth  never  to  be  doubted,  that  the 
religion  of  Christ  would  finally  prevail, 
and  that  all  persecution  and  sorrow 
here  would  be  followed  by  joy  and 
triumph  in  heaven. 

10.  And  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship 
him.  At  the  feet  of  the  angel.  Notes 
ver.  9.  This  is  a  common  posture  of 
adoration  in  the  East.  See  Rosenmiil- 
ler’s  Morgenland,  in  loc.  Notes  1  Cor. 
xiv.  25.  John  was  entirely  overcome 
with  the  majesty  of  the  heavenly  mes¬ 
senger,  and  with  the  amazing  truths  that 
he  had  disclosed  to  him,  and  in  the  over¬ 
flowing  of  his  feelings,  he  fell  upon  the 
earth  in  the  posture  of  adoration.  Or, 
it  may  be  that  he  mistook  the  rank  of 
him  who  addressed  him,  and  supposed 
that  he  was  the  Messiah  whom  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  worship,  and  who 
had  first  (eh.  i.)  appeared  to  him.  If  so, 
his  error  was  soon  corrected.  He  was 
told  by  the  angel  himself  who  made 
these  communications  that  he  had  no 
claims  to  such  homage,  and  that  the 
praise  which  he  offered  him  should  be 
rendored  to  God  alone.  It  should  be 
observed  that  there  is  not  the  slight¬ 
est  intimation  that  this  was  the  Mes- 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


451 


ship  him.  And  he  said  unto  me,  [  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus :  wor- 
See  thou  doit  not:  I  am  thy  fellow-  ship  God :  for  the  testimony  of  Je- 
servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  that  J  sus  °  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy 


a  Ac.  10.  43.  1  Pe.  1. 10, 11. 


siah  himself,  and  consequently  this  does 
not  contain  any  evidence  that  it  would 
be  improper  to  worship  him.  The  only 
fair  conclusion  from  the  passage  is,  that 
it  is  wrong  to  offer  religious  homage 
to  an  angel.  IT  And  he  said  unto  me,  See 
thou  do  it  not.  That  is,  in  rendering  the 
homage  which  you  propose  to  me,  you 
would  in  fact  render  it  to  a  creature. 
This  may  be  regarded  as  an  admonition 
to  be  careful  in  our  worship;  not  to  allow 
our  feelings  to  overcome  us ;  and  not  to 
render  that  homage  to  a  creature  which 
is  due  to  God  alone.  Of  course  this 
would  prohibit  the  worship  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  of  any  of  the  saints,  and  all 
that  homage  rendered  to  a  created  being 
which  is  due  to  God  only.  Nothing  is 
more  carefully  guarded  in  the  Bible  than 
the  purity  and  simplicity  of  worship; 
nothing  is  more  sternly  rebuked  than 
idolatry;  nothing  is  more  contrary  to 
the  divine  law  than  rendering  in  any 
way  that  homage  to  a  creature  which 
belongs  of  right  to  the  Creator.  It  was 
necessary  to  guard  even  John,  the  be¬ 
loved  disciple,  on  that  subject;  how 
much  more  needful,  therefore,  is  it  to 
guard  the  church  at  large  from  the  dan¬ 
gers  to  which  it  is  liable.  IT  I  am  thy 
fellow-servant.  Evidently  this  was  an 
angel,  and  yet  he  here  speaks  of  himself 
as  a  ‘fellow-servant’  of  John.  That  is, 
he  was  engaged  in  the  service  of  the 
same  God;  he  was  endeavoring  to  ad¬ 
vance  the  same  cause,  and  to  honor  the 
same  Redeemer.  The  sentiment  is,  that 
in  promoting  religion  in  the  world,  we 
are  associated  with  angels.  It  is  no 
condescension  in  them  to  be  engaged  in 
the  service  of  the  Redeemer,  though  it 
seems  to  be  condescension  for  them  to  be 
associated  with  us  in  any  thing;  it  con¬ 
stitutes  no  ground  of  merit  in  us  to  be 
engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Redeemer 
(comp.  Luke  xvii.  10),  though  we  may 
regard  it  as  an  honor  to  be  associated 
with  the  angels,  and  it  may  raise  us  in 
conscious  dignity  to  feel  that  we  are 
united  with  them.  IT  And  of  thy  breth¬ 
ren.  Of  other  Christians;  for  all  are 
engaged  in  the  same  work.  V  That  have 
the  testimony  of  Jesus.  Who  are  wit¬ 


nesses  for  the  Saviour.  It  is  possible 
that  there  may  be  here  a  particular  re¬ 
ference  to  those  who  were  engaged  in 
preaching  the  gospel,  though  the  lan¬ 
guage  will  apply  to  all  who  give  their 
testimony  to  the  value  of  the  gospel  by 
consistent  lives.  IF  Worship  God.  He 
is  the  only  proper  object  of  worship;  ho 
alone  is  to  be  adored.  IT  For  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  Jesus.  The  meaning  here  seems 
to  be,  that  this  angel,  and  John,  and 
their  fellow-servants,  were  all  engaged 
in  the  same  work— that  of  bearing  their 
testimony  to  Jesus.  Thus,  in  this  re¬ 
spect,  they  were  on  a  level,  and  one  of 
them  should  not  worship  another,  but 
all  should  unite  in  the  common  worship 
of  God.  No  one  in  this  work,  though  an 
angel,  could  have  such  a  pre-eminence 
that  it  would  be  proper  to  render  the 
homage  to  him  which  was  due  to  God 
alone.  There  could  be  but  one  being 
whom  it  was  proper  to  worship,  and  they 
who  were  engaged  in  simply  bearing 
testimony  to  the  work  of  the  Saviour, 
should  not  worship  one  another.  IT  /« 
the  spirit  of  prophecy.  The  design  of 
prophecy  is  to  bear  testimony  to  Jesus. 
The  language  does  not  mean,  of  course, 
that  this  is  the  only  design  of  prophecy, 
but  that  this  is  its  great  and  ultimate 
end.  The  word  prophecy  here  seems  to 
be  used  in  the  large  sense  in  which  it  is 
often  employed  in  the  New  Testament- 
meaning  to  make  known  the  divine  will 
(see  Notes  on  Rom.  xii.  6),  and  the  pri¬ 
mary  reference  here  would  seem  to  be  to 
the  preachers  and  teachers  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  sense  is,  that  their 
grand  business  is  to  bear  testimony  to 
the  Saviour.  They  are  all  — whether 
angels,  apostles,  or  ordinary  teachers  — 
appointed  for  this,  and  therefore  should 
regard  themselves  as  ‘fellow-servants.’ 
The  design  of  the  angel  in  this  seems  to 
have  been,  to  state  to  John  what  was  his 
own  specific  business  in  the  communica¬ 
tions  which  he  made,  and  then  to  state  a 
universal  truth  applicable  to  all  minis¬ 
ters  of  the  gospel,  that  they  were  en¬ 
gaged  in  the  same  work,  and  that  no  one 
of  them  should  claim  adoration  from 
others.  Thus  understood,  this  passage 


452 


[A.  D.  96. 


REVELATION, 


11  And  I  saw  heaven  opened, 

and  behold,  a  white  °  horse ;  and 
he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called 
Faithful b  and  True,  and  in  right¬ 
eousness  c  he  doth  judge  and  make 
war.  * 

12  His  d  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of 

a  c.  6.  2.  b  c.  3. 14. 

c  Ps.  45.  3,  4;  Is.  11.  4.  d  c.  1. 14,  2. 18. 

has  no  direct  reference  to  the  prophecies 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  teaches  no¬ 
thing  in  regard  to  their  design,  though 
it  is  in  /act  undoubtedly  true  that  their 
grand  and  leading  object  was  to  bear 
testimony  to  the  future  Messiah.  But 
this  passage  will  not  justify  the  attempt 
so  often  made  to  ‘find  Christ’  everywhere 
in  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament, 
or  justify  the  many  forced  and  unnatural 
interpretations  by  which  the  prophecies 
are  often  applied  to  him. 

11.  And  I  saw  heaven  opened.  He 

saw  a  new  vision,  as  if  an  opening  were 
made  through  the  sky,  and  he  was  per¬ 
mitted  to  look  into  heaven.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  iv.  1.  11  And  behold,  a  white  horse. 

On  the  white  horse  as  a  symbol,  see 
Notes  on  ch.  vi.  2.  He  is  here  the  sym¬ 
bol  of  the  final  victory  that  is  to  be  ob¬ 
tained  over  the  beast  and  the  false  pro¬ 
phet  (ver.  20),  and  of  the  final  triumph 
of  the  church.  IT  And  he  that  sat  upon 
him  was  called  Faithful  and  True.  He 
is  not  designated  here  by  his  usual  and 
real  name,  but  by  his  attributes.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Messiah  is  in¬ 
tended,  as  he  goes  forth  to  the  subjuga¬ 
tion  of  the  world  to  himself.  The  attri¬ 
butes  here  referred  to — faithful  and  true 
—  are  peculiarly  appropriate,  for  they 
are  not  only  strongly  marked  attributes 
of  his  character,  but  they  would  be  par¬ 
ticularly  manifested  in  the  events  that 
are  described.  He  would  thus  show  that 
he  was  faithful  —  or  worthy  of  the  con¬ 
fidence  of  his  church  in  delivering  it 
from  all  its  enemies ;  and  true  to  all  the 
promises  that  he  has  made  to  it.  IT  And 
in  righteotisness  doth  he  judge.  All  his 
acts  of  judgment  in  determining  the 
destiny  of  men  are  righteous.  See  Notes 
on  Isa.  xi.  3-5.  11  And  make  war.  That 

is,  the  war  which  he  wages  is  not  a  war 
of  ambition ;  it  is  not  for  the  mere  pur¬ 
pose  of  conquest ;  it  is  to  save  the  right¬ 
eous,  and  to  punish  the  wicked. 

12.  Hia  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire. 


fire,  and  on  his  head  were  manj 
crowns  ;  c  and  he  had  a  name  ■f 
written  that  no  man  knew  hut  he 
himself. 

13  And  he  was  clothed  with  a 
vesture  dipped  in  blood :  and  his 
name  is  called  The®  Word  of  God. 

e  Ca.  3. 11 ;  Is.  32. 3;  Zee.  9. 16;  He.  2. 9;  a  6. 2. 
/  c.  3. 12.  g  Jno.  1. 1. 

See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  14.  H  And  on  hie 
head  were  many  crowns.  Many  diadems, 
indicative  of  his  universal  reign.  It  is 
not  said  how  these  were  worn  or  arranged 
on  his  head  —  perhaps  the  various  dia¬ 
dems  worn  by  kings  were  in  some  way 
'wreathed  into  one.  H  And  he  had  a  name 
written.  That  is,  probably  on  the  front- 
let  of  this  compound  diadem.  Comp. 
Notes  ch.  xiii.  1,  xiv.  1.  H  Which  no 
mati  knew  but  himself.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
ii.  17.  This  cannot  here  mean  that  no 
one  could  read  the  name,  but  the  idea  is, 
that  no  one  but  himself  could  fully  un¬ 
derstand  its  import.  It  involved  a  depth 
of  meaning,  and  a  degree  of  sacredness, 
and  a  relation  to  the  Father,  which  he 
alone  could  apprehend  in  its  true  import. 
This  is  true  of  the  name  here  designated 
— ‘the  word  of  God’ — the  Logos — A  by  os; 
and  it  is  true  of  all  the  names  which  he 
bears.  See  Matt.  xi.  27.  Compare  a 
quotation  from  Dr.  Buchanan  in  the  Asi¬ 
atic  Researches,  vol.  i,  vi.  p.  264,  as 
quoted  by  Rosenmiiller,  Morgenland, 
in  loc.  • 

13.  And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture 
dipped  in  blood.  Red,  as  if  dipped  in 
blood — emblem  of  slaughter.  The  origi¬ 
nal  of  this  image  is  probably  Isa.  lxiii. 
2,  3.  See  Notes  on  that  passage.  1 \  And 
his  name  is  called,  The  Word  of  God. 
The  name  which  in  ver.  12,  it  is  said  that 
no  one  knew  but  he  himself.  This  name 
is  'O  \6yo;  rob  Qeov,  or  ‘the  Logos  of  God.’ 
That  is,  this  is  his  peculiar  name;  a  name 
which  belongs  only  to  him,  and  which 
distinguishes  him  from  all  other  beings. 
The  name  Logos,  as  applicable  to  the 
Son  of  God,  and  expressive  of  his  nature, 
is  found  in  the  New  Testament  only  in 
the  writings  of  John,  and  is  used  by  him 
to  denote  the  higher  or  divine  nature  of 
the  Saviour.  In  regard  to  its  meaning, 
and  the  reason  why  it  is  applied  to  him, 
see  Notes  on  John  i.  1.  The  reader  also 
may  consult  with  great  advantage  an 
article  by  Prof.  Stuart  in  the  Bibliotheca 


453 


A-D-96.J  CHAPTER  XIX. 


14  And  the  armies  which  were  in 
heaven  followed  him  upon  white 
horses,  clothed  °  in  fine  linen,  white 
and  clean. 

15  And  out  of  his  mouth  b  goeth 
a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it  he 
should  smite  the  nations:  and  he 

a  Matt.  28.  3.  b  c.  1.16.  c  Ps.  2.  9. 
d  Is.  63.  3.  e  c.  17.  14. 

Sacra,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  16-31.  The  follow¬ 
ing  may  be  some  of  the  reasons  why  it  is 
said  (ver.  12)  that  no  one  understands 
this  but  he  himself: — (1)  No  one  but  he 
can  understand  its  full  import,  as  it  im¬ 
plies  so  high  a  knowledge  of  the  nature 
of  the  Deity;  (2)  no  one  but  he  can  un¬ 
derstand  the  relation  which  it  supposes 
in  regard  to  God,  or  the  relation  of  the 
Son  to  the  Father;  (3)  no  one  but  he 
can  understand  what  is  implied  in  it 
regarded  as  the  method  in  which  God 
reveals  himself  to  his  creatures  on  earth; 
(4)  no  one  but  he  can  understand  what 
is  implied  in  it  in  respect  to  the  manner 
in  which  God  makes  himself  known  to 
other  worlds.  It  may  be  added,  as  a 
further  illustration  of  this,  that  none  of 
the  attempts  made  to  explain  it  have 
left  the  matter  so  that  there  are  no  ques¬ 
tions  unsolved  which  one  would  be  glad 
to  ask. 

14.  And  the  armies  which  were  in  hea¬ 
ven  followed  him.  The  heavenly  hosts, 
particularly,  it  would  seem,  the  redeemed, 
as  there  would  be  some  incongruity  in 
representing  the  angels  as  riding  in  this 
manner.  Doubtless  the  original  of  this 
picture  is  Isaiah  Ixiii.  3,  “I  have  trod¬ 
den  the  wine-press  alone,  and  of  the 
people  there  was  none  with  me.”  These 
hosts  of  the  redeemed  on  white  horses 
accompany  him  to  be  witnesses  of  his 
victory,  and  to  participate  in  the  joy  of 
the  triumph,  not  to  engage  in  the  work 
of  blood.  IT  Upon  white  horses.  Emblems 
of  triumph  or  victory.  Notes  ch.  vi.  2. 

IT  Clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean. 
The  usual  raiment  of  those  who  are  in 
heaven,  as  every  where  represented  in 
this  book,  see  ch.  iii.  4,  5,  iv.  4,  vii.  9, 
13,  xv.  6. 

15.  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp 
sword.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  16.  In  that 
place  the  sword  seems  to  be  an  emblem 
of  his  words  or  doctrines,  as  penetrating 
the  hearts  of  men ;  here  it  is  the  emblem 
of  a  work  of  destruction  wrought  on  his 


shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  c  of  iron : 
and  he  d  treadeth  the  wine-press  of 
the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Al¬ 
mighty  God. 

16  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture 
and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written, 
KING  •  OF  KINGS  AND  LORD 
OF  LORDS. 


foes.  H  That  with  it  he  should  smite  the 
nations.  The  nations  that  were  opposed 
to  him  ;  to  wit,  those  especially  who  were 
represented  by  the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet,  vs.  18-20.  H  And  he  shall  rule 
them  with,  a  rod  of  iron.  See.  Notes  on 
ch.  ii.  27,  xii.  5.  IT  And  he  treadeth  the 
wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of 
Almighty  God.  This  language  is  proba¬ 
bly  derived  from  Isa.  Ixiii.  1-4.  See  it 
explained  in  the  Notes  on  that  place, 
and  on  ch.  xiv.  19,  20.  It  means  here 
that  his  enemies  would  be  certainly 
crushed  before  him  —  as  grapes  are 
crushed  under  the  feet  of  him  that  treads 
in  the  wine-vat. 

16.  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture.  That 
is,  this  name  was  conspicuously  written 
on  his  garment — probably  his  military 
robe.  And  on  his  thigh.  The  robe  or 
military  cloak  may  be  conceived  of  as 
open  and  flowing,  so  as  to  expose  the 
limbs  of  the  rider;  and  the  idea  is,  that 
the  name  was  conspicuously  written  not 
only  on  the  flowing  robe,  but  on  the 
other  parts  of  his  dress,  so  tha  t  it  must  be 
conspicuous  whether  his  military  cloak 
were  wrapped  closely  around  him,  or 
whether  it  was  open  to  the  breeze. 
Grotius  supposes  that  this  name  was 
on  the  head  or  hilt  of  the  sword 
which  depended  from  his  thigh.  A 
name  written.  Or  a  title  descriptive  of 
his  character.  King  of  kings,  and 
Lord  of  Lords.  As  in  ch.  xvii.  5,  so 
here,  there  is  nothing  in  the  original  to 
denote  that  this  should  be  distinguished 
as  it  is  by  capital  letters.  As  a  con¬ 
spicuous  title,  however,  it  is  not  im¬ 
proper.  It  means  that  he  is,  in  fact, 
the  sovereign  over  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  and  that  all  nobles  and  princes 
are  under  his  control  —  a  rank  that  pro¬ 
perly  belongs  to  the  Son  of  God.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Eph.  i.  20-22.  See  also  ver. 

12  of  this  chapter.  The  custom  here 
alluded  to  of  inscribing  the  name  or 
rank  of  distinguished  individuals  on 


454 


REVELATION, 


17  And  I  saw  an  angel  standing 
in  the  sun  ;  and  he  cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the 
fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  hea¬ 
ven,  Come  a  and  gather  yourselves 
together  unto  the  supper  of  the 
great  God ; 

a  Eze.  39. 17-20. 


their  garments,  so  that  they  might  he 
readily  recognised,  was  not  uncommon 
in  ancient  times.  For  full  proof  of  this, 
see  Rosenmiiller,  Morgenland,  iii.  232- 
236.  The  authorities  quoted  there  are, 
Thevenot’s  Travels,  i.  149 ;  Gruter,  p.  989 ; 
Dempster’s  Etruria  Begalis ,  T.  ii.  tab.  93; 
Montfaueon,  Antiq.  Expliq.  T.  fii.  Tab.  39. 
Thus  Herodotus  (ii.  106),  speaking  of  the 
figures  of  Sesostris  in  Ionia,  says  that, 
“  Across  his  breast,  from  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  there  is  this  inscription  in  the 
sacred  characters  of  Egypt,  ‘  I  conquered 
this  country  by  the  force  of  my  arms.’  ” 
Comp.  Cic.  Yerr.  iv.  23;  Le  Moyne  ad 
Jer.  xxiii.  6;  Miinter,  Biss.  ad  Apoc. 
xvii.  5,  as  referred  to  by  Prof.  Stuart, 
in  loc. 

17.  And  I  saio  an  angel  standing  in 
the  sun.  A  different  angel  evidently 
from  the  one  which  had  before  appeared 
to  him.  The  number  of  angels  that  ap¬ 
peared  to  John,  as  referred  to  in  this 
book,  was  very  great,  and  each  one  came 
on  a  new  errand,  or  with  a  new  message. 
Every  one  must  be  struck  with  the 
image  here.  The  description  is  as 
simple  as  it  can  be ;  and  yet  as  sublime. 
The  fewest  words  possible  are  used;  and 
yet  the  image  is  distinct  and  clear.  A 
heavenly  being  stands  in  the  blaze  of 
the  brightest  of  the  orbs  that  God  per¬ 
mits  us  here  to  see  —  yet  not  consumed, 
and  himself  so  bright  that  he  can  be 
distinctly  seen  amidst  the  dazzling 
splendors  of  that  luminary.  It  is  diffi¬ 
cult  to  conceive  of  an  image  more  sub¬ 
lime  than  this.  Why  he  has  his  place 
in  the  sun  is  not  stated,  for  there  does 
not  appear  to  be  any  thing  more  in¬ 
tended  by  this  than  to  give  grandeur 
and  impressiveness  to  the  scene.  And 
he  cried  with  a  loud  voice.  So  that  all 
the  fowls  of  heaven  could  hear.  ^  To 
all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  hea¬ 
ven.  That  is,  to  all  the  birds  of  prey — 
all  that  feed  on  flesh  —  such  as  hover 
over  a  battle-field.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Isa.  xviii.  6,  lvi.  9.  See  also  Jer,  vii.  33, 


[A.  D.  96 

18  That  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of 
kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,, 
and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and 
the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them 
that  sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh  of 
all  men,  both  free  and  bond,  both 
small  and  great. 


xii.  9  ;  Ezek.  xxxix.  4^20.  Come  and 
gather  yourselves  together.  All  this 
imagery  is  taken  from  the  idea  that 
there  would  be  a  great  slaughter,  and 
that  the  bodies  of  the  dead  would  be 
left  unburied  to  the  birds  of  prey. 
*[  Unto  the  supper  of  the  Great  God. 
As  if  the  Great  God  were  about  to  give 
you  a  feast:  —  to  wit,  the  carcasses  of 
those  slain.  It  is  called  ‘  his  supper’ 
because  he  gives  it;  and  the  image  is 
merely  that  there  would  be  a  great 
slaughter  of  his  foes,  as  is  specified  in 
the  following  verse. 

18.  That  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings. 
Of  the  kings  under  the  control  of  the 
beast  and  the  false  prophet.  Ch.  xvi. 
14,  xvii.  12-14.  And  the  flesh  of  cap¬ 
tains.  Of  those  subordinate  to  kings  in 
command.  The  Greek  word  is  xi^aPXmv 
—  chiliarclis  —  denoting  captains  of  a 
thousand,  or  as  we  should  say,  com¬ 
manders  of  a  regiment.  The  word 
colonel  would  better  convey  the  idea 
with  us ;  as  he  is  the  commander  of  a 
regiment,  and  a  regiment  is  usually 
composed  of  about  a  thousand  men. 

And  the  flesh  of  mighty  men.  The 
word  here  means  strong,  and  the  refe¬ 
rence  is  to  the  robust  soldiery  —  rank 
and  file  in  the  army,  And  the  flesh  of 
horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on  them. 
Cavalry — for  most  armies  are  composed 
in  part  of  horsemen.  And  the  flesh  of 
all  men,  both  free  and  bond.  Freemen 
and  slaves.  It  is  not  uncommon  that 
freemen  and  slaves  are  mingled  in  the 
same  army.  This  was  the  case  in  the 
American  Revolution,  and  is  common 
in  the  East.  Both  small  and  great. 
Young  and  old ;  of  small  size  and  of 
great  size  ;  of  those  of  humble,  and  those 
of  exalted  rank.  The  later  armies  of 
Napoleon  were  composed  in  great  part 
of  conscripts,  many  of  whom  were  only 
about  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  to  this 
circumstance  many  of  his  later  defeats 
are  to  be  traced.  In  the  army  that  was 
raised  after  the  invasion  of  Russia,  nc 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


455 


A.  D.  96.] 

.  19  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth,  and  their  ar¬ 
mies,  gathered  together  to  make 
war  °  against  him  that  sat  on  the 
horse,  and  against  his  army. 

20  And  the  beast*  was  taken, 
and  with  him  the  false  prophet 

a  e.  16. 14, 16.  b  c.  16. 13, 14. 


less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou¬ 
sand  of  the  conscripts  were  between 
eighteen  and  nineteen  years  of  age. 
Alison's  History  of  Europe,  iv.  27.  In¬ 
deed  it  is  common  in  most  armies  that 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  enlist¬ 
ments  are  from  those  in  early  life, 
and  besides  this,  it  is  usual  to  employ 
mere  boys  on  various  services  about  a 
camp. 

.,19*  And  I  saw  the  beast.  Notes,  ch. 
xiii.  1,  11  •  comp.  ch.  xvii.  13.  ^  And 

the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their  armies, 
gathered  together.  There  is  allusion 
here  to  the  same  assembling  of  hostile 
forces  which  is  described  in  ch.  xvi.  13, 
14,  for  the  great  decisive  battle  that  is 
to  determine  the  destiny  of  the  world — 
the  question  whether  the  Messiah  or 
Antichrist  shall  reign.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  writer  in  these  pas¬ 
sages  designed  to  refer  to  the  same 
events  —  the  still  future  scenes  that  are 
to  occur  when  the  Roman,  the  Pagan, 
and  the  Mohammedan  powers  shall  be 
aroused  to  make  common  cause  against 
the  true  religion,  and  shall  stake  all  on 
the  issue  of  the  great  conflict.  See  the 
Notes  on  ch.  xvi.  13,  14.  Against 
him  that  sat  on  the  horse.  The  Messiah 
—  the  Son  of  God.  Notes,  ver.  11. 

If  And  against  his  army.  The  hosts 
that  are  associated  with  him  —  his  re¬ 
deemed  people.  Notes,  ver.  14. 

20.  And  the  beast  was  taken.  That  is, 
was  taken  alive,  to  be  thrown  into  the 
lake  of  fire.  The  hosts  were  slain  (ver. 
21),  but  the  leaders  were  made  prisoners*, 
of  war.  The  general  idea  is,  that  these 
armies  were  overcome,  and  that  the 
Messiah  was  victorious ;  but  there  is  a 
propriety  in  the  representation  here  that 
the  leaders —  the  authors  of  the  war  — 
should  be  taken  captive,  and  reserved 
for  severer  punishment  than  death  on 
the  battle-field  would  be  —  for  they  had 
stirred  up  their  hosts,  and  summoned 
these  armies  to  make  rebellion  against 


that  wrought  miracles  before  him, 
with  which  he  deceived  them 
that  had  received  the  mark  of  the 
beast,  and  them  that  worshipped 
his  image.  These  both  wore  cast 
alive  into  a  lakec  of  fire  burning 
with  brimstone. 

c  Da.  7.11;  c.  20.10. 


the  Messiah.  The  beast  here,  as  all 
along,  refers  to  the  Papal  power:  and 
the  idea  is  that  of  its  complete  and 
utter  overthrow,  as  if  the  leader  of  an 
army  were  taken  captive  and  tormented 
in  burning  flames,  and  all  his  followers 
were  cut  down  on  the  field  of  battle. 
If  And  with  him  the  false  prophet.  As 
they  had  been  practically  asssociated 
together,  there  was  a  propriety  that  they 
should  shun  the  same  fate.  In  regard 
to  the  false  prophet,  and  the  nature  of 
this  alliance,  see  Notes  on  ch.  xvi.  13. 
*  That  wrought  miracles  before  him. 
That  is,  the  false  prophet  had  been 
united  with  the  beast  in  deceiving  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  See  Notes  on  ch. 
xvi.  14.  *  And  with  which  he  deceived 

them  that  had  received  the  mark  of  the 
beast.  Notes,  ch.  xiii.  16-18.  By  these 
acts  they  had  been  deceived ;  that  is, 
they  had  been  led  into  the  alliance,  and 
had  been  sustained  in  their  opposition 
to  the  truth.  The  whole  representation 
is  that  of  an  alliance  to  prevent  ths 
spread  of  the  true  religion,  as  if  the 
Papacy  and  Mahommedanism  were  com¬ 
bined,  and  the  one  was  sustained  by  the 
pretended  miracles  of  the  other.  There 
would  be  a  practical  array  against  the 
reign  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  if  these 
great  powers  should  act  in  concert,  and 
as  if  the  peculiar  claims  which  each  set 
up  in  behalf  of  its  own  divine  origin, 
became  a  claim  which  went  to  sup¬ 
port  the  whole  combined  organization. 

If  1  hese  were  both  cast  alive  into  a  lake 
°f  fire •  The  beast  and  the  false  pro¬ 
phet.  That  is,  the  overthrow  will  be  as 
signal,  and  the  destruction  as  complete, 
as  if  the  leaders  of  the  combined  hosts 
should  be  taken  alive,  and  thrown  into 
a  pit  or  lake  that  burns  with  an  intense 
heat.  There  is  no  necessity  for  sup¬ 
posing  that  this  is  to  be  literally  in¬ 
flicted — for  the  whole  scene  is  symbolical 
— meaning  that  the  destruction  of  these 
powers  would  be  as  complete  as  if 


456 


REVELATION, 


21  And  the  remnant  were  slain 
with  the  sword  a  of  him  that  sat 
upon  the  horse,  which  sword  pro- 

a  c.  1. 16;  ver.  15. 


tJiey  were  thrown  into  such  a  burning 
lake.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  10,  11. 

Burning  with  brimstone.  Sulphur — 
the  usual  expression  to  denote  intense 
heat,  and  especially  as  referring  to  the 
punishment  of  the  wicked.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  xiv.  10. 

21.  And  the  remnant.  The  remainder 
of  the  assembled  hosts  —  the  army  at 
large,  in  contradistinction  from  the 
leaders,  ^f-  Were  slain  with  the  sword. 
Cut  down  with  the  sword;  not  rescued 
for  protracted  torment.  A  proper  dis¬ 
tinction  is  thus  made  between  the  de¬ 
ceived  multitudes  and  the  leaders  who 
had  deceived  them.  Of  him  that  sat 
on  the  horse.  The  Messiah,  ver.  11. 

Which  sword  proceeded  out  of  his 
mouth.  Notes,  ver.  15.  That  is,  they 
were  cut  down  by  a  word.  They  fell 
before  him  as  he  spake,  as  if  they  were 
slain  by  the  sword.  Perhaps  this  indi¬ 
cates  that  the  effect  that  is  to  be  pro¬ 
duced  when  these  great  powers  shall  be 
destroyed,  is  a  moral  effect;  that  is,  that 
they  will  be  subdued  by  the  word  of 
the  Son  of  God.  And  all  the  fowls 
were  filled  with  their  flesh.  Notes,  ver. 
17.  An  effect  was  produced  as  -if  the 
fowls  of  heaven  should  feed  upon  the 
carcases  of  the  slain. 

The  general  idea  here  is,  that  these 
great  Antichristian  powers  which  had  so 
long  resisted  the  gospel,  and  prevented 
its  being  spread  over  the  earth ;  which 
had  shed  so  much  blood  in  persecution, 
and  had  so  long  corrupted  and  deceived 
mankind,  would  be  subdued.  The  true 
religion  would  be  as  triumphant  as  if 
the  Son  of  God  should  go  forth  as  a 
warrior  in  his  own  might,  and  secure 
their  leaders  for  punishment,  and  give 
up  their  hosts  to  the  birds  of  prey.  This 
destruction  of  these  great  enemies  — 
which  the  whole  course  of  the  inter¬ 
pretation  leads  us  to  suppose  is  still 
future — prepares  the  way  for  the  Millen¬ 
nial  reign  of  the  Son  of  God  —  as  stated 
in  the  following  chapter.  The  ‘beast’ 
and  the  ‘false  prophet’  are  disposed  of, 
and  there  remains  only  the  subjugation 
of  the  great  dragon  —  the  source  of  all 
this  evil  —  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 


[A.  D.  96. 

ceeded  out  of  his  mouth ;  and  all 
the  fowls  b  were  filled  with  their 
flesh. 

b  ver.  17, 18. 


long-anticipated  triumph  of  the  gospel. 
This  subjugation  of  the  great  original 
source  of  all  those  evil  influences  is 
stated  in  ch.  xx.  1-3,  and  then  follows 
the  account  of  the  thousand  years’  rest 
of  the  saints;  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead;  and  the  final  judgment. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHAPTER. 

This  chapter,  like  chapters  xvi.  12-21, 
xvii.,  xviii.,  xix.,  pertains  to  the  future, 
and  discloses  things  which  are  yet  to 
occur.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
therefore,  for  the  reason  stated  in  the 
Notes  on  ch.  xvi.  16,  that  much  obscu¬ 
rity  should  hang  over  it,  nor  that  it  is 
difficult  to  explain  it  so  as  to  remove  all 
obscurity.  The  statement  in  this  chap¬ 
ter,  however,  is  distinct  and  clear  in  its 
general  characteristics,  and  time  will 
make  all  its  pai-ticidar  statements  free 
from  ambiguity. 

In  the  previous  chapter,  an  account  is 
given  of  the  final  destruction  of  two  of 
the  most  formidable  enemies  of  the 
church,  and  consequently  the  removal 
of  two  of  the  hindrances  to  the  universal 
spread  of  the  gospel  —  the  beast  and  the 
false  prophet  —  the  Papal  and  the  Mo¬ 
hammedan  powers.  But  one  obstacle 
remains  to  be  removed  —  the  power  of 
Satan  as  concentrated  and  manifested  in 
the  form  of  Pagan  power.  These  three 
powers  it  was  said  (ch.  xvi.  13, 14)  would 
concentrate  their  forces  as  the  time  of 
the  final  triumph  of  Christianity  drew 
on ;  and  with  these  the  last  great  battle 
was  to  be  fought.  Two  of  these  have 
been  subdued;  the  conquest  over  the 
other  remains,  and  Satan  is  to  be  ar¬ 
rested  and  bound  for  a  thousand  years. 
He  is  then  to  be  released  for  a  time,  and 
afterwards  finally  destroyed,  and  at  that 
period  the  end  will  come. 

The  chapter  comprises  the  following 
parts : — 

I.  The  binding  of  Satan,  vs.  1-3.  An 
angel  comes  down  from  heaven,  with  the 
key  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  a  great 
chain  in  his  hand,  and  seizes  upon  the 
Dragon,  and  casts  him  into  the  pit,  that 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XX. 


457 


for  a  thousand  years  he  should  deceive 
the  nations  no  more.  The  great  enemy 
ot  Grod  and  his  cause  is  thus  made  a 
prisoner,  and  is  restrained  from  making 
war  in  any  form  against  the  church.  The 
way  is  thus  prepared  for  the  peace  and 
triumph  which  follow. 

H.  The  Millennium,  vs.  4-6.  John 
sees  thrones,  and  persons  sitting  on 
them;  he  sees  the  souls  of  those  who 
were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus, 
and  for  the  word  of  God— those  who  had 
not  worshipped  the  beast  nor  his  image 
—living  and  reigning  with  Christ  during 
the  thousand  years  :  —  the  spirits  of  the 
martyrs  revived,  and  becoming  again 
the  reigning  spirit  on  earth.  This  he 
calls  the  first  resurrection;  and  on  all 
such  he  says  the  second  death  has  no 
power.  Temporal  death  they  mi°-ht 
experience  —  for  such  the  martyrs  had 
experienced  but  over  them  the  second 
death  has  no  dominion,  for  they  live  and 
reign  with  the  Saviour.  This  is  properly 
the  Millennium  —  the  long  period  when 
the  principles  of  true  religion  will  have 
the  ascendency  on  the  earth,  as  if  the 
martyrs  and  confessors— the  most  devoted 
and  eminent  Christians  of  other  times— 
should  appear  again  upon  the  earth,  and 
as  if  their  spirit  should  become  the 
reigning  and  pervading  spirit  of  all  who 
professed  the  Christian  name. 

III.  The  release  of  Satan,  vs.  7,  8. 
After  the  thousand  years  of  peace  and 
triumph  shall  have  expired,  Satan  will 
be  released  from  his  prison,  and  will 
be  permitted  to  go  out  and  deceive 
the  nations  which  are  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  earth,  and  gather  them 
together  to  battle;  that  is,  a  state  of 
things  will  exist  as  if  Satan  were  then 
released.  There  will  be  again  an  out¬ 
break  of  sin  on  the  earth,  and  a  conflict 
with  the  principles  of  religion,  as  if  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  opposers  should 
be  marshalled  for  the  conflict  by  the  great 
author  of  all  evil. 

IV.  The  final  subjugation  of  Satan, 
and  destruction  of  his  powers  on  the 
earth,  vs.  9,  10.  After  the  temporary 
and  partial  outbreak  of  evil  (vs.  7,  8), 
Satan  and  his  hosts  will  be  entirely 
destroyed.  The  destruction  will  be 
as  if  fire  should  come  down  from  heaven 
to  devour  the  assembled  hosts  (ver.  9), 
and  as  if  Satan,  the  great  leader  of  evil, 
should  be  cast  into  the  same  lake  where 
the  beast  and  false  prophet  are,  to  bo 


tormented  for  ever.  Then  the  church 
Wllj  delivered  from  all,  its  enemies, 
and  religion  henceforward  will  be  tri¬ 
umphant.  How  long  the  interval  will 
be  between  this  state  and  that  next  dis¬ 
closed  (vs.  11-15)— the  final  judgment— 
is  not  stated.  The  eye  of  the  Seer  glances 
from  one  to  the  other,  but  there  is  nothing 
to  forbid  the  supposition,  that,  according 
to  the  laws  of  prophetic  vision,  there  may 
be  a  long  interval  in  which  righteousness 
shall  reign  upon  the  earth.  Comp.  Intro 
to  Isaiah,  £  7,  III.  (3)-(5). 

V.  The  final  judgment,  vs.  11-15. 
ihis  closes  the  earthly  scene.  Hence¬ 
forward  (chs.  xxi.,  xxii.),  the  scene  is 
transferred  to  heaven  —  the  abode  of  the 
redeemed.  The  last  judgment  is  the 
winding  up  of  the  earthly  affairs.  The 
enemies  of  the  church  are  all  long  since 
'destroyed;  the  world  has  experienced, 
perhaps  for  a  long  series  of  ages,  the  full 
influence  of  the  gospel ;'  countless  mil¬ 
lions  have  been,  we  may  suppose,  brought 
under  its  power;  and  then  at  last,  in  the 
winding  up  of  human  affairs,  comes  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day,  when  the 
dead,  small  and  great,  shall  stand  before 
God ;  when  the  sea  shall  give  up  its 
dead  ;  when  death  and  hell  shall  give  up 
the  dead  that  are  in  them ;  when  the  re- 
cords  °f  human  actions  shall  be  opened, 
and  all  shall  be  judged  according  to  their 
works,  and  when  all  who  are  not  found 
written  in  the  book  of  life  shall  be  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is  the  earthly 
consummation;  henceforward  the  saints 
shall  reign  in  glory— the  New  Jerusalem 
above,  chs.  xxi.,  xxii. 

In  order  to  prepare  the  way  for  a 
proper  understanding  of  this  chapter,  the 
following  additional  remarks  may  be  hero 
made : — 

(a)  The  design  of  this  book  did  not 
demand  a  minute  detail  of  the  events 
which  would  occur  in  the  consummation 
of  human  affairs.  The  main  purpose  was 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  church  to  tho 
scene  of  the  final  triumph  when  all  ite 
enemies  would  be  overthrown,  and  when 
religion  would  be  permanently  establish¬ 
ed  upon,  the  earth.  Hence,  though  in 
the  previous  chapters  we  have  a  detailed 
account  of  the  persecutions  that  would 
be  endured;  of  the  enemies  that  would 
ris#  up  against  tho  church,  and  of  their 
complete  ultimate  overthrow  —  leaving 
religion  triumphant  on  the  earth — yet 
we  have  no  minute  statement  of  what 


458 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


will  occur  in  the  Millennium.  A  rapid 
view  i3  taken  of  the  closing  scenes 
of  the  earth’s  history,  and  the  general 
results  only  are  stated.  It  would  not 
be  strange,  therefore,  if  there  should 
be  much  in  this  that  would  seem  to  be 
enigmatical  and  obscure — especially  as  it 
is  now  all  in  the  future. 

(6)  There  may  be  long  intervening 
periods  between  the  events  thus  thrown 
together  into  the  final  grouping.  We 
are  not  to  suppose  necessarily  that  these 
events  will  succeed  each  other  imme¬ 
diately,  or  that  they  will  be  of  short 
duration*.  Between  these  events  thus 
hastily  sketched,  there  may  be  long  in¬ 
tervals  that  are  not  described,  and  whose 
general  character  is  scarcely  even  glanced 
at.  This  results  from  the  very  nature  of 
the  prophetic  vision,  as  described  in  the 
Intro,  to  Isaiah,  §  7,  III.  (3)-(5).  This 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  view  which 
we  have  in  looking  at  a  landscape.  When 
one  is  placed  in  a  favorable  situation,  he 
can  mark  distinctly  the  order  of  the  ob¬ 
jects  in  it — the  succession — the  grouping. 
He  can  tell  what  objects  appear  to  him 
to  lie  near  to  each  other,  and  are  appa¬ 
rently  in  juxtaposition.  But  there  are 
objects  which,  in  such  a  vision,  the  eye 
cannot  take  in,  and  which  would  not  be 
exhibited  by  any  description  which  might 
be  given  of  the  view  taken.  Hills  in  the 
distant  view  may  seem  to  lie  near  each 
other ;  one  may  seem  to  rise  just  back  of 
another,  and  to  the  eye  they  may  seem 
to  constitute  parts  of  the  same  mountain, 
and  yet  between  them  there  may  be  deep 
and  fertile  vales,  smiling  villages,  run¬ 
ning  streams,  beautiful  gardens  and 
water-falls,  which  the  eye  cannot  take 
in,  and  the  extent  of  which  it  may  be 
wholly  impossible  to  conjecture ;  and  a 
description  of  the  whole  scene,  as  it  ap¬ 
pears  to  the  observer,  would  convey  no 
idea  of  the  actual  extent  of  the  intervals. 
So  it  is  in  the  prophecies.  Between  the 
events  which  are  to  occur  hereafter,  as 
seen  in  vision,  there  may  be  long  inter¬ 
vals,  but  the  length  of  these  intervals 
the  prophet  ntay  have  left  us  no  means 
of  determining.  See  these  thoughts 
more  fully  illustrated  in  the  introduction 
to  Isaiah  as  above  referred  to. 

What  is  here  Stated  may  have  occurred 
in  the  vision  which  John  had  of  the  fu¬ 
ture  as  described  in  this  chapter.  Tinfb 
is  marked  in  the  prophetic  description 
until  the  fall  of*  the  great  enemy  of  the 


church ;  beyond  that  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  regarded  as  necessary  to  de¬ 
termine  the  actual  duration  of  the  events 
referred  to.  Comp.  Prof.  Stuart,  Com.  ii. 
353,  354. 

(c)  These  views  are  sustained  by  the 
most  cursory  glance  of  the  chapter  be¬ 
fore  us.  There  is  none  of  the  detail 
which  we  have  found  in  the  previous 
portions  of  the  book — for  such  detail  was 
not  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of 
the  design  of  the  book.  The  grand  pur¬ 
pose  was  to  show  that  Christianity  would 
finally  triumph,  and  hence  the  detailed 
description  is  carried  on  until  that  oc¬ 
curs,  and  beyond  that  we  have  only  the 
most  general  statements.  Thus  in  this 
chapter,  the  great  events  that  are  to  oc¬ 
cur  are  merely  hinted  at.  The  events 
of  a  thousand  years ;  the  invasion  by 
Gog  and  Magog;  the  ultimate  confine¬ 
ment  and  punishment  of  Satan ;  the  gene¬ 
ral  judgment,  are  all  crowded  into  the 
space  of  twelve  verses.  This  shows  that 
the  distant  future  is  only  glanced  at  by 
the  writer ;  and  we  should  not  wonder, 
therefore,  if  it  should  be  found  to  be 
obscure,  nor  should  we  regard  it  as 
strange  that  much  is  left  to  be  made 
clear  by  the  events  themselves  when  they 
shall  occur. 

(d)  The  end  is  triumphant  and  glorious. 
We  are  assured  that  every  enemy  of  the 
church  will  be  slain,  and  that  there  will 
be  a  long  period  of  happiness,  prosperity, 
and  peace.  “The  eye  of  hope,”  says 
Prof.  Stuart  beautifully,  “  is  directed  for¬ 
ward,  and  sees  the  thousand  years  of 
uninterrupted  prosperity;  then  the  sud¬ 
den  destruction  of  a  new  and  fatal  enemy ; 
and  all  the  rest  is  left  to  joyful  anticipa¬ 
tion.  When  all  clouds  are  swept  from 
the  face  of  the  sky,  why  should  not  the 
sun  shine  forth  in  all  his  glory?  I  can¬ 
not,  therefore,  doubt  that  the  setting  sun 
of  the  church  on  earth  is  to  be  as  a  hea¬ 
ven  of  unclouded  splendor.  Peaceful 
and  triumphant  will  be  her  latest  age. 
The  number  of  the  redeemed  will  be 
augmented  beyond  all  computation ;  and 
the  promise  made  from  the  beginning, 
that  ‘the  Seed  of  the  woman  should 
bruise  the  serpent’s  head,’  will  be  ful¬ 
filled  in  all  its  extent,  and  with  a  divine 
plenitude  of  meaning.  The  understand¬ 
ing  and  pious  reader  closes  the  book 
with  admiration,  with  wonder,  with  de¬ 
light,  with  lofty  anticipation  of  the  future, 
and  with  undaunted  resolution  to  follow 


459 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XX. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

AND  I  saw  an  angel  come  down 
from  heaven,  having  the  key  “ 
of  the.  bottomless  pit  and  a  great 
chain  in  his  hand. 


on  in  the  steps  of  those  who  through 
faith  and  patience  have  inherited  the 
promises  and  entered  into  everlasting 
rest.-”  Yol.  ii.  pp.  354,  355. 

1.  And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from 
heaven.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  x.  1.  He 
does  not  say  whether  this  angel  had  ap¬ 
peared  to  him  before,  but  the  impression 
is  rather  that  it  was  a  different  one.  The 
whole  character  of  the  composition  of 
the  book  leads  us  to  suppose  that  differ¬ 
ent  angels  were  employed  to  make  these 
communications  to  John,  and  that  in 
fact,  in  the  progress  of  things  disclosed 
in  the  book,  he  had  intercourse  with  a 
considerable  number  of  the  heavenly 
inhabitants.  The  scene  that  is  recorded 
here  occurred  after  the  destruction  of  the 
beast  and  the  false  prophet  (ch.  xix.  18- 
21),  and  therefore,  according  to -the  prin¬ 
ciples  expressed  in  the  explanation  of 
the  previous  chapters,  what  is  intended 
to  be  described  here  will  take  place  after 
the  final  destruction  of  the  Papal  and 
Mohammedan  powers.  ^  Having  the 
key  of  the  bottomless  pit.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  i.  18,  ix.  1.  The  fact  that  he  has  the 
key  of  that  under-world  is  designed  to 
denote  here  that  he  can  fasten  it  on 
Satan  so  that  it  shall  become  his  prison. 
IT  And  a  great  chain  in  his  hand.  With 
which  to  bind  the  dragon,  ver.  2.  It  is 
called  great  because  of  the  strength  of 
him  that  was  to  be  bound.  The  chain 
only  appears  to  have  been  in  his  hand. 
Perhaps  the  key  was  suspended  to  his 
side. 

2.  And  he  laid  hold  on.  Seized  him 
by  violence  —  iKparrjae.  The  .word  de¬ 
notes  the  employment  of  strength  or 
force,  and  it  implies  that  he  had  power 
superior  to  that  of  the  dragon.  Comp. 
Matt.  xiv.  3,  xviii.  28,  xxi.  46,  xxii.  6, 
xxvi.  4.  We  can  at  once  see  the  pro¬ 
priety  of  the  use  of  this  word  in  this 
connexion.  The  great  enemy  to  be 
bound  has  himself  mighty  power,  and 
can  bo  overcome  only  by  a  superior. 
This  may  teach  us  that  it  is  only  a 
power  from  heaven  that  can  destroy  the 
empire  of  Satan  in  the  world ;  and  per¬ 
haps  it  may  teach  us  that  the  interposi- 


2  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dra¬ 
gon, 1  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the 
Devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound  c  him 
a  thousand  years. 

a  c.1.18;  9.1.  b  c.  12.  9.  c  2  Pe. 2. 4.  Jude 6. 


bon  of  angels  will  be  employed  in  bring¬ 
ing  in  the  glorious  state  of  the  Millenni¬ 
um.  Why  should  it  not  be?  f  The 
dragon.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xii.  3.  Comp 

ch-  x“-  4’J’  13>  16> 17 ; xiii-  2>  4,  11  j 

xvi.  13.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to 
the  meaning  of  the  word  here ;  for  it  is 
expressly  said  to  mean  the  Devil,  and 
Satan.  It  would  seem,  however,  that  it 
refers  to  some  manifestation  of  the  pow¬ 
er  of  Satan  that  would  exist  after  the 
beast  and  false  prophet  —  that  is  the 
Papacy  and  Mohammedanism  —  should 
be  destroyed,  and  probably  the  main 
reference' is  to  the  still  existing  power 
of  Paganism.  Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xvi. 
13,  14.  It  may  include,  however,  all 
the  forms  of  wickedness  which  Satan 
shall  have  kept  up  on  the  earth,  and  all 
the  modes  of  evil  by  which  he  will  en¬ 
deavor  to  perpetuate  his  reign.  That 
old  serpent.  This  is  undoubtedly  an 
allusion  to  the  serpent  that  deceived  our 
first  parents  (Gen.  iii.  1,  seq.),  and  there- 
fore  a  proof  that  it  was  Satan  that,  under 
the  form  of  a  serpent,  deceived  them. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xii.  3.  f  Which  is 
the  Devil.  On  the  meaning  of  this  word, 
see  Notes  on  Matt.  iv.  1.  «|[  And  Satan. 
On  the  meaning  of  this  word,  see  Notes 
on  Job  i.  6.  In  regard  to  the  repetition 
of  the  names  of  that  great  enemy  of  God 
and  the  church  here,  Mr.  Taylor,  in  the 
Fragments  to  Oalmetis  Dictionary ,  No. 
152,  says,  that  this  “  almost  resembles  a 
modern  Old  Bailey  indictment,  in  which 
special  care  is  taken  to  identify  the  cul¬ 
prit  by  a  sufficient  number  of  aliases. 
An  angel  from  heaven,  having  the  key 
of  the  prison  of  the  abyss,  and  a  great 
chain  to  secure  the  prisoner,  ‘appre¬ 
hended  the  dragon,  alias  the  old  serpent, 
alias  the  devil,  alias  the  Satan,  alias  the 
seducer  of  the  world,’  who  was  sentenced 
to  a  thousand  years’  imprisonment.”  The 
object  here,  however,  seems  to  be  not  so 
much  to  identify  the  culprit  by  these 
aliases,  as  to  show  that  under  whatever 
forms  and  by  whatever  names  he  had 
appeared,  it  was  always  the  same  being, 
and  that  now  the  author  of  the  whole 
evil  would  be  arrested.  Thus  the  one 


460 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


3  And  cast  him  into  the  bottom¬ 
less  pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and  set 
a  seal  °  upon  him,  that  he  should 
a  Da.  6. 17. 


great  enemy  sometimes  has  appeared  in 
a  form  that  would  be  best  represented 
by  a  fierce  and  fiery  dragon ;  at  another 
in  a  form  that  would  be  best  represented 
by  a  cunning  and  subtle  serpent;  now 
in  a  form  to  which  the  word  devil,  or 
accuser,  would  be  most  appropriate ;  and 
now  in  a  form  in  which  the  word  Satan 
— an  adversary — would  be  most  expres¬ 
sive  of  what  he  does.  In  these  various 
forms  and  under  these  various  names,  he 
has  ruled  the  fallen  world ;  and  when 
this  one  great  enemy  shall  be  seized  and 
imprisoned,  all  these  forms  of  evil  will 
of  course  come  to  an  end.  A  thousand, 
years.  This  is  the  period  usually  desig¬ 
nated  as  the  Millennium — for  the  word 
Millennium  means  a  thousand  years.  It 
is  on  this  passage  that  the  whole  doctrine 
of  the  Millennium  as  such  has  been 
founded.  It  is  true  that  there  are  else¬ 
where  in  the  Scriptures  abundant  pro¬ 
mises  that  the  gospel  will  ultimately 
spread  over  the  world;  but  the  notion 
of  a  Millennium  as  such  is  found  in  this 
passage  alone.  It  is,  however,  enough 
to  establish  the  doctrine,  if  its  meaning 
be  correctly  ascertained,  for  it  is  a  just 
rule  in  interpreting  the  Bible  that  the 
clearly-ascertained  sense  of  a  single  pas¬ 
sage  of  Scripture  is  sufficient  to  establish 
the  truth  of  a  doctrine.  The  fact,  how¬ 
ever,  that  this  passage  stands  alone  in 
this  respect,  makes  it  the  more  important 
to  endeavor  accurately  to  determine  its 
meaning.  There  are  but  three  ways  in 
which  the  phrase  ‘a  thousand  years’  can 
be  understood  here  :  either  (a)  literally; 
or  ( h )  in  the  prophetic  use  of  the  term, 
where  a  day  would  stand  for  a  year,  thus 
making  a  period  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  years ;  or  (e)  figuratively, 
supposing  that  it  refers  to  a  long  but  in¬ 
definite  period  of  time.  It  may  be  im¬ 
possible  to  determine  which  of  these 
periods  is  intended,  though  the  first  has 
been  generally  supposed  to  bo  the  true 
one,  and  hence  the  common  notion  of 
the  Millennium.  There  is  nothing,  how¬ 
ever,  in  the  use  of  the  language  here,  as 
there  would  be  nothing  contrary  to  the 
common  use  of  symbols  in  this  book  in 
regard  to  time,  in  the  supposition  that 


deceive  the  nations  no  more,  till  the 
thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled : 
and  after  that  he  must  be  loosed  a 
little  season. 


this  was  designed  to  describe  the  longest 
period  here  suggested,  or  that  it  is 
meant  that  the  world  shall  enjoy  a  reign 
of  peace  and  righteousness  during  the 
long  period  of  three  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  years.  Indeed,  there  are  some 
things  in  the  arrangements  of  nature 
which  look  as  if  it  were  contemplated 
that  the  earth  would  continue  under  a 
reign  of  righteousness  through  a  vastly 
long  period  in  the  future. 

3.  And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  ix.  1.  A  state  of  peace 
and  prosperity  would  exist  as  if  Satan, 
the  great  disturber,  were  confined  in  the 
nether  world  as  a  prisoner.  And  shut 
him  up.  Closed  the  massive  doors  of  the 
dark  prison-house  upon  him.  Comp. 
Notes  on  Job  x.  21,  22.  And  set  a 
seal  upon  him.  Or,  rather,  ‘upon  it’ — 
iiravci  avriv.  The  seal  was  placed  upon 
the  door  or  gate  of  the  prison,  not  be¬ 
cause  this  would  fasten  the  gate  or  door 
of  itself  and  make  it  secure,  for  this  was 
secured  by  the  key,  but  because  it  pre¬ 
vented  intrusion,  or  any  secret  opening 
of  it  without  its  being  known.  See  Notes 
on  Dan.  vi.  17,  and  Matt,  xxvii.  66.  The 
idea  here  is,  that  every  precaution  was 
taken  for  absolute  security.  That  he 
should  deceive  the  nations  no  more.  That 
is,  during  the  thousand  years.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ch.  xii.  9.  Till  the  thousand 
years  should  he  fulfilled.  That  is,  during 
that  period  there  will  be  a  state  of  things 
upon  the  earth  as  if  Satan  should  bo 
withdrawn  from  the  world,  and  confined 
in  the  great  prison  where  he  is  ultimately 
to  dwell  for  ever.  And  after  that  he 
must  he  loosed  for  a  little  season.  See 
vs.  7,  8.  That  is,  a  state  of  things  will 
then  exist,  for  a  brief  period,  as  if  he 
were  again  released  from  his  prison- 
house,  and  suffered  to  go  abroad  upon 
the  earth.  The  phrase  ‘a  little  season’ 
— junpov  xpivov,  little  time — denotes  pro¬ 
perly  that  this  would  be  brief  as  com¬ 
pared  with  the  thousand  years.  No  in¬ 
timation  is  given  as  to  the  exact  time, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture  how 
long  it  will  be.  All  the  circumstances 
stated,  however,  here  and  in  rs.  7-10, 
would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  what  h 


461 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAP] 

referred  to  will  be  like  the  sudden  out¬ 
break  of  a  rebellion  in  a  time  of  general 
peace,  but  which  will  soon  be  quelled. 

i  a-  Condition  of  the  world  in  the 
period  referred  to  in  vs.  1-3. 

It  may  be  proper,  in  order  to  a  correct 
understanding  of  this  chapter,  to  present 
a  brief  summary  under  the  different  parts 
(see  the  Analysis  of  the  chapter),  of  what, 
according  to  the  interpretation  proposed, 
may  be  expected  to  be  the  condition  of 
things  in  the  time  referred  to.  On  the 
portion  now  before  us  (vs.  1-3),  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  interpretation  proposed,  the 
following  suggestions  mayjbe  made: 

(1)  This  will  be  subsequent  to  the 
dovynfall  of  the  Papacy  and  the  termi¬ 
nation  of  the  Mohammedan  power  in  the 
world.  Of  course,  then,  this  lies  in  the 
future— how  far  in  the  future  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  to  determine.  The  interpretation 
of  the  various  portions  of  this  book  and 
the  book  of  Daniel,  have,  however,  led 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  termination 
of  those  powers  cannot  now  be  remote. 
If  so,  we  are  on  the  eve  of  important 
events  in  the  world’s  history.  The  affairs 
pf  the  world  look  as  if  things  were  tend¬ 
ing  to  a  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  so 
understood. 

(2)  It  will  be  a  condition  of  the  world 
as  if  Satan  were  bound;  that  is,  where 
his  influences  will  be  suspended,  and  the 
principles  of  virtue  and  religion  will  pre¬ 
vail.  According  to  the  interpretation 
of  the  previous  chapters,  it  will  be  a  state 
in  which  all  that  has  existed,  and  that 
now  exists  in  the  Papacy  to  corrupt  man¬ 
kind,  to  maintain  error,  and  to  prevent 
the  prevalence  of  free  and  liberal  prin¬ 
ciples,  will  cease ;  in  which  all  that  there 
now  is  in  the  Mohammedan  system  to 
fetter  and  enslave  mankind  —  now  con¬ 
trolling  more  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions  of  the  race  —  shall  have 
come  to  an  end;  and  in  which,  in  a  great 
measure,  all  that  occurs  under  the  direct 
influence  of  Satan  in  causing  or  perpetu¬ 
ating  slavery,  war,  intemperance,  lust, 
avarice,  disorder,  scepticism,  atheism, 
will  be  checked  and  stayed.  It  is  proper 
to  say,  however,  that  this  passage  does 
not  require  us  to  suppose  that  there  will 
be  a  total  cessation  of  Satanic  influence 
in  the  earth  during  that  period.  Satan 
will  indeed  be  bound  and  restrained  as 
to  his  former  influence  and  power.  But 
there  will  be  no  chango  in  the  character 
of  man  as  he  comes  into  tho  world 
39* 


ER,  XX. 

There  will  still  be  corrupt  passions  in 
the  human  heart.  Though  greatly  re¬ 
strained,  and  though  thpre  will  be  a 
general  prevalence  of  righteousness  on 
the  earth,  yet  we  are  to  remember  that 
the  race  is  fallen,  and  that  even  then, 
it  restraint  should  be  taken  away 
man  would  act  out  his  fallen  nature! 
inis  tact,  if  remembered,  will  make  it 
appear  less  strange  that  after  this  period 
of  prevalent  righteousness,  Satan  should 
be  represented  as  loosed  again,  and  as 
able  once  more  for  a  time  to  deceive  the 
nations. 

(3)  It  will  be  a  period  of  long  dura¬ 
tion.  On  the  supposition  that  it  is  to  be 
literally  a  period  of  one  thousand  years, 
this  is  in  itself  long,  and  will  give,  espe¬ 
cially  under  the  circumstances,  oppor- 
tunity  for  a  vast  progress  in  human 
affairs.  To  form  some  idea  of  the  leno-th 
of  the  period,  we  need  only  place  our¬ 
selves  in  imagination  back  for  a  thousand 
years  — say  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century,  and  look  at  the  condition  of  the 
world  then,  and  think  of  the  vast  changes 
in  human  affairs  that  have  occurred  dur¬ 
ing  that  period.  It  is  to  be  remembered 
also  that  if  the  Millennial  period  were 
soon  to  commence,  it  would  find  the 
world  in  afar  different  state  in  reference 
to  future  progress  from  what  it  was  in 
the  ninth  century,  and  that  it  would 
start  off,  so  to  speak,  in  that  period,  with 
all  the  advantages  in  the  arts  and  sci¬ 
ences  which  have  been  accumulated  in 
all  the  past  periods  of  the  world.  Even 
if  there  wero  no  special  divine  interposi¬ 
tion,  it  might  be  presumed  that  the  race, 
in  such  circumstances,  would  make  great 
and  surprising  advances  in  the  long  pe¬ 
riod  of  a  thousand  years.  And  here  a 
very  striking  remark  of  Mr.  Hugh  Miller 
may  bo  introduced  as  illustrating  the 
subject.  “  It  has  been  remarked  by 
some  students  of  the  Apocalypse,”  says 
he,  “  that  the  course  of  predicted  events 
at  first  moves  slowly,  as,  one  after  one, 
six  of  seven  seals  are  opened;  that  on 
tho  opening  of  the  seventh  seal,  the  pro¬ 
gress  is  so  considerably  quickened  that 
the  seventh  period  proves  as  fertile  in 
events — represented  by  the  sounding  of 
the  seven  trumpets  —  as  the  foregoing 
six  taken  together;  and  that  on  the 
seventh  trumpet,  so  great  is  the  further 
acceleration,  that  there  is  an  amount  of 
incident  condensed  in  this  seventh  part 
of  the  seventh  period  equal,  as  in  the 


462 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


former  case,  to  that  of  all  the  previous 
six  parts  in  one.  There  are  three  cycles, 
it  has  been  said,  in  the  scheme  —  cycle 
within  cycle  —  the  second  comprised 
within  a  seventh  portion  of  the  first,  and 
the  third  within  a  seventh  portion  of  the 
second.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  may  at 
least  see  something  that  exceedingly 
resembles  it  in  that  actual  economy  of 
change  and  revolution  manifested  in 
English  history  for  the  last  two  centuries. 
It  would  seem,  as  if  events  in  their  doion- 
ward  course,  had  come  under  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  that  law  of  gravitation  through 
which  falling  bodies  increase  in  speed,  as 
they  descend,  according  to  the  squares  of 
the  distances.”  First  Impressions  of  Eng¬ 
land  and  its  People,  pp.  vii.  viii.  If  to 
this  we  add  the  supposition  which  we 
have  seen  (Notes  on  ver.  2)  to  be  by  no 
means  improbable,  that  it  is  intended  in 
the  description  of  the  Millennium  in  this 
chapter,  that  the  world  will  continue 
under  a  reign  of  peace  and  righteousness 
for  the  long  period  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  years,  it  is  impossible  to 
anticipate  what  progress  will  be  mado 
during  that  period,  or  to  enumerate  the 
numbers  that  will  be  saved.  On  this 
subject,  see  some  very  interesting  re¬ 
marks  in  the  Old  Red  Sandstone,  by 
Hugh  Miller,  pp.  248,  249,  250,  258, 
259.  Comp.  Prof.  Hitchcock’s  Religion 
and  Geology,  pp.  370-409. 

(4)  What,  then,  will  be  the  state  of 
things  during  that  long  period  of  a  thou¬ 
sand  years  ? 

(a)  There  will  be  a  great  increase  in 
the  population  of  the  globe.  Let  wars 
cease,  and  intemperance  cease,  and 
slavery  cease,  and  the  numberless  pas¬ 
sions  that  now  shorten  life  be  stayed, 
and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  there  must  be  a 
vast  augmentation  in  the  number  of  the 
human  species. 

(b)  There  will  be  a  general  diffusion 
of  intelligence  on  the  earth.  Every  cir¬ 
cumstance  would  be  favorable  to  it,  and 
the  world  would  be  in  a  condition  to 
make  rapid  advances  in  knowledge. 
Dan.  xii.  4. 

(c)  That  period  will  be  characterized 
by  the  universal  diffusion  of  revealed 
truth.  Isa.  xi.  9,  xxv.  7. 

(d)  It  will  be  marked  by  unlimited 
subjection  to  the  sceptre  of  Christ.  Ps. 
ii.  7 ;  Zech.  ix.  10 ;  Ps.  xxii.  27-29 ;  Isa. 
ii.  2,  3,  lxvi.  23;  Zech.  xiv.  9 ;  Matt.  xiii. 
31,  32 ;  Rev.  xi.  15. 

(e)  There  will  be  great  progress  in  all 


that  tends  to  promote  the  welfare  of  man. 
We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  resources 
of  nature  are  exhausted.  Nature  gives 
no  signs  of  exhaustion  or  decay.  In  the 
future,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
there  will  yet  be  discoveries  and  inven¬ 
tions  more  surprising  and  wonderful  than 
the  art  of  printing,  or  the  uses  of  steam, 
or  the  magnetic  telegraph.  There  are 
profounder  secrets  of  nature  that  may  be 
delivered  up  than  any  of  these,  and  the 
world  is  tending  to  their  development. 

(/)  It  will  be  a  period  of  the  universal 
reign  of  peace.  The  attention  of  man¬ 
kind  will  be,  turned  to  the  things  which 
tend  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  race, 
and  advance  the  best  interests  of  society. 
The  single  fact  that  wars  will  cease,  will 
make  an  inconceivable  difference  in  the 
aspect  of  the  world;  for  if  universal 
peace  shall  prevail  through  the  long 
period  of  the  Millennium,  and  the 
wealth,  the  talent,  and  the  science  now 
employed  in  human  butchery  shall  be 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  agriculture, 
the  mechanic  arts,  learning,  and  religion, 
it  is  impossible  now  to  estimate  the  pro¬ 
gress  which  the  race  will  make,  and  the 
changes  which  will  be  produced  on  the 
earth.  Eor  scripture  proofs  that  it  will 
be  a  time  of  universal  peace,  see  Isa.  ii. 
4,  Mic.  iv.  3,  Isa.  xi.  6-9. 

(g)  There  will  be  a  general  prevalence 
of  evangelical  religion.  This  is  apparent 
in  the  entire  description  in  this  passage, 
for  the  two  most  formidable  opposing 
powers  that  religion  has  ever  known — 
the  beast  and  the  false  prophet — will  be 
destroyed,  and  Satan  will  be  bound.  In 
this  long  period,  therefore,  we  are  to 
suppose  that  the  gospel  will  exert  its  fair 
influence  on  governments,  on  families, 
on  individuals ;  in  the  intercourse  of 
neighbors,  and  in  the  intercourse  of  na¬ 
tions.  God  will  be  worshipped  in  spirit 
and  in  truth,  and  not  in  the  mere  forms 
of  devotion ;  and  temperance,  truth,  lib¬ 
erty,  social  order,  honesty,  and  love,  will 
prevail  over  the  world. 

(h)  It  will  be  a  time  when  the  He¬ 
brew  people — the  Jews — will  be  brought 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  will 
embrace  the  Messiah  whom  their  fathers 
crucified.  Rom.  xi.  26-29 ;  Zech.  xii.  10, 
xiii.  1. 

(i)  Yet,  we  are  not  necessarily  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  all  the  world  will  be  absolutely 
and  entirely  brought  under  the  power  of 
the  gospel.  There  will  be  still  on  tho 
earth  the  remains  of  wickedness  in  the 


A  D-96]  CHAPTER  XX. 


463 


4  And  I  saw  thrones,  °  and  they 

_ a  Da.  7.  9,  22.  27 ;  Lu.  22.  30. 

corrupted  human  heart,  and  there  will 
be  so  much  tendency  to  sin  in  the  human 
soul,  that  Satan,  when  released  for  a 
time  (vs.  7,  8),  will  be  able  once  more  to 
deceive  mankind,  and  to  array  a  formi¬ 
dable  force,  represented  by  Gog  and 
Magog,  against  the  cause  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  We  are  not  to  suppose 
that  the  nature  of  mankind  as  fallen  will 
be  essentially  changed,  or  that  there 
may  not  be  sin  enough  in  the  human 
heart  to  make  it  capable  of  the  same  op¬ 
position  to  the  gospel  of  God  which  has 
thus  far  been  evinced  in  all  ages.  From 
causes  which  are  not  fully  stated,  (vs.  8, 
9),  Satan  will  be  enabled  once  more  to 
rouse  up  their  enmity,  and  to  make  one 
more  desperate  effort  to  destroy  the 
kingdom  of  the  Redeemer  by  rallying 
his  forces  for  a  conflict.  See  these  views 
illustrated  in  the  work  entitled  Christ’s 
Second  Coming,  by  Rev.  David  Brown, 
of  St.  James’  Free  Church,  Glasgow.  N 
Y.,  1851.  Pp.  398-442. 

4.  And  I  saw  thrones  —  &p6vovs.  See 
ch.  L  4,  iff.  21,  iv.  2,  4.  John  here  sim¬ 
ply  says  that  he  saw  in  vision  thrones, 
with,  persons  sitting  on  them,  but  with¬ 
out  intimating  who  they  were  that  sat 
on  them.  It  is  not  the  throne  of  God 
that  is  now  revealed,  for  the  word  is  in 
the  plural  number,  though  the  writer 
does  not  hint  how  many  thrones  there 
were.  It  is  intimated,  however,  that 
these  thrones  were  placed  with  some  re¬ 
ference  to  pronouncing  a  judgment,  or 
determining  the  destiny  of  some  portion 
of  mankind,  for  it  is  immediately  added, 
“and  judgment  was  given  unto  them.” 
There  is  considerable  resemblance,  in 
many  respects,  between  this  and  the 
statement  in  Daniel  (vii.  9) :  “I  beheld 
till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the 
Ancient  of  days  did  sit or,  as  it  should 
be  rendered,  ‘I  beheld’  — that  is,  I  con¬ 
tinued  to  look  —  ‘until  the  thrones  were 
placed  or  set,’  to  wit,  for  purposes  of 
judgment.  See  Notes  on  that  passage. 
So  John  hero  sees,  as  the  termination  of 
human  affairs  approaches,  thrones  placed 
with  reference  to  a  determination  of  the 
destiny  of  some  portion  of  the  race,  as  if 
they  were  now  to  have  a  trial,  and  to 
receive  a  sentence  of  acquittal  or  con¬ 
demnation.  The  persons  on  whom  this 
judgment  is  to  pass,  are  specified  in  the 


sat  upon  them,  and  judgment 6  was  * 

_  b  1  Co.  6.  2,  3. 

course  of  the  verse  — as  those  who  were 
‘  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  who 
had  the  word  of  God,  who  had  not  wor¬ 
shipped  the  beast,’  <fcc.  The  time  when 
this  was  to  occur  manifestly  was  at  the 
beginning  of  the  thousand  years,  f  And 
they  sat  on  them.  Who  sat  on  them  is 
not  mentioned.  The  natural  construc¬ 
tion  is,  that  judges  sat  on  them,  or  that 
persons  sat  on  them  to  whom  judgment 
was  entrusted.  The  language  is  such  as 
would  be  used  on  the  supposition  either 
that  he  had  mentioned  the  subject  before, 
so  that  he  would  be  readily  understood, 
or  that,  from  some  other  cause,  it  was  so 
well  understood  that  there  was  no  neces¬ 
sity  for  mentioning  who  they  were.  John 
seems  to  have  assumed  that  it  would  be 
understood  who  were  meant.  And  yet  to 
us  it  is  not  entirely  clear — for  John  has 
not  before  this  given  us  any  such  intima¬ 
tion  that  we  can  determine  with  certainty 
what  is  intended.  The  probable  con¬ 
struction  is,  that  those  are  referred  to 
to  whom  it  appropriately  belonged  to 
occupy  such  seats  of  judgment,  and 
who  they  are  is  to  be  determined  from 
other  parts  of  the  Scriptures.  In  Mat¬ 
thew  xix.  28,  the  Saviour  says  to  his 
apostles,  “  When  the  Son  of  man  shall 
sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also 
shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.”  In  1  Cor. 
vi.  2,  Paul  asks  the  question,  “  Do  ye 
not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the 
world  ?”  The  meaning,  as  thus  explain¬ 
ed,  is,  that  Christians  will,  in  some  way, 
be  employed  in  judging  the  world : — that 
is,  that  they  will  be  exalted  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  Judge,  and  be  elevated  to  a 
station  of  honor,  as  if  they  were  asso¬ 
ciated  with  the  Son  of  God  in  the  judg¬ 
ment.  Something  of  that  kind  is  doubt¬ 
less  referred  to  here,  and  John  probably 
means  to  say  that  he  saw  the  thrones 
placed  on  which  those  will  sit  who  will 
be  employed  in  judging  the  world.  If 
the  apostles  are  specially  referred  to, 
it  was  natural  that  John,  eminent  for 
modesty,  should  not  particularly  men¬ 
tion  them,  as  he  was  one  of  them,  and 
as  the  true  allusion  would  be  readily 
understood.  And  judgment  was  given 

unto  them.  The  power  of  pronouncing 
sentence  in  the  case  referred  to  was  con¬ 
ferred  on  them,  and  they  proceeded  to 


464 


[A.  D.  96. 


REVELATION, 


given  unto  them:  and  I  saw  the 
souls  °  of  them  that  were  beheaded 

a  c.  6.  9. 

exercise  that  power.  This  was  not  in 
relation  to  the  whole  race  of  mankind, 
but  to  the  martyrs,  and  to  thoso  who, 
amidst  many  temptations  and  trials,  had 
kept  themselves  pure.  The  sentence 
which  is  to  be  passed  would  seem  to  be 
that  in  consequence  of  which  they  are  to 
be  permitted  to  ‘live  and  reign  with 
Christ  a  thousand  years.’  The  form  of 
this  expressed  approval  is  that  of  a 
resurrection  and  judgment ;  whether 
this  be  the  literal  mode  is  another  en¬ 
quiry,  and  will  properly  be  considered 
when  the  exposition  of  the  passage 
shall  have  been  given,  And  I  saw 
the  sotds  of  them.  This  is  a  very  im¬ 
portant  expression  in  regard  to  the 
meaning  of  the  whole  passage.  John 
says  he  saw  the  souls  —  not  the  bodies. 
If  the  obvious  meaning  of  this  be  the 
correct  meaning ;  if  he  saw  the  souls  of 
the  martyrs,  not  the  bodies,  this  would 
seem  to  exclude  the  notion  of  a  literal 
resurrection,  and  consequently  overturn 
many  of  the  theories  of  a  literal  resur¬ 
rection,  and  of  a  literal  reign  of  the 
saints  with  Christ  during  the  thousand 
years  of  the  Millennium.  The  doctrine 
of  the  last  resurrection,  as  everywhere 
stated  in  the  Scripture,  is,  that  the  body 
will  be  raised  up,  and  not  merely  that 
the  soul  will  live  (see  1  Cor.  1  Cor.  xv. 
and  the  Notes  on  that  chapter),  and 
consequently  John  must  mean  to  refer 
in  this  place  to  something  different  from 
that  resurrection,  or  to  any  proper  re¬ 
surrection  of  the  dead  as  the  expression 
is  commonly  understood.  The  doctrine 
which  has  been  held,  and  is  held,  by 
those  who  maintain  that  there  will  be  a 
literal  resurrection  of  the  saints  to  reign 
with  Christ  during  a  thousand  years, 
can  receive  no  support  from  this  pas¬ 
sage,  for  there  is  no  ambiguity  respect¬ 
ing  the  word  sotds — ipv%as — as  used  here. 
By  no  possible  construction  can  it  mean 
the  bodies  of  the  saints.  If  John  had 
intended  to  state  that  the  saints,  as  such, 
would  be  raised  as  they  will  be  at  the 
last  day,  it  is  clear  that  he  would  not 
have  used  this  language,  but  would  have 
employed  the  common  language  of  the 
New  Testament  to  denote  it.  The  lan¬ 
guage  here  does  not  express  the  doc¬ 


for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for 
the  word  of  God,  and  which  had 
not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither 


trine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
and  if  no  other  language  but  this  had 
been  used  in  the  New  Testament,  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  as  now 
taught  and  received,  could  not  be  esta¬ 
blished.  These  considerations  make  it 
clear  to  my  mind  that  John  did  not 
mean  to  teach  that  there  would  be  a 
literal  resurrection  of  the  saints,  that 
they  might  live  and  reign  with  Christ 
personally  during  the  period  of  a  thou¬ 
sand  years.  There  was  undoubtedly 
something  that  might  be  compared  with 
the  resurrection,  and  that  might,  in  some 
proper  sense,  be  called  a  resurrection 
(vs.  5,  6),  but  there  is  not  the  slightest 
intimation  that  it  would  be  a  resur¬ 
rection  of  the  body,  or  that  it  would 
be  identical  with  the  final  resurrection. 
John  undoubtedly  intends  to  describe 
some  honor  conferred  on  the  spirits  or 
sotds  of  the  saints  and  martyrs  during 
this  long  period,  as  if  they  were  raised 
from  the  dead,  or  which  might  be  repre¬ 
sented  by  a  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
What  that  honor  is  to  be,  is  expressed 
by  their  ‘  living  and  reigning  with  Christ.’ 
The  meaning  of  this  will  be  explained 
in  the  exposition  of  these  words : — 
but  the  word  used  here  is  fatal  to  tho 
notion  of  a  literal  resurrection  and  a 
personal  reign  with  Christ  on  the  earth. 

That  were  beheaded.  The  word  here 
used — TrtXtAti^M — occurs  nowhere  else  in 
the  New  Testament.  It  properly  means, 
to  axe,  that  is,  to  hew  or  cut  with  an 
axe — from  ttiXckv; — axe.  Hence  it  means 
to  behead  with  an  axe.  This  was  a 
common  mode  of  execution  among  the 
Romans,  and  doubtless  many  of  the 
Christian  martyrs  suffered  in  this  man¬ 
ner,  but  “it  cannot  be  supposed  to  have 
been  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  confipe 
the  rewards  of  martyrs  to  those  who 
suffered  in  this  particular  way ;  for  this 
specific  and  ignominious  method  of 
punishment  is  designated  merely  as  the 
symbol  of  any  and  every  kind  of  mar¬ 
tyrdom.”  Prof.  Stuart.  1[  For  the  wit- 
ness  of  Jesus.  As  witnesses  for  Jesus ; 
or  bearing  in  this  way  their  testimony  to 
the  truth  of  his  religion.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  i.  9 ;  comp.  ch.  vi.  9.  f  And  for  the 
word  of  God.  See  Notes  on  ch.  L  9. 


A-  D-  96.]  CHAPTER  XX. 


465 


his  image,  neither  had  received 
7iis '  mark  upon  their  foreheads, 
or  in  their  hands ;  and  they  lived 


IT  Which  had  not  worshipped  the  least. 
Who  had  remained  faithful  to  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  true  religion,  and  had  re¬ 
sisted  all  the  attempts  made  to  seduce 
them  from  the  faith,  even  the  temptations 
and  allurements  in  the  times  of  the 
Papacy.  See  this  language  explained 
in  the  Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  4.  Neither 
his  image.  Notes,  chapter  xiii.  14,  15. 
*f  Neither  had  received  his  mark  upon 
their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xiii.  16.  And  they  lived, 
e^rjcav,  from  £aai  —  to  live.  Very  much, 
in  the  whole  passage,  depends  on  this 
word.  The  meanings  given  to  the  word 
by  Prof.  Robinson  (Lex.)  are  the  follow- 
: — (a)  to  live,  to  have  life,  spoken  of 
physical  life  and  existence;  (b)  to  live; 
that  is,  to  sustain  life,  to  live  on  or  by 
any  thing;  (c)  to  live  in  any  way,  to 
pass  one’s  life  in  any  manner;  (d)  to 
live  and  prosper;  to  be  blessed.  It 
may  be  applied  to  those  who  were 
before  dead  (Matt.  ix.  18;  Mark  xvi. 
11 ;  Luke  xxiv.  23 ;  John  v.  25 ;  Acts 
i.  3,  ix.  41),  but  it  does  not  necessarily 
imply  this,  nor  does  the  mere  use  of  the 
word  suggest  it.  It  is  the  proper  notion 
of  living,  or  having  life  now,  whatever 
was  the  former  state  —  whether  non¬ 
existence,  death,  sickness,  or  health. 
The  mind,  in  the  use  of  this  word,  is 
fixed  on  the  present  as  a  state  of  living. 
It  is  not  necessarily  in  contrast  with  a 
former  state  as  dead,  but  it  is  on  the  fact 
that  they  are  now  alive.  As,  however, 
there  is  reference,  in  the  passage  before 
us,  to  the  fact  that  a  portion  of  those  men¬ 
tioned  had  been  ‘  beheaded  for  the  wit¬ 
ness  of  Jesus,’  it  is  to  be  admitted  that 
the  word  here  refers,  in  some  sense,  to 
that  fact.  They  were  put  to  death  in 
the  body,  Jbut  their  ‘  sords’  were  now 
seen  to  be  alive.  They  had  not  ceased 
to  be,  but  they  lived  and  reigned  with 
Christ  as  if  they  had  been  raised  up 
from  the  dead.  And  when  this  is  said 
of  the  ‘souls’  of  those  who  were  be¬ 
headed,  and  who  were  seen  to  reign 
with  Christ,  it  cannot  mean  (a)  that 
their  soids  came  to  life  again  —  for 
there  is  no  intimation  that  they  had  for 
a  moment  ceased  to  exist ;  nor  (b)  that 
they  then  became  immortal — for  that 


and  reigned  a  with  Christ  a  thou¬ 
sand  years. 

a  c.  5. 10. 


was  always  true  of  them ;  nor  (c)  that 
there  was  any  literal  resurrection  of  the 
body,  as  Prof.  Stuart  (ii.  360,  475,  476), 
supposes,  and  as  is  supposed  by  those 
who  hold  to  a  literal  reign  of  Christ  on 
the  earth,  for  there  is  no  intimation  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  body.  The  mcan- 
then,  so  far  as  the  language  is  con¬ 
cerned,  must  be,  that  there  would  exist 
at  the  time  of  the  thousand  years,  a 
state  of  things  as  (/the  martyrs  were 
raised  up  from  the  dead  —  an  honoring 
of  the  martyrs  as  if  they  should  live  and 
reign  with  Christ.  Their  names  would 
be  vindicated;  their  principles  would  be 
revived ;  they  would  be  exalted  in  pub¬ 
lic  estimation  above  other  men ;  they 
would  be  raised  from  the  low  rank  in 
which  they  were  held  by  the  world  in 
times  of  persecution,  to  a  state  which 
might  well  be  represented  by  their 
sitting  with  Christ  on  the  throne  of 
government,  and  by  their  being  made 
visible  attendants  on  his  glorious  king¬ 
dom.  This  would  not  occur  in  respect 
to  the  rest  of  the  dead  —  even  the  pious 
dead  (ver.  5),  for  their  honors  and  re¬ 
wards  would  be  reserved  for  the  great 
day  when  all  the  dead  should  be  judged 
according  to  their  deeds.  In  this  view 
of  the  meaning  of  this  passage,  thero  is 
nothing  that  forbids  us  to  suppose  that 
the  martyrs  will  be  conscious  of  the 
honor  thus  done  to  their  names,  their 
memory,  and  their  principles  on  earth, 
or  that  this  consciousness  will  in¬ 
crease  their  joy  even  in  heaven.  This 
sense  of  the  passage  is  thus  expressed, 
substantially,  by  Archbishop  Whateley 
( Essays  on  the  Future  State):  “It  may 
signify  not  the  literal  raising  of  dead 
men,  but  the  raising  up  of  an  increased 
Christian  zeal  and  holiness :  the  re¬ 
vival  in  the  Christian  church,  or  in 
some  considerable  portion  of  it,  of  the 
spirit  and  energy  of  the  noble  martyrs 
ot  old  (even  as  John  the  Baptist  came 
in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias) ;  so  that 
Christian  principles  shall  be  displayed 
in  action  throughout  the  world  in  an 
infinitely  greater  degree  than  ever  be¬ 
fore.”  This  view  of  the  signification  of 
the  word  lived  is  sustained  by  its  use  else 
where  in  the  Scriptures,  and  by  its  com- 


466  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


5  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived 


mon  use  among  men.  Thus  in  this 
very  hook,  ch.  xi.  11,  “  And  after  three 
days  and  an  half,  the  Spirit  of  life  from 
God  entered  into  them,  and  they  stood 
upon  their  feet.”  So  in  Ezekiel,  in 
speaking  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews, 
“  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  0  my 
people,  I  will  open  your  graves,  and 
cause  you  to  come  up  out  of  your  graves, 
and  bring  you  into  the  land  of  Israel. 
And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord, 
when  I  have  opened  your  graves,  and 
brought  you  up  out  of  your  graves,  and 
shall  put  my  Spirit  in  you,  and  ye  shall 
live,”  ch.  xxvii.  12-14.  So  in  Hosea, 
vi.  2,  “  After  two  days  he  will  revive  us 
[cause  us  to  live  again  ]  ;  in  the  third 
day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we  shall 
live  in  his  sight.”  So  in  the  Parable  of 
the  Prodigal  Son :  “  This  thy  brother 
was  dead,  and  is  alive  again,”  Luke  xv. 
32.  So  in  Isaiah  xxvi.  19,  “  Thy  dead 
men  shall  live,  together  with  my  dead 
body  shall  they  arise.”  The  following 
extract  from  D’Aubigne’s  History  of  the 
Reformation,  will  show  how  natural  it  is 
to  use  the  very  language  employed  here 
when  the  idea  is  intended  to  be  con¬ 
veyed  of  reviving  former  principles  as  if 
the  men  who  held  them  should  be  raised 
to  life  again.  It  is  the  language  of  the 
martyr  John  IIuss,  who,  in  speaking  of 
himself  in  view  of  a  remarkable  dream 
that  he  had,  said,  “  I  am  no  dreamer, 
but  I  maintain  this  for  certain  that  the 
image  of  Christ  will  never  be  effaced. 
They  [his  enemies]  have  wished  to 
destroy  it,  but  it  shall  be  painted  afresh 
in  all  hearts  by  much  better  preachers 
than  myself.  The  nation  that  loves 
Christ  will  rejoice  at  this.  And  I, 
awaking  from  among  the  dead,  and 
rising,  so  to  speak,  from  my  grave,  shall 
leap  icith  great  joy.”  So  a  Brief  ad¬ 
dressed  by  Pope  Adrian  to  the  Diet  at 
Nuremberg,  contains  these  words  :  “  The 
heretics  Huss  and  Jerome  are  now  alive 
again  in  the  person  of  Martin  Luther.” 
For  a  further  illustration  of  the  pas¬ 
sage,  see  the  remarks  which  follow  ($6) 
on  the  state  of  things  which  may  be 
expected  to  exist  in  the  time  referred 
to  in  vs.  4-6.  f  And  reigned  ivith 
Christ.  Were  exalted  in  their  princi¬ 
ples,  and  in  their  personal  happiness  in 
heaven,  as  if  they  occupied  the  throne 
with  him,  and  personally  shared  his 


not  again  until  the  thousand  years 

honors  and  his  triumphs.  Who  can  tell, 
also,  whether  they  may  not  be  employed 
in  special  services  of  mercy,  in  adminis¬ 
tering  the  affairs  of  his  government 
during  that  bright  and  happy  period  ? 

A  thousand  years.  During  the  period 
when  Satan  will  be  bound,  and  when 
the  true  religion  will  have  the  as¬ 
cendency  in  the  earth.  Notes,  ver.  2. 

5.  But  the  rest  of  the  dead.  In  contra¬ 
distinction  from  the  beheaded  martyrs, 
and  from  those  who  had  kept  themselves 
pure  in  the  times  of  great  temptation. 
The  phrase  ‘rest  of  the  dead’  here  would 
most  naturally  refer  to  the  same  general 
class  which  was  before  mentioned  —  the 
pious  dead.  The  meaning  is,  that  the 
martyrs  would  be  honored  as  if  they  were 
raised  up  and  the  others  not;  that  is, 
that  special  respect  would  be  shown  to 
their  principles,  their  memory,  and  their 
character.  In  other  words,  special  honor 
would  be  shown  to  a  spirit  of  eminent 
piety  during  that  period,  above  the  com¬ 
mon  and  ordinary  piety  which  has  been 
manifested  in  the  church.  The  ‘  rest  of 
the  dead’ — the  pious  dead — would  indeed 
be  raised  up  and  rewarded,  but  they 
would  occupy  comparatively  humble 
places,  as  if  they  did  not  partake  in  the 
exalted  triumphs  when  the  world  should 
be  subdued  to  the  Saviour.  Their  places 
in  honor,  in  rank,  and  in  reward,  would 
be  beneath  that  of  those  who  in  fiery  times 
had  maintained  unshaken  fidelity  to  the 
cause  of  truth.  IT  Lived  not.  On  the 
word  lived,  see  Notes  on  ver.  4.  That  is, 
they  lived  not  during  that  period  in  the 
peculiar  sense  in  which  it  is  said  (ver.  4,) 
that  the  eminent  saints  and  martyrs 
lived.  They  did  not  come  into  remem¬ 
brance;  their  principles  were  not  what 
then  characterised  the  church;  they  did 
not  see,  as  the  martyrs  did,  their  princi¬ 
ples  and  mode  of  life  in  the  ascendency, 
and  consequently  they  had  not  the  aug¬ 
mented  happiness  and  honor  which  the 
more  eminent  saints  and  martyrs  had. 
11  Until  the  thousand  years  are  finished. 
Then  all  who  were  truly  the  children  of 
God,  though  some  might  be  less  eminent 
than  others  had  been,  would  come  into 
remembrance,  and  would  have  their 
proper  place  in  the  rewards  of  heaven. 
The  language  here  is  not  necessarily  to 
bo  interpreted  as  meaningthatthey  would 
be  raised  up  then,  or  would  live  then. 


467 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XX. 


were  finished.  This  is  the  first 
resurrection. 

6  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that 
hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection : 

a  c.  2. 11;  21.  8. 


whatever  may  be  true  on  that  point  It 
is  merely  an  emphatic  mode  of  affirming 
that  up  to  that  period  they  would  not  live 
in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  affirmed  that 
the  others  would.  But  it  is  not  affirmed 
that  they  would  even  then  ‘live’  imme¬ 
diately.  A  long  interval  might  elapse 
before  that  would  occur  in  the  general 
resurrection  of  the  dead.  See  the  Ana¬ 
lysis  of  the  chapter,  f  This  is  the  first 
resurrection.  The  resurrection  of  the 
saints  and  martyrs,  as  specified  in  ver.  4. 
It  is  called  the  first  resurrection  in  con¬ 
tradistinction  from  the  second  and  last — 
the  general  resurrection  —  when  all  the 
dead  will  be  literally  raised  up' from  their 
graves,  and  assembled  for  the  judgment, 
ver.  12.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
that  what  is  called  here  the  ‘  first  resur¬ 
rection’  will  resemble  the  real  and  literal 
resurrection  in  every  respect.  All  that 
is  meant  is,  that  there  will  be  such  a  re¬ 
semblance  as  to  make  it  proper  to  call  it 
a,  resurrection  —  a  coming  to  life  again. 
This  will  be,  as  explained  in  the  Notes 
on  ver.  4,  in  the  honor  done  to  the  mar¬ 
tyrs  ;  in  the  restoration  of  their  principles 
as  the  great  actuating  principles  of  the 
church;  and  perhaps  in  the  increased 
happiness  conferred  on  them  in  heaven, 
and  in  their  being  employed  in  promot¬ 
ing  the  cause  of  truth  in  the  world. 

6.  i Blessed.  That  is,  his  condition  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  happy  or  a  favored 
one.  This  is  designed  apparently  to  sup¬ 
port  and  encourage  those  who  in  the 
time  of  John  suffered  persecution,  or 
who  might  suffer  persecution  afterwards. 

IT  And  holy.  That  is,  no  one  will  be  thus 
honored  who  has  not  an  established 
character  for  holiness.  Holy  principles 
will  then  reign,  and  none  will  be  exalted 
to  that  honor  who  have  not  a  character 
for  eminent  sanctity,  f  That  hath  part 
in  the  first  resurrection.  That  partici¬ 
pated  in  it;  that  is,  who  is  associated 
with  those  who  are  thus  raised  up.  On 
such  the  second  death  hath  no  power.  The 
‘second  death’  is  properly  the  death 
which  the  wicked  will  experience  in  the 
world  of  woe.  See  ver.  14  The  mean¬ 
ing  here  is,  that  all  who  are  here  referred 


on  such  the  second  death  °  hath  no 
power,  but  they  shall  be  priests  4 
of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall 
reign  with  him  a  thousand  years. 

4  Is.  Cl.  6;  c.  1.  6. 


to  as  having  part  in  the  first  resurrection, 
will  be  secure  against  that.  It  will  be 
one  of  the  blessed  privileges  of  heaven 
that  there  will  be  absolute  security 
against  death  in  any  and  every  form  * 
and  when  we  think  of  what  death  is  here) 
and  still  more  when  we  think  of  ‘the 
bitter  pains  of  the  second  death,’  we  may 
well  call  that  state  ‘blessed’  in  which 
there  will  be  eternal  exemption  from 
either.  But  they  shall  he  priests  of  God 
and  of  Christ,,  and  shall  reign  with  him. 
See  Notes  on  chs.  i.  6,  v.  10. 

_  (?  h.  Condition  of  the  world  in  the  pe¬ 
riod  referred  to  in  vs.  4-6. 

I.  It  is  well  known  that  this  passage 
is  the  principal  one  which  is  relied  on 
by  those  who  advocate  the  doctrine  of 
the  literal  reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth 
for  a  thousand  years,  or  who  hold  what 
are  called  the  doctrines  of  the  ‘second 
advent.’  The  points  which  are  main¬ 
tained  by  those  who  advocate  these  views, 
are,  substantially,  (a)  that  at  that  period 
Christ  will  descend  from  heaven  to  reign 
personally  upon  the  earth;  ( b )  that  he 
will  have  a  central  place  of  power  and 
authority,  probably  Jerusalem ;  (c)  that 
the  righteous  dead  will  then  be  raised, 
in  such  bodies  as  are  to  be  immortal; 
(d)  that  they  will  be  his  attendents,  and 
will  participate  with  him  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  world ;  (e)  that  this  will  con¬ 
tinue  during  the  period  of  a  thousand 
years;  (/)  that  the  world  will  be  subdued 
and  converted  during  this  period,  not  by 
moral  means,  but  by  ‘  a  new  dispensa¬ 
tion’ —  by  the  power  of  the  Son  of  God; 
end  (g)  that  at  the  close  of  this  period 
all  the  remaining  dead  will  be  raised, 
the  judgment  will  take  place,  and  the 
affairs  of  the  earth  will  be  consum¬ 
mated. 

The  opinion  here  adverted  to  was  held 
substantially  by  Papias,  Justin  Martyr, 
Irenmus,  Tertullian,  and  others  among 
the  Christian  Fathers,  and,  it  need  not 
be  said,  is  held  by  many  modern  exposi¬ 
tors  of  the  Bible,  and  by  large  numbers 
of  Christian  ministers  of  high  standing, 
and  other  Christians.  See  the  Literalist , 
passim.  The  opinion  of  the  Christian 


468 


REVELATION, 


Fathers,  with  which  the  modern  ‘  literal- 
ists,’  as  they  are  called,  substantially  co¬ 
incide,  is  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Elliott : — 
“  This  resurrection  is  to  be  literally  that 
of  departed  saints  and  martyrs,  then  at 
length  resuscitated  in  the  body  from 
death  and  the  grave;  its  time  to  synchro¬ 
nize  with,  or  follow  instantly  after,  the 
destruction  of  the  beast  Antichrist,  on 
Christ’s  personal  second  advent;  the 
binding  of  Satan  to  be  an  absolute  re¬ 
striction  of  the  power  of  hell  from  tempt¬ 
ing,  deceiving,  or  injuring  mankind, 
throughout  a  literal  period  of  a  thousand 
years,  thence  calculated ;  the  government 
of  the  earth  during  its  continuance  to  be 
administered  by  Christ  and  the  risen 
saints — the  latter  being  now  Loayythoi — 
in  nature  like  angels ;  and  under  it,  all 
false  religion  having  been  put  down,  the 
Jews  and  saved  remnant  of  the  Gentiles 
been  converted  to  Christ,  the  earth  reno¬ 
vated  by  the  fire  of  Antichrist’s  destruc¬ 
tion,  and  Jerusalem  made  the  universal 
capital,  there  will  be  a  realization  on 
earth  of  the  blessedness  depicted  in  the 
Old  Testament  prophecies,  as  well  as 
perhaps  of  that  too  which  is  associated 
with  the  new  Jerusalem  in  the  visions 
of  the  Apocalypse  —  until  at  length  this 
Millennium  having  ended,  and  Satan 
gone  forth  to  deceive  the  nations,  the 
final  consummation  will  follow;  the  new- 
raised  enemies  of  the  saints,  Gog  and 
Magog,  be  destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven : 
and  then  the  general  resurrection  and 
judgment  take  place,  the  Devil  and  his 
servants  be  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire, 
and  the  Millennial  reign  of  the  saints 
extend  itself  into  one  of  eternal  dura¬ 
tion.”  Elliott  on  the  Apocalypse,  iv. 
177,  178. 

Mr.  Elliott’s  own  opinion,  represent¬ 
ing,  it  is  supposed,  that  of  the  great  body 
of  the  ‘literalists,’  is  thus  expressed  :  “It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that  in  this  state 
of  things  and  of  feeling  in  professing 
Christendom  [a  feeling  of  carnal  securi¬ 
ty],  all  suddenly,  and  unexpectedly,  and 
conspicuous  over  the  world  as  the  light¬ 
ning  that  shineth  from  the  East  even 
unto  the  West,  the  second  advent  and 
appearing  of  Christ  will  take  place ;  that 
at  the  accompanying  voice  of  the  Arch¬ 
angel,  and  trump  of  God,  the  departed 
saints  of  either  dispensation  will  rise 
from  their  graves  to  meet  him  —  alike 
patriarchs,  and  prophets,  and  apostles, 
and  martyrs,  and  confessors — all  at  onco 


[A.  D.  96. 

and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye ;  and  then 
instantly  the  saints  living  at  the  time 
will  be  also  caught  up  to  meet  him  in 
the  air;  these  latter  being  separated  out 
of  the  ungodly  nations,  as  when  a  shep¬ 
herd  divides  his  sheep  from  the  goats, 
and  all,  both  dead  and  living  saints, 
changed  at  the  moment  from  corruption 
to  incorruption,  from  dishonor  to  glory, 
though  with  very  different  degrees  of 
glory;  and  so  in  a  new  angelic  nature, 
to  take  part  in  the  judging  and  ruling  in 
this  world.  Meanwhile,  with  a  tremen¬ 
dous  earthquake  accompanying,  of  vio¬ 
lence  unknown  since  the  revolutions  of 
primeval  chaos,  an  earthquake  under 
which  the  Roman  world  at  least  is  to 
rock  to  and  fro  like  a  drunken  man,  the 
solid  crust  of  this  earth  shall  be  broken, 
and  fountains  burst  forth  from-its  inner 
deep,  not  as  once  of  water,  but  of  liquid 
fire ;  and  that  the  flames  shall  consume 
the  Antichrist  and  his  confederate  kings, 
while  the  sword  also  does  its  work  of 
slaughter;  the  risen  saints  being  perhaps 
the  attendants  of  the  Lord’s  glory  in  this 
destruction  of  Antichrist,  and  assessors 
in  his  judgment  on  a  guilty  world.  And 
then  immediately  the  renovation  of  this 
our  earth  is  to  take  place,  its  soil  being 
purified  by  the  very  action  of  the  fire, 
and  the  Spirit  poured  out  from  on  high, 
in  a  yet  better  sense,  the  moral  face  of 
nature ;  the  shekinah,  or  personal  glory 
of  Christ  amidst  his  saints  being  mani¬ 
fested  chiefly  in  the  Holy  Land  and  at 
Jerusalem,  but  the  whole  earth  partaking 
of  the  blessedness ;  and  thus  the  regene¬ 
ration  of  all  things,  and  the  world’s  re¬ 
demption  from  the  curse,  having  their  ac¬ 
complishment,  according  to  the  promise, 
at  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God.” 
iv.  224-231.® 

To  this  account  of  the  prevailing  opi¬ 
nion  of  the  ‘literalists’  in  interpreting 
the  passage  before  us,  there  should  be 
added  that  of  Prof.  Stuart,  who,  in  gene¬ 
ral,  is  as  far  as  possible  from  sympa¬ 
thizing  with  this  class  of  writers.  He 
says  in  his  explanation  of  the  expression 
‘they  lived’  in  ver.  4,  “There  would 
seem  to  remain,  therefore,  only  one 
meaning  which  can  be  consistently  given 
to  etycrav,  [ they  lived],  viz.:  that  they  (the 
martyrs  who  renounced  the  beast)  are 
now  restored  to  life,  viz.,  such  life  as 
implies  the  vivification  of  the  body.  Not 

*  I  have  slightly  abridged  this  passage,  but  have  re¬ 
tained  the  sense. 


469 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XX. 


to  a  union  of  the  soul  with  a  gross  mate¬ 
rial  body  indeed,  but  with  such  an  one 
as  the  saints  in  general  will  have  at  the 
final  resurrection  —  a  spiritual  body. 
1  Cor.  xv.  44.  In  no  other  way  can  this 
resurrection  be  ranked  as  correlate  with 
the  second  resurrection  named  in  the 
sequel.”  ii.  360.  So  again,  Excursus  vi. 
(vol.  ii.  p.  476),  he  says,  “I  do  not  see 
how  we  can,  on  the  ground  of  exegesis, 
fairly  avoid  the  conclusion,  that  John 
has  taught  in  the  passage  before  us,  that 
there  will  he  a  resurrection  of  the  martyr- 
saints,  at  the  commencement  of  the  period 
after  Satan  shall  have  been  shut  up  in  the 
dungeon  of  the  great  abyss.”  This  opi¬ 
nion  he  defends  at  length,  pp.  476-490. 
Prof.  Stuart,  indeed,  maintains  that  the 
martyrs  thus  raised  up  will  be  taken  to 
heaven  and  reign  with  Christ  there,  and 
opposes  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  literal 
reign  on  the  earth,  ii.  480.  The  risen 
saints  and  martyrs  are  to  be  “enthroned 
with  Christ;  that  is,  they  are  to  be  where 
he  dwells,  and  where  he  will  continue  to 
dwell,  until  he  shall  make  his  descent  at 
the  final  judgment-day.” 

II.  In  regard  to  these  views  as  ex¬ 
pressive  of  the  meaning  of  the  passage 
under,  consideration,  I  would  make  the 
following  remarks : — 

(1)  There  is  strong  presumptive  evi¬ 
dence  against  this  interpretation,  and 
especially  against  the  main  point  in  the 
doctrine  —  that  there  will  be  a  literal 
resurrection  of  the  bodies  of  the  saints  at 
the  beginning  of  that  Millennial  period 
to  live  and  reign  with  Christ  on  earth  — 
from  the  following  circumstances:  —  (a) 

It  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  this 
doctrine,  if  contained  in  the  Scriptures 
at  all,  is  found  in  this  one  passage  only. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  there  is  in  any 
other. place  a  direct  affirmation  that  this 
will  literally  occur,  nor  would  the  advo¬ 
cates  for  that  opinion  undertake  to  show 
that  it  is  fairly  implied  in  any  other  part 
of  the  Bible.  But  it  is  strange,  not  to 
say  improbable,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
literal  resurrection  of  the  righteous  a 
thousand  years  before  the  wicked,  should 
be  announced  in  one  passage  only.  If  it, 
were  so  announced  in  plain  and  unam¬ 
biguous  language,  I  admit  that  the  be¬ 
liever  in  the  divine  origin  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  would  be  bound  to  receive  it ;  but 
this  is  so  contrary  to  the  usual  method 
of  the  Scriptures  on  all  great  and  im¬ 
portant  doctrines,  that  this  circumstance 
41 


should  lead  us  at  least  to  doubt  whether 
the  passage  is  correctly  interpreted.  The 
resurrection  of  the  dead  is  a  subject  on 
which  the  Saviour  often  dwelt  in  his  in¬ 
structions  ;  it  is  a  subject  which  the  apos¬ 
tles  discussed  very  frequently  and  at 
great  length  in  their  preaching,  and  in 
their  writings ;  it  is  presented  by  them 
in  a  great  variety  of  forms,  for  the  con¬ 
solation  of  Christians  in  time  of  trouble, 
and  with  reference  to  the  condition  of' 
the  world  at  the  winding  up  of  human 
affairs;  and  it  is  strange  that  in  respect 
to  so  important  a  doctrine  as  this,  if  it 
be  true,  there  is  not  elsewhere  in  the 
New  Testament,  a  hint,  an  intimation, 
an  allusion,  that  would  lead  us  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  righteous  are  to  be  raised 
in  this  manner.  ( b )  If  this  is  a  true 
doctrine,  it  would  be  reasonable  to  ex¬ 
pect  that  a  clear  and  unambiguous  state¬ 
ment  of  it  would  be  made.  Certainly  if 
there  is  but  one  statement  on  the  subject, 
that  might  be  expected  to  be  a  perfectly 
clear  one.  It  would  be  a  statement 
about  which  there  could  be  no  diversity 
of  opinion,  concerning  which  those  who 
embraced  it  might. be  expected  to  hold  the 
same  views.  But  it  cannot  be  pretended 
that  this  is  so  in  regard  to  this  passage. 

It  occurs  in  the  book  which  of  all  the 
books  in  the  Bible  is  most  distinguished 
for. figures  and  symbols;  it  cannot  be 
maintained  that  it  is  directly  and  clearly 
affirmed;  and  it  is  not  so  taught  that 
there  is  any  uniformity  of  view  among 
those  who  profess  to  hold  it.  In  nothing 
has  there  been  greater  diversity  among 
men  than  in  the  opinions  of  those  who 
profess  to  hold  the  ‘literal’  views  re¬ 
specting  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  on 
the  earth.  But  this  fact  assuredly  af¬ 
fords  presumptive  evidence  that  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  literal  resurrection  of  the 
saints  a  thousand  years  before  the  rest 
of  the  dead  is  not  intended  to  be  taught. 

(c)  It  is  presumptive  proof  against  this, 
that  nothing  is  said  of  the  employment 
of  those  who  are  raised  up ;  of  the  reason 
why  they  are  raised;  of  the  new  circum¬ 
stances  of  their  being;  and  of  their  con¬ 
dition  when  the  thousand  years  shall 
have  . ended.  In  so  important  a  matter 
as  this,  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  the 
whole  subject  would  bo  left  to  a  single 
hint  in  a  symbolical  representation — de¬ 
pending  on  the  doubtful  meaning  of  a 
single  word,  and  with  nothing  to  enable 
us  to  determine  with  absolute  certainty 


470 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


that  this  must  be  the  meaning.  ( d )  If 
it  bo  meant  that  this  is  a  description  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  righteous  as  such 
—  embracing  all  the  righteous  —  then  it 
is  wholly  unlike  all  the  other  descrip¬ 
tions  of  the  resurrection  of  the  righteous 
that  we  have  in  the  Bible.  Here  the 
account  is  confined  to  ‘  those  that  were 
beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus,’  and 
to  ‘  those  who  had  not  worshipped  the 
beast.’  If  the  righteous  as  such  are  here 
referred  to,  why  are  these  particular 
classes  specified  ?  Why  are  not  the  usual 
general  terms  employed?  Why  is  the 
account  of  the  resurrection  confined  to 
these  ?  Elsewhere  in  the  Scriptures  the 
account  of  the  resurrection  is  given  in 
the  most  general  terms  (comp.  Matt.  xxv. 
41;  John  v.  28,  29,  iv.  54;  Rom.  ii,  7; 
1  Cor.  xv.  23 ;  Phil.  iii.  20,  21 ;  2  Thess. 
i.  10  ;  Heb.  ix.  28  ;  1  John  ii.  28,  29,  iii. 
2),  and  if  this  had  been  the  designed 
reference  here,  it  is  inconceivable  why 
the  statement  should  be  limited  to  the 
martyrs,  and  to  those  who  have  evinced 
great  fidelity  in  the  midst  of  temptations 
and  allurements  to  apostacy.  These  cir¬ 
cumstances  furnish  strong  presumptive 
proofs,  at  least,  against  the  doctrine  that 
there  is  to  be  a  literal  resurrection  of  all 
the  saints  at  the  beginning  of  the  Millen¬ 
nial  period.  Comp.  “Christ's  Second 
Coming,”  by  Rev.  David  Brown,  p.  219, 
seq. 

(2)  In  reference  to  many  of  the  views 
necessarily  implied  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
‘  Second  Advent,’  and  avowed  by  those 
who  hold  that  doctrine,  it  cannot  be 
pretended  that  they  receive  any  counte¬ 
nance  or  support  from  this  passage.  In 
the  language  of  Prof.  Stuart  (com.  ii. 
479),  there  is  “not  a  word  of  Christ’s 
descent  to  the  earth  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Millennium.  Nothing  of  the  literal 
assembling  of  the  Jews  in  Palestine; 
nothing  of  the  Messiah’s  temporal  reign 
on  earth;  nothing  of  the  overflowing 
abundance  of  worldly  peace  and  plenty.” 
Indeed,  in  all  this  passage,  there  is  not 
the  remotest  hint  of  the  grandeur  and 
magnificence  of  the  reign  of  Christ  as  a 
literal  king  upon  the  earth ;  nothing  of 
his  having  a  splendid  capital  at  Jerusa¬ 
lem  or  any  where  else;  nothing  of  a  new 
dispensation  of  a  miraculous  kind ;  no¬ 
thing  of  the  renovation  of  the  earth  to 
fit  it  for  the  abode  of  the  risen  saints. 
All  this  is  the  mere  work  of  fancy,  and 
no  man  can  pretend  that  it  is  to  be  found 
in  this  passage. 


(3)  Nor  is  there  any  thing  here  of 
a  literal  resurrection  of  the  bodies  of 
the  dead,  as  Prof.  Stuart  himself  sup¬ 
poses.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that 
a  scholar  so  accurate  as  Prof.  Stuart  is, 
and  one  too  who  has  so  little  sympathy 
with  the  doctrines  connected  with  a 
literal  reign  of  Christ  on  the  earth, 
should  have  lent  the  sanction  of  his 
name  to  perhaps  the  most  objectionable 
of  all  the  dogmas  connected  with  that 
view — the  opinion  that  the  bodies  of  the 
saints  will  be  raised  up  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Millennial  period.  Of  this  there 
is  not  one  word,  one  intimation,  one  hint 
in  the  passage  before  us.  John  says 
expressly,  and  as  if  to  guard  the  point 
from  all  possible  danger  of  this  construc¬ 
tion,  that  he  ‘  saw  the  souls  of  them 
that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of 
Jesus;’  he  saw  them  ‘ living ’  and  ‘reign¬ 
ing’  with  Christ — raised  to  exalted  honor 
during  that  period,  as  if  they  had  been 
raised  from  the  dead;  but  he  nowhere 
mentions  or  intimates  that  they  were 
raised  up  from  their  graves;  that  they 
were  clothed  with  bodies ;  that  they 
had  their  residence  now  literally  on 
the  earth ;  or  that  they  were  in  any 
way  otherwise  than  disembodied  spirits. 
There  is  not  even  one  word  of  their 
having  ‘  a  spiritual  body.’ 

(4)  Jhere  are  positive  arguments, 
which  are  perfectly  decisive,  against  the 
interpretation  which  supposes  that  the 
bodies  of  the  saints  will  be  raised  up  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Millennial  period 
to  reign  with  Christ  on  the  earth  for  a 
thousand  years.  Among  these  are  the 
following  :  — 

(a)  If  the  ‘first  resurrection’  mean 
rising  from  the  grave  in  immortal  and 
glorified  bodies,  we  do  not  need  the  as¬ 
surance  (ver.  6)  that  “on  such  the  se¬ 
cond  death  hath  no  power ;”  that  is, 
that  they  would  not  perish  for  ever. 
That  would  be  a  matter  of  course,  and 
there  was  no  necessity  for  such  a  state¬ 
ment.  But  if  it  be  supposed  that  the 
main  idea  is  that  the  principles  of  the 
martyrs  and  of  the  most  eminent  saints 
would  be  revived  and  would  live — as  if 
the  dead  were  raised  up  —  and  would  be 
manifested  by  those  who  were  in  mortal 
bodies  —  men  living  on  the  earth  —  then 
there  would  be  a  propriety  in  saying  that 
all  such  were  exempt  from  the  danger 
of  the  second  death.  Once  indeed  they 
would  die ;  but  the  second  death  could 
not  reach  them.  Comp.  Rev.  ii.  10,  11. 


471 


CHAPTER  XX. 


A.  D.  96.] 

(b)  In  the  whole  passage  there  are 
hut  two  classes  of  men  referred  to.  There 
are  those  ‘who  have  part  in  the  first 
resurrection;’  that  is,  according  to  the 
supposition,  all  the  saints ;  and  there 
are  those  over  whom  ‘ the  second  death’ 
has  power.  Into  which  of  these  classes 
are  we  to  put  the  myriads  of  men  having 
flesh  and  blood  who  are  to  people  the 
world  during  the  Millennium  ?  They 
have  no  part  in  ‘the  first  resurrection’ 
if  it  be  a  bodily  one.  Are  they  then 
given  over  to  the  power  of  the  ‘  second 
death  ?’  But  if  the  ‘first  resurrection’  be 
regarded  as  figurative  and  spiritual,  then 
the  statement  that  those  who  are  actu¬ 
ated  by  the  spirit  of  the  martyrs  and  of 
tho  eminent  saints  shall  not  experience 
the  ‘second  death,’  is  seen  to  have 
meaning  and  pertinency. 

(c)  The  mention  of  the  time  during 
which  they  are  to  reign,  if  it  be  literally 
understood,  is  contrary  to  the  whole 
statement  of  the  Bible  in  other  places. 
They  are  to  ‘live  and  reign  with  Christ’ 
a  thousand  years.  What  then  ?  Are 
they  to  live  no  longer?  Are  they  to 
reign  no  longer  with  him?  This  sup¬ 
position  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  cur¬ 
rent  statement  in  the  Scriptures,  which 
is,  that  they  are  to  live  and  reign  with 
him  for  ever.  1  Thess.  iv.  17:  “And,  so 
shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord.”  Accord¬ 
ing  to  the  views  of  the  ‘  literalists,’  the 
declaration  that  they  ‘should  live  and 
reign  with  Christ,’  considered  as  the 
characteristic  feature  of  the  Millennial 
'state,  is  to  terminate  with  the  thousand 
years — for  this  is  the  promise,  according 
to  that  view,  that  they  should  thus  live 
and  reign.  But  it  need  not  be  said  that 
this  is  wholly  contrary  to  the  current 
doctrine  of  the  Bible,  that  they  are  to 
live  and  reign  with  him  for  ever. 

( d )  A  farther  objection  to  this  view  is, 
that  the  wicked  part  of  the  world — “the 
rest  of  the  dead  who  lived  not  again  un¬ 
til  the  thousand  years  were  finished,” 
must  of  course  be  expected  to  ‘live 
again’  in  the  same  bodily  sense  when 
those  thousand  years  were  finished.  But 
so  far  from  this,  there  is  no  mention  of 
their  living  then.  When  the  thousand 
years  are  finished,  Satan  is  loosed  for  a 
season ;  then  the  nations  are  roused  to 
opposition  against  God;  then  there  is  a 
conflict,  and  the  hostile  forces  are  over¬ 
thrown  ;  and  then  comes  the  final  judg¬ 
ment.  During  all  this  time  we  r.ead  of 


no  resurroction  at  all.  The  period  after 
this  is  to  be  filled  up  with  something 
besides  the  resurrection  of  ‘the  rest  of 
the  dead.’  There  is  no  intimation,  as 
the  literal  construction  as  it  is  claimed 
would  demand,  that  immediately  after 
the  ‘thousand  years  are  finished’  the 
‘rest  of  the  dead’  —  the  wicked  dead — 
would  be  raised  up;  nor  is  there  any  in¬ 
timation  of  such  a  resurrection  until  all 
the  dead  are  raised  up  for  the  final  trial, 
ver.  12.  But  every  consideration  de¬ 
mands,  if  the  interpretation  of  the  ‘lite¬ 
ralists’  be  correct,  that  the  ‘rest  of  the 
dead’ — the  unconverted  dead  —  should 
be  raised  up  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  Millennial  period,  and  be  raised 
up  as  a  distinct  and  separate  class. 

(e)  There  is  no  intimation  in  the  pas- 
sage  itself  that  the  righteous  will  be 
raised  up  as  such  in  this  period,  and  the 
proper  interpretation  of  the  passage  is 
contrary  to  that  supposition.  There  are 
but  two  classes  mentioned  as  having  part 
in  the  first  resurrection.  They  are  those 
who  were  ‘beheaded  for  the  witness  of 
Jesus,  and  those  who  ‘had  not  wor¬ 
shipped  the  beast;’  that  is,  the  martyrs, 
and  those  who  had  been  eminent  for 
their  fidelity  to  the  Saviour  in  times  of 
great  temptation  and  trial.  There  is  no 
mention  of  the  resurrection  of  the  right¬ 
eous  as  such  —  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
great  body  of  the  redeemed;  and  if  it 
could  be  shown  that  this  refers  to  a  lite¬ 
ral. resurrection,  it  would  be  impossible 
to  apply  it,  according  to  any  just  rules 
of  interpretation,  to  any  more  than  the 
two  classes  that  are  specified.  By  what 
rules  of  interpretation  is  it  made  to  teach 
that  all  the  righteous  will  be  raised  up 
on  that  occasion,  and  will  live  on  the 
earth  during  that  long  period  ?  In  this 
view  of  the  matter,  the  passage  does  not 
express  the  doctrine  that  the  whole 
church  of  God  will  be  raised  bodily  from 
the  grave.  And  supposing  it  had  been 
the  design  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  teach 
this,  is  it  credible,  when  there  are  so 
many  clear  expressions  in  regard  to  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  that  so  import¬ 
ant  a  doctrine  should  have  been  reserved 
for  one  single  passage  so  obscure,  and 
where  the  great  mass  of  the  readers  of 
the  Bible  in  all  ages  have  failed  to  per¬ 
ceive  it?  That  is  not  the  way  in  which, 
in  the  Scriptures,  great  and  momentous 
doctrines  are  communicated  to  mankind. 
(/)  The  fair  statement  in  vs.  11-15. 


472 


REVELATION, 


is,  that  all  the  dead  will  then  be 
raised  up,  and  be  judged.  This  is  im¬ 
plied  in  the  general  expressions  there 
used  —  'the  dead,  small  and  great;’  the 
‘book  of  life  was  opened’  —  as  if  not 
opened  before ;  ‘  the  dead’ — all  the  dead 
— ‘  were  judged  out  of  those  things  which 
were  written  in  the  books  ;’  ‘  the  sea  gave 
up  the  dead  which  were  in  it,  and  death 
and  hell  (hades)  delivered  up  the  dead 
which  were  in  them.’  This  is  entirely 
inconsistent  with  the  supposition  that  a 
largo  part  of  the  race  —  to  wit,  all  the 
righteous  —  had  been  before  raised  up; 
had  passed  the  solemn  judgment;  had 
been  clothed  with  their  immortal  bodies, 
and  had  been  admitted  to  a  joint-reign 
with  the  Saviour  on  his  throne.  In  the 
last  judgment,  what  place  are  they  to 
occupy  ?  In  what  sense  are  they  to  be 
raised  up  and  judged?  Would  such  a 
representation  have  been  made  as  is 
found  in  vs.  11-15,  if  it  had  been  de¬ 
signed  to  teach  that  a  large  part  of  the 
race  had  been  already  raised  up,  and  had 
received  the  approval  of  their  judge  ? 

(g)  This  representation  is  wholly  in¬ 
consistent,  not  only  with  vs.  11-15,  but 
with  the  uniform  language  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  that  all  the  righteous  and  the  wicked 
will  he  judged  together,  and  both  at  the 
coining  of  Christ.  On  no  point  are  the 
statements  of  the  Bible  more  uniform 
and  explicit  than  on  this,  and  it  would 
seem  that  the  declarations  had  been  of 
design  so  made  that  there  should  be  no 
possibility  of  mistake.  I  refer  for  full 
proof  on  this  point  to  the  following  pas¬ 
sages  of  the  New  Testament:  Matt.  x. 
32,  33,  compared  with  Mark  viii.  38  ; 
Rev.  xxii.  12-15 ;  Matt.  xvi.  24-27,  vii. 
21-23,  xxv.  10,  31-46,  xiii.  30,  38-43; 
John  v.  28,  29;  Acts  xviii.  31;  Rom.  ii. 
5-16;  2  Cor.  v.  9-11;  1  Cor.  iv.  5 ;  2 
Thess.  i.  6-10;  1  Cor.  iii.  12-15;  1  John 
ii.  28,  iv.  17;  Rev.  iii.  5;  1  Tim.  v.  24, 
25;  Rom.  xiv.  10,  12;  2  Pet.  iii.  7,  10, 
12;  Rev.  xx.  11-15.  It  is  utterly  im¬ 
possible  to  explain  these  passages  on 
any  other  supposition  than  that  they  are 
intended  to  teach  that  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked  will  be  judged  together,  and 
both  at  the  coming  of  Christ.  And,  if 
this  is  so,  it  is  of  course  impossible  to 
explain  them  consistently  with  the  view 
that  all  the  righteous  will  have  been 
already  raised  up  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Millennium  in  their  immortal  and  glori¬ 
fied  bodies,  and  that  they  have  been 


[A.  D.  96. 

solemnly  approved  by  the  Saviour,  and 
admitted  to  a  participation  in  his  glory. 
Nothing  could  be  more  irreconcilable 
than  these  two  views,  and  it  seems  to 
me,  therefore,  that  the  objections  to  the 
literal  resurrection  of  the  saints  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Millennial  period  are 
insuperable. 

III.  The  following  points,  then,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  interpretation  proposed, 
are  implied  in  this  statement  respecting 
the  ‘first  resurrection,’  and  these  will 
clearly  comprise  all  that  is  stated  on  the 
subject. 

(1)  There  will  be  a  reviving,  and  a 
prevalence  of  the  spirit  which  actuated 
the  saints  in  the  best  days,  and  a  restor¬ 
ation  of  their  principles  as  the  grand 
principles  which  will  control  and  govern 
the  church,  as  if  the  most  eminent  saints 
were  raised  again  from  the  dead,  and 
lived  and  acted  upon  the  earth. 

(2)  Their  memory  will  then  be  sacred¬ 
ly  cherished,  and  they  will  be  honored 
on  the  earth  with  the  honor  which  is  due 
to  their  names,  and  which  they  should 
have  received  when  in  the  land  of  the 
living.  They  will  be  no  longer  cast  out 
and  reproached ;  no  longer  held  up  to 
obloquy  and  scorn ;  no  longer  despised 
and  forgotten,  but  there  will  be  a  reviving 
of  sacred  regard  for  their  principles,  as 
if  they  lived  on  the  earth,  and  had  the 
honor  which  was  due  them. 

(3)  There  will  be  a  state  of  things 
upon  the  earth  as  if  they  thus  lived  and 
were  thus  honored.  Religion  will  no 
longer  be  trampled  under  foot,  but  will 
triumph.  In  all  parts  of  the  earth  it  will 
have  the  ascendency,  as  if  the  most  emi¬ 
nent  saints  of  past  ages  lived  and  reigned 
with  the  Son  of  God  in  his  kingdom.  A 
spiritual  kingdom  will  be  set  up  with  the 
Son  of  God  at  the  head  of  it,  which  will 
be  a  kingdom  of  eminent  holiness,  as  if 
the  saints  of  the  best  days  of  the  church 
should  come  back  to  the  earth  and  dwell 
upon  it.  The  ruling  influence  in  the 
world  will  be  the  religion  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  the  principles  which  have 
governed  the  most  holy  of  his  people. 

(4)  It  may  be  implied  that  the  saints 
and  martyrs  of  other  times  will  be  em¬ 
ployed  by  the  Saviour  in  embassies  of 
mercy;  in  visitations  of  grace  to  our 
world  to  carry  forward  the  great  work 
of  salvation  on  earth.  Nothing  forbids 
the  idea  that  the  saints  in  heaven  may 
be  thus  employed,  and  in  this  long 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTEK  XX. 


7  And  when  the  thousand  years 
are  expired,  Satan  shall  be  loosed 
out  of  his  prison. 


473 


period  of  a  thousand  years,  it  may  be 
that  they  will  be  occupied  in  such  mes¬ 
sages  and  agencies  of  mercy  to  our  world 
as  they  have  never  been  before  —  as  if 
they  were  raised  from  the  dead,  and  were 
employed  by  the  Redeemer  to  carry 
forward  his  purposes  of  mercy  to  man¬ 
kind. 

(5)  In  connexion  with  these  things, 
and  in  consequence  of  these  things,  they 
may  be,  during  that  period,  exalted  to 
higher  happiness  and.  honor  in  heaven. 
The  restoration  of  their  principles  to 
the  earth ;  the  -Christian  remembrance 
of  their  virtues ;  the  prevalence  of  those 
truths  to  establish  which  they  laid  down 
their  lives,  would  in  itself  exalt  them, 
and  would  increase  their  joy  in  heaven. 
All  this  would  be  well  represented,  in 
vision,  by  a  resurrection  of  the  dead  • 
and  admitting  that  this  was  all  that  was 
intended,  the  representation  of  John 
here  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  ap¬ 
propriate.  What  could  better  symbolize 
it — and  wo  must  remember  that  this  is 
a  symbol  — than  to  say  that  at  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  this  period  there  was,  as 
it  were,  a  solemn  preparation  for  a  judg¬ 
ment,  and  that  the  departed  dead  seemed 
to  stand  there,  and  that  a  sentence  was 
pronounced  in  their  favor,  and  that  they 
became  associated  with  the  Son  of  God 
in  the  honors  of  his  kingdom,  and  that 
their  principles  were  now  to  reign  and  tri¬ 
umph  in  the  earth,  and  that  the  king¬ 
dom  which  they  labored  to  establish 
would  be  set  up  for  a  thousand  years, 
and  that  in  high  purposes  of  mercy 
and  benevolence  during  that  period 
they  would  be  employed  in  maintaining 
and  extending  the  principles  of  reli¬ 
gion  in  the  world?  Admitting  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  intended  to  represent 
these  things,  and  these  only,  no  more 
appropriate  symbolical  language  could 
have  been  used ;  none  that  would  more 
accord  with  the  general  style  of  the 
Book  of  Revelation. 

T.  And  when  the  thousand  years  are 
expired.  See  ver.  2.  f  Satan  shall  be 
loosed,  out  of  his  prison.  See  ver.  3. 
That  is,  a  state  of  things  will  then  occur 
as  if  Satan  should  bo  for  a  time  let  loose 
40  * 


8  And  shall  go  out  to  deceive 
the  nations  which  are  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  ‘  and 

a  Eze.  38.  2,  39. 1. 


again,  and  should  be  permitted  to  go  as 
formerly  oyer  the  world.  No  intima¬ 
tion  is  given  why  or  how  he  would  bo 
thus  released  from  his  prison.  We  are 
not,  however,  to  infer  that  it  would  be 
a  mere  arbitrary  act  on  the  part  of  God. 
All  that  is  necessary  to  be  supposed  is, 
that  there  would  be,  in  certain  parts  of 
the  world,  a  temporary  outbreak  of 
wickedness,  as  if  Satan  were  for  a  time 
released  from  his  chains. 

8.  And  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the 
nations.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xii.  9.  The 
meaning  here  is,  that  he  would  again, 
lor  a  time,  act  in  his  true  character,  and 
m  some  way  delude  the  nations  once 
more.  In  what  way  this  would  be  done 
is  not  stated.  It  would  be,  however 
clearly  an  appeal  to  the  wicked  passions 
ot  mankind,  exciting  a  hope  that  they 
P^'ght  yet  overthrow  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  the  earth,  f  Which  are  in  the 
Jour  quarters  of  the  earth.  Literally 
corners  of  the  earth,  as  if  the  earth  were 
one  extended  square  plain.  The  earth 
is  usually  spoken  of  as  divided  into 
four  parts  or  quarters  —  the  eastern,  the 
western,  the  northern,  and  the  southern. 
It  is  implied  here  that  the  deception  or 
apostacy  referred  to  would  not  be  con¬ 
fined  to  one  spot  or  portion  of  the  world 
but  would  extend  afar.  The  idea  seems 
to  be,  that  during  that  period,  though 
there  would  be  a  general  prevalence  of 
the  gospel,  and  a  general  diffusion  of 
its  blessings,  yet  that  the  earth  would 
not  be  entirely  under  its  influence,  and 
especially  that  the  native  character  of 
the  human  heart  would  not  be  changed. 
Man,  under  powerful  temptations,  would 
be  liable  to  be  deluded  by  the  great 
master  spirit  that  has  so  often  corrupted 
the  race.  Once  more  he  would  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  make  the  trial,  and  then  his 
power  would  for  ever  coine  to  an  end. 

Gog  and  Magog.  The  name  Goa  oc¬ 
curs  as  the  name  of  a  prince,  in  Ezek. 
xxxviii.  2,  3,  16,  18,  xxxix.  1,  11.  He 
is  an  invader  of  the  land  of  Israel,  the 
chief  prince  of  Meshech  and  Tubal,” 
Ezek.  xxxviii.  2.  Magog  is  also  men¬ 
tioned  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  2,  “  the  land  of 
Magog,”  and  in  Ezek.  xxxix.  6,  « I  will 


474  REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


Magog,  to  a  gather  them  together 

a  c.  16. 14. 

send  a  fire  on  Magog.”  As  the  terms 
are  used  in  the  Old  Testament,  the  re¬ 
presentation  would  seem  to  be  that  Gog 
was  the  king  of  a  people  called  Jfagog. 
The  signification  of  the  names  is  un¬ 
known,  and  consequently  nothing  can 
he  determined  about  the  meaning  of  this 
passage  from  that  source.  Nor  is  there 
much  known  about  the  people  who  are  re¬ 
ferred  to  by  Ezekiel.  His  representation 
would  seem  to  be,  that  a  great  and  pow¬ 
erful  people,  dwelling  in  the  extreme  re¬ 
cesses  of  the  North  (eh.  xxxviii.  15,  xxxix. 
2),  would  invade  the  holy  land  after  the 
return  from  the  .exile,  eh.  xxxviii.  8-12. 
It  is  commonly  supposed  that  they  were 
Scythians,  residing  between  the  Caspian 
and  Euxine  Seas,  or  in  the  region  of 
Mount  Caucasus.  Thus  Josephus  (Ant. 
i.  6,  3)  has  dropped  the  Hebrew  word 
Magog,  and  rendered  it  by  "Zicvdai — 
Scythians;  and  so  does  Jerome.  Suidas 
renders  it  FUpcrai —  Persians;  but  this 
does  not  materially  vary  the  view,  since 
the  word  Scythians  among  the  ancient 
writers  is  a  collective  word  to  denote  all 
the  north-eastern,  unknown,  barbarous 
tribes.  Among  the  Hebrews,  the  name 
Magog,  also,  would  seem  to  denote  all 
the  unknown  barbarous  tribes  about  the 
Caucasian  Mountains.  The  fact  that 
the  names  Gog  and  Magog  are  in  Eze¬ 
kiel  associated  with  Meshech  and  Tubal 
seems  to  determine  the  locality  of  these 
people,  for  those  two  countries  lie 
between  the  Euxine  and  Caspian  Seas, 
or  at  the  south-east  extremity  of  the 
Euxine  Sea.  Rosenm.  Bib.  Geog.  i.  p. 
240.  The  people  of  that  region  Were, 
it  seems,  a  terror  to  Middle  Asia,  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  Scythians  were 
to  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Inter¬ 
course  with  such  distant  and  savage 
nations  was  scarcely  possible  in  ancient 
times;  and  hence,  from  their  numbers 
and  strength,  they  were  regarded  with 
great  terror,  just  as  the  Scythians 
were  regarded  by  the  ancient  Greeks 
and  Romans,  and  as  the  Tartars  were 
in  the  Middle  Ages.  In  this  manner 
they  became  an  appropriate  symbol  of 
rude  and  savage  people;  of  enemies 
fierce  and  warlike ;  of  foes  to  be  dreaded ; 
and  as  such  they  were  referred  to  by 
both  Ezekiel  and  John.  It  has  been 
made  a  question  whether  Ezekiel  and 


to  battle :  the  number  of  whom  is 
as  the  sand  of  the  sea. 

John  do  not  refer  to  the  same  period, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  consider  that 
question  here.  All  that  is  needful  to  be 
understood  is,  that  John  means  to  say 
that  at  the  time  referred  to,  there  would 
be  formidable  enemies  of  the  church 
who  might  be  compared  with  the  dread¬ 
ed  dwellers  in  the  land  of  Magog;  or, 
that  after  this  long  period  of  Millennial 
tranquillity  and  peace,  there  would  be  a 
state  of  things  which  might  be  properly 
compared  with  the  invasion  of  the  holy 
land  by  the  dreaded  barbarians  of  Ma¬ 
gog  or  Scythia.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  any  particular  country  is 
referred  to,  or  that  there  would  be  any 
one  portion  of  the  earth  which  the  gos¬ 
pel  would  not  reach,  and  which  would 
be  still  barbarous,  heathen,  and  savage : 
all  that  is  necessary  to  be  supposed  is, 
that  though  religion  would  generally 
prevail,  human  nature  would  remain 
essentially  corrupt  and  unchanged;  and 
that,  therefore,  from  causes  which  are 
not  stated,  there  might  yet  be  a  fearful 
apostacy,  and  a  somewhat  general  pre¬ 
valence  of  iniquity.  This  would  be 
nothing  more  than  has  occurred  after  the 
most  favored  times  in  the  church,  and 
nothing  more  than  human  nature  would 
exhibit  at  any  time,  if  all  restraints  were 
withdrawn,  and  men  were  suffered  to 
act  out  their  native  feelings.  Why  this 
will  be  permitted;  what  causes  will 
bring  it  about ;  what  subordinate  agen¬ 
cies  will  be  employed,  is  not  said,  and 
conjecture  would  be  vain.  The  reader 
who  wishes  more  information  in  regard 
to  Gog  and  Magog,  may  consult  Prof. 
Stuart  on  this  book,  vol.  ii.  pp.  364—368, 
and  the  authorities  there  referred  to. 
Comp,  especially  Rosenmuller  on  Ezek. 
xxxviii.  2.  See  also  Sale’s  Koran,  Pre. 
Dis.  $  4,  and  the  Koran  itself,  Sura  xviii. 
94,  and  xxi.  95.  To  gather  them  to¬ 
gether  to  battle.  As  if  to  assemble  them 
for  war ;  that  is,  a  state  of  things  would 
exist  in  regard  to  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  the  prevalence  of  the  true  religion, 
as  if  distant  and  barbarous  nations 
should  be  aroused  to  make  war  on  the 
church  of  God.  The  meaning  is,  that 
there  would  be  an  awakened  hostility 
against  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the 
earth.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xvi.  14.  The 
nmiber  of  whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the 


CHAPTER  XX. 


A.  D.  96.] 

eea.  A  common  comparison  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  to  denote  a  great  multitude.  Gen. 
sxii.  17,  xxxii.  12,  xli.  49 ;  1  Sam.  xiii. 
5 ;  1  Kings  iv.  20,  et  al. 

f  e.  Condition  of  things  in  the  period 
referred  to  in  vs.  7,  8. 

(1)  This  will  occur  at  the  close  of  the 
Millennial  period  —  the  period  of  the 
thousand  years.  It  is  not  said,  indeed, 
that  it  would  be  immediately  after  that; 
but  the  statement  is  explicit  that  it  will 
be  after  that,  or  “when  the  thousand 
years  are  expired.”  There  may  be  an 
interval  before  it  shall  be  accomplished 
of  an  indefinite  time;  the  alienation  and 
corruption  maybe  gradual;  a  considera¬ 
ble  period  may  elapse  before  the  apos- 
tacy  shall  assume  an  organized  form,  or, 
in  the  language  of  John,  before  the  hosts 
shall v<  be  gathered  to  battle,”  but  it  is  to 
be  the  next  marked  and  prominent  event 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  is  to  pre¬ 
cede  the  final  consummation  of  all  things. 

(2)  This  will  be  a  brief  period.  Com¬ 
pared  with  the  long  period  of  prosperity 
that  preceded  it,  and  perhaps  compared 
with  the  long  period  that  shall  follow  it 
before  the  final  judgment,  it  will  be  short. 
Thus  in  ver.  3,  it  is  said  that  Satan 
“  must  be  loosed  a  little  season.”  See 
Notes  on  that  verse.  There  is  no  way  of 
determining  the  time  with  exactness ;  but 
we  are  assured  that  it  will  not  be  long. 

(3)  What  will  be  the  exact  state  of 
things  then,  can  be  only  a  matter  of  con¬ 
jecture.  We  may  say,  however,  that  it 
will  not  be  \a)  necessarily  war.  The  lan¬ 
guage  is  figurative  and  symbolical,  and 
it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  .an 
actual  and  bloody  warfare  will  be  lite¬ 
rally  waged  against  the  church.  Nor  (b) 
will  there  be  a  literal  invasion  of  the 
land  of  Palestine  as  the  residence  of  the 
saints,  and  the  capital  of  the  Redeemer’s 
visible  empire;  for  there  is  not  a  hint  of 
this  —  not  a  word  to  justify  such  an  in¬ 
terpretation.  Nor  (c)  is  it  necessary  to 
suppose  that  there  will  be  literally  such 
nations  as  will  be  then  called  ‘  Gog  and 
Magog’ — for  this  language  is  figurative, 
and  designed  to  characterize  the  foes  of 
the  church  —  as  being  in  some  respects 
formidable  and  terrible  as  were  those 
ancient  nations. 

We  may  thus  suppose  that  at  that 
time,  from  causes  which  are  unexplained, 
there  will  bo  (a)  a  revived  opposition  to 
the  truths  of  religion;  (b)  the  prevalence, 
to  a  greater  or  loss  extent,  of  infidelity; 


475 

(c)  a  great  spiritual  declension;  (d)  a 
combination  of  interests  opposed  to  the 
gospel;  (e)  possibly  some  new  form 
of  error  and  delusion  that  shall  exten¬ 
sively  prevail.  Satan  may  set  up  some 
new  form  of  religion,  or  he  may  breathe 
into  those  that  may  already  exist  a  spirit 
of  worldliness  and  vanity  —  some  new 
manifestation  of  the  religion  of  forms  — 
that  shall  for  a  limited  period  produce  a 
general  decline  and  apostacy.  As  there 
is,  however,  no  distinct  specification  of 
what  will  characterize  the  world  at  that 
time,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  what 
is  referred  to  any  more  than  in  this  gene¬ 
ral  manner. 

(4)  A  few  remarks  may,  however,  be 
made  on  the  probability  of  what  is  here 
affirmed — for  it  seems  contrary  to  what 
we  should  suppose  would  be  the  charac¬ 
teristics  of  the  closing  period  of  the 
world.  The  following  remarks,  then, 
may  show  that  this  anticipated  state 
of  things  is  not  improbable:  (a)  We 
are  to  remember  that  human  nature  will 
then  be  essentially  the  same  as  now. 
There  is  no  intimation  that  man  as  born 
into  the  world  will  be  then  different  from 
what  he  is  now;  or  that  any  of  the  natu¬ 
ral  corrupt  tendencies  of  the  human 
heart  will  be  changed.  Men  will  bo 
liable  to  the  same  outbreaks  of  passion ; 
to  be  influenced  by  the  same  forms  of 
temptation;  to  fall  into  the  same  degene¬ 
racy  and  corruption;  to  feel  the  same 
unhappy  influences  of  success  and  pros¬ 
perity  as  now — for  all  this  appertains  to 
a  fallen  nature,  except  as  it  is  checked 
and  controlled  by  grace.  We  often  mis¬ 
take  much  in  regard  to  the  Millennial 
state  by  supposing  that  all  the  evils  of 
the  apostacy  will  be  arrested,  and  that 
the  nature  of  man  will  be  as  wholly 
changed  as  it  will  be  in  the  heavenly 
world.  (b)  The  whole  history  of  the 
church  has  shown  that  there  is  a  liability 
to  declension  even  in  the  best  state,  and 
in  the  condition  of  the  highest  spiritual 
prosperity.  To  see  this  we  have  only  to 
remember  the  example  of  the  Hebrews, 
and  how  readily  they  apostatized  after 
the.  most  striking  manifestation  of  the 
divine  mercies ;  the  early  Christian 
church,  and  how  soon  it  declined ;  the 
seven  churches  of  Asia  Minor,  and  how 
soon  their  spirituality  departed;  the  va¬ 
rious  revivals  of  religion  that  have  oc¬ 
curred  from  timo  to  time,  and  how  soon 
they  have  been  succeeded  by  coldness, 


476 


KEY  EL  ATION, 


LA.  D.  96. 


9  And  °  they  went  up  on  the 

a  Is.  8.  8  ;  Eze.  38.  9, 16. 

worldliness,  and  error;  the  fact  that  great 
religious  denominations  which  have  be¬ 
gun  their  career  with  zeal  and  love,  have 
so  soon  degenerated  in  spirit,  and  fallen 
into  the  same  formality  and  worldliness 
which  they  have  evinced  who  have  gone 
before  them ;  and  the  case  of  the  indi¬ 
vidual  Christian,  who  from  the  most  ex¬ 
alted  state  of  love  and  joy,  so  soon  often 
declines  into  a  state  of  conformity  to  the 
world.  These  are  sad  views  of  human 
nature,  even  under  the  influence  of  true 
religion  ;  but  the  past  history  of  man  has 
given  but  too  much  occasion  for  such 
reflections,  and  too  much  reason  to  ap¬ 
prehend  that  the  same  things  may  occur, 
for  a  time,  even  under  the  best  forms  in 
which  religion  may  manifest  itself  in  a 
fallen  world.  Man’s  nature  will  be  better 
in  heaven,  and  religion  there  in  its 
purest  and  best  form  will  be  permanent; 
here  we  are  not  to  be  surprised  at  any 
outbreak  of  sin,  or  any  form  of  declen¬ 
sion  in  religion.  What  has  often  occurred 
in  the  world  on  a  small  scale,  we  may 
suppose  may  then  occur  on  a  larger  scale. 
“Just  as  on  a  small  scale,  in  some  little 
community  like  that  of  Northampton, 
as  described  by  President  Edwards,  after 
the  remarkable  sense  of  God’s  presence 
over  the  whole  town  had  begun  to  wax 
feeble,  the  still  unconverted  persons  of 
it,  though  subdued  and  seemingly  won 
over  to  Christ,  would  by  little  and  little 
recover  themselves,  and  at  length  ven¬ 
ture  forth  in  their  true  character,  so  it 
will  be,  in  all  probability,  on  a  vast  scale, 
at  the  close  of  the  latter  day.  The  un¬ 
converted  portion  of  the  world  —  long 
constrained  by  the  religious  influences 
every  where  surrounding  them  to  fall  in 
with  the  spirit  of  the  day,  catching  ap¬ 
parently  its  holy  impulses,  but  never 
coming  savingly  under  its  power — this 
portion  of  mankind,  which  we  have  rea¬ 
son  to  fear  will  not  be  small,  will  now  be 
freed,  from  these  irksome  restraints,  no 
longer  obliged  to  breathe  an  atmosphere 
uncongenial  to  their  nature.”  Brown  on 
the  Second  Coming  of  Christ,  p.  442. 
“  No  oppression  is  so  grievous  to  an  un- 
sa notified  heart  as  that  which  arises  from 
the  purity  of  Christianity.  A  desire  to 
shake  off  this  yoke  is  the  truo  cause  of 
the  opposition  which  Christianity  has 
met  with  in  the  world  in  every  period. 


breadth  of  the  earth,  and  compassed 
the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and 

and  will,  it  is  most  likely,  be  the  chief 
motive  to  influence  the  followers  of  Gog 
in  his  time.”  Fraser’s  Key,  p.  455.  (c) 

The  representations  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  elsewhere  confirm  this  view  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  latter  state  of  the  world — the 
state  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  come  to 
judgment.  Luke  xviii.  8  :  “When  the 
Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith 
on  the  earth  ?”  2  Peter  iii.  3, 4 :  “  There 
shall  come  in  the  last  days  scoffers, 
walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  saying, 
Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming?” 
1  Thess.  v.  2,  3 :  “  The  day  of  the  Lord 
so  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the  night.  Eor 
when  they  shall  say,  Peace  and  safety, 
then  sudden  destruction  cometh  upon 
them,  as  travail  upon  a  woman  with 
child,  and  they  shall  not  escape.”  See 
especially  Luke  xvii.  26-30  :  “As  it  was 
in  the  days  of  Noe,  so  shall  it  be  also 
in  the  days  of  the  Son  of  man.  They 
did  eat,  they  drank,  they  were  given  in 
marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noe  entered 
into  the  ark,  and  the  flood  came  and  de¬ 
stroyed  them  all.  Likewise  also  as  it 
was  in  the  days  of  Lot;  they  did  eat, 
they  drank,  they  bought,  they  sold,  they 
planted,  they  builded;  but  the  same  day 
that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom  it  rained 
fire  and  brimstone  from  heaven,  and 
destroyed  them  all.  Even  thus  shall  it 
be  in  the  day  when  the  Son  of  man  is  re¬ 
vealed.” 

9.  And  they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of 
the  earth.  They  spread  over  the  earth 
in  extended  columns.  The  image  is  that 
of  an  invading  army  that  seems,  in  its 
march,  to  spread  all  over  a  land.  The 
reference  here  is  to  the  hosts  assembled 
from  the  regions  of  Gog  and  Magog ; 
that  is,  to  the  formidable  enemies  of  the 
gospel  that  would  be  roused  up  at  the 
close  of  the  period  properly  called  the 
Millennial  period  —  the  period  of  the 
thousand  years.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
suppose  that  there  would  be  literally 
armies  of  enemies  of  God  summoned 
from  lands  that  would  be  called  lands  of 
‘  Gog  and  Magog,’  but  all  that  is  neces¬ 
sarily  implied  is,  that  there  will  be  a 
state  of  hostility  to  the  church  of  Christ 
which  would  be  well  illustrated  by  such 
a  comparison  with  an  invading  host  of 
barbarians.  The  expression  ‘the  breadth 
of  the  land’  occurs  in  Habakkuk  i.  6,  in 


477 


A.  D.  9G.]  CHAPTER  XX. 


the  beloved  city:  and  fire  came 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  and 
devoured  them. 

10  And  the  devil  that  deceived 
them  was  cast  into  the  lake  a  of  fire 


a  description  of  the  invasion  of  the  Chal¬ 
deans,  and  means’  there  the  whole  extent 
of  it  /  that  is,  they  would  spread  over 
the  whole  country.  And  comjjassed 
the  camp  of  the  saints  about.  Besieged 
the  camp  of  the  saints  considered  as  en¬ 
gaged  in  war,  or  as  attacked  by  an  ene¬ 
my.  The  “camp  of  the  saints”  here 
seems  to  be  supposed  to  be  without  the 
walls  of  the  city ;  that  is,  the  army  was 
drawn  out  for  defence.  The  fact  that 
the  foes  were  able  to  ‘  compass  this  camp 
about,’  and  to  encircle  the  city  at  the 
same  time,  shows  the  greatness  of  the 
numbers  of  the  invaders.  IT  And  the  be¬ 
loved  city.  J erusalem  —  a  city  repre¬ 
sented  as  beloved  by  God  and  by  his  peo¬ 
ple.  The  whole  imagery  here  is  derived 
from  a  supposed  invasion  of  the  land  of 
Palestine— imagery  than  which  nothing 
could  be  more  natural  to  John  in  de¬ 
scribing  the  hostility  that  would  be 
aroused  against  the  church  in  the  latter 
day.  But  no  just  principle  of  interpre¬ 
tation  requires  us  to  understand  this 
literally.  Comp.  Heb.  xii.  22.  Indeed 
it  would  be  absolutely  impossible  to  give 
this  chapter  throughout  a  literal  inter¬ 
pretation.  What  would  be  the  literal 
interpretation  of  the  very  first  verses  ?  “  I 
saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven, 
having  the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
a  great  chain  in  his  hand;  and  he  laid 
hold  on  the  dragon,  and  bound  him.” 
Can  any  one  Relieve  that  there  is  to  be  a 
literal  key,  and  a  chain,  and  an  act  of 
seizing  a  serpent,  and  binding  him  ?  As 
little  is  it  demanded  that  the  passage 
before  us  should  be  taken  literally ;  for 
if  it  is  maintained  that  this  should  be, 
we  may  insist  that  the  same  principle  of 
interpretation  should  be  applied  to  every 
part  of  the  chapter,  and  every  part  of 
the  book.  And  fire  came  down  from 
God  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured  them. 
Consumed  them — fire  being  represented 
as  devouring  or  eating.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  xvii.  16.  The  meaning  is,  that  they 
would  be  destroyed  as  if  fire  should 
come  down  from  heaven,  as  on  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah.  But  it  is  not  necessary 
to  understand  this  literally  any  more  j 


and  brimstone,  where  the  beast  and 
the  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be 
tormented  day  and  night  for  ever 
and  ever. 

a  c.  19.  20. 


than  it  is  the  portions  of  the  chapter  just 
referred  to.  What  is  obviously  meant 
is,  that  their  destruction  would  be  sudden, 
certain,  and  entire,  and  that  thus  the 
last  enemy  of  God  and  the  church  would 
be  swept  away.  Nothing  can  be  deter¬ 
mined  from  this  about  the  means  by 
which  this  destruction  will  be  effected; 
and  that  must  be  left  for  time  to  disclose. 
It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  these  last  foes  of  God  and  the 
church  will  be  certain  and  entire.  This 
language  as  denoting  the  final  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  enemies  of  God,  is  often 
employed  in  the  Scriptures.  See  Ps.  xi. 
6  ;  Isa.  xxix.  6 ;  Ezek.  xxxix.  6,  xxxviii. 
22. 

10.  And  the  devil  that  deceived  them. 
See  Notes  on  vs.  3,  8.  Was  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone.  In  ch. 
xix.  20,  it  is  said  of  the  beast  and  the 
false  prophet  that  they  were  ‘  cast  alive 
into  a  lake  of  fire,  burning  with  brim¬ 
stone.’  Satan,  on  the  other  hand,  in¬ 
stead  of  being  doomed  at  once  to  that 
final  ruin,  was  confined  for  a  season  in  a 
dark  abyss,  ch.  xx.  1-3.  As  the  final 
punishment,  however,  he  is  appropriately 
represented  as  consigned  to  the  same 
doom  as  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet, 
that  those  great  enemies  of  God  that  had 
been  associated  and  combined  in  deceiv¬ 
ing  the  nations,  might  share  the  same 
appropriate  punishment  in  the  end. 
Comp.  ch.  xvi.  13,  14.  f  Where  the 
beast  and  the  false  prophet  are.  Notes 
ch.  xix.  20.  And  shall  be  tormented 
day  and  night  for  ever.  Comp.  Notes 
ch.  xiv.  11.  All  the  great  enemies  of 
the  church  are  destroyed,  and  hencefor¬ 
ward  there  is  to  be  no  array  of  hostile 
forces;  no  combination  of  malignant 
powers  against  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  gospel  triumphs ;  the  way  is  pre¬ 
pared  for  the  final  consummation. 

§  d.  Condition  of  things  in  the  period 
referred  to  in  vs.  9,  10. 

(1)  There  will  be,  after  the  release  of 
Satan,  and  of  course  at  the  close  of  the 
Millennial  period  properly  so  called,  a 
state  of  things  which  may  be  well  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  invasion  of  a  country  by 


478 


REVELATION,  [A.D.96 


11  And  I  saw  a  great  white 

hostile,  formidable  forces.  This,  as  shown 
in  the  exposition,  need  not  be  supposed 
to  be  literal,  but  it  is  implied  that  there 
will  be  decided  hostility  against  the  true 
religion.  It  may  be  an  organization  and 
consolidation,  so  to  speak,  of  infidel  prin¬ 
ciples,  or  a  decided  worldly  spirit,  or 
some  prevalent  form  of  error,  or  some 
new  form  of  depravity  that  shall  be  de¬ 
veloped  by  the  circumstances  of  that  age. 
What  it  will  be,  it  is  impossible  now  to 
determine,  but,  as  shown  above  ($6,  4), 
it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  this 
will  occur  even  at  the  close  of  the  Mil¬ 
lennium. 

(2)  There  will  be  a  decided  defeat  of 
these  forces  thus  combined,  as  if  fire 
should  come  down  from  heaven  to  de¬ 
stroy  an  invading  army.  The  mode  in 
which  this  will  be  done  is  not  indeed 
stated,  for  there  is  no  necessity  of  under¬ 
standing  the  statement  in  ver.  9  literally, 
any  more  than  the  other  parts  of  the 
chapter.  The  fair  inference,  however, 
is,  that  it  will  be  by  a  manifest  divine 
agency ;  that  it  will  be  sudden,  and  that 
the  destruction  will  be  entire.  We  have 
no  reason,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  the 
outbreak  will  be  of  long  continuance,  or 
that  it  will  very  materially  disturb  the 
settled  order  of  human  affairs  on  the 
earth  —  any  more  than  a  formidable  in¬ 
vasion  of  a  country  does,  when  the  in¬ 
vading  army  is  suddenly  cut  off  by  some 
terrible  judgment  from  heaven. 

(3)  This  overthrow  of  the  enemies  of 
God  and  of  the  church  will  be  final. 
Satan  will  be  “  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire 
and  brimstone,  to  be  tormented  day  and 
night  for  ever.”  The  beast  and  the  false 
prophet  are  already  there  (ch.  xix.  20) ; 
that  is,  they  will  have  ceased  long  since 
— even  before  the  beginning  of  the  Mil¬ 
lennial  period  (ch.  xix.  20,  compared  with 
ch.  xx.  1-3) — to  have  opposed  the  pro¬ 
gress  of  truth  in  the  world,  and  their 
power  will  have  been  brought  to  an  end. 
Satan  now,  the  last  enemy,  will  be 
doomed  to  the  same  hopeless  woe,  and 
all  the  enemies  that  have  ever  opposed 
the  church  —  in  all  forms  of  Paganism, 
Mohammedanism,  Popery,  and  delusion, 
will  be  destroyed  for  ever.  The  world 
then  will  have  peace ;  the  church  will 
have  rest;  the  great  triumph  will  have 
been  achieved. 

(4)  For  reasons  stated  in  the  ‘Analy- 


throne  and  him  that  sat  on  it,  from 

sis’  of  the  chapter,  V.  (c),  it  is  possible 
that  there  will  be  a  long  period  of  con¬ 
tinued  prosperity  and  peace  between  the 
events  stated  in  vs.  9,  10,  and  the  final 
judgment,  as  described  in  vs.  11-15. 
If  so,  however,  the  purpose  of  the  book 
did  not  require  that  that  should  be  de¬ 
scribed  at  length,  and  it  must  be  admit¬ 
ted  that  the  most  obvious  interpretation 
of  the  New  Testament  would  not  be 
favorable  to  such  a  supposition.  Comp. 
Luke  xvii.  26-30;  1  Thess.  v,  2,  3 ;  2 
Peter  iii.  3,  4;  Luke  xviii.  8.  The  great 
glory  of  the  world  will  be  the  Millennial 
period;  when  religion  shall  have  the  as¬ 
cendency,  and  the  race  shall  have  reached 
its  highest  point  of  progress  on  earth, 
and  the  blessings  of  liberty,  intelligence, 
peace,  and  piety,  shall  have  during  that 
period  been  spread  over  the  globe.  In 
that  long  duration,  who  can  estimate 
the  numbers  that  shall  be  redeemed  and 
saved?  That  period  passed,  the  great 
purpose  contemplated  by  the  creation  of 
the  earth  —  the  glory  of  God  in  the  re¬ 
demption  of  a  fallen  race,  and  in  setting 
up  a  kingdom  of  righteousness  in  a  world 
of  apostacy,  will  have  been  accomplished, 
and  there  will  be  no  reason  why  the  final 
judgment  should  not  then  occur.  “The 
work  of  redemption  will  now  be  finished. 
The  end  for  which  the  means  of  grace 
have  been  instituted,  shall  be  obtained. 
All  the  effect  which  was  intended  to  be 
accomplished  by  them  shall  now  be  ac¬ 
complished.  All  the  great  wheels  of 
Providence  have  gone  round — all  things 
are  ripe  for  Christ’s  coming  to  judg¬ 
ment.”  Pres.  Edwards,  History  of  Re¬ 
demption. 

11.  And  1  saw  a  great  white  throne. 
This  verse  commences  the  description 
of  the  final  judgment,  which  embraces 
the  remainder  of  the  chapter.  The  first 
thing  seen  in  the  vision  is  the  burning 
throne  of  the  Judge.  The  things  that 
are  specified  in  regard  to  it  are  that  it 
was  great,  and  that  it  was  white.  The 
former  expression  means  that  it  was  high 
or  elevated.  Comp.  Isa.  vi.  1.  The  lat¬ 
ter  expression — white — means  that  it  was 
splendid  or  shining.  Comp.  1  Kings  x. 
18,  19,  20.  The  throne  here  is  the  same 
which  is  referred  to  in  Matt.  xxv.  31, 
and  called  there  “the  throne  of  his 
glory.”  And  him  that  sat  on  it.  The 
reference  here,  undoubtedly,  is  to  the 


470 


CHAPTER  XX. 


A.  D.  96.] 

whose  face  the  earth  °  and  the  hea¬ 
ven  fled  away ;  and  there  was  found 
no  place  for  them. 

12  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small 

a  2  Pe.  3. 10, 12. 


Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  final  Judge  of 
mankind  (comp.  Matt.  xxv.  31),  and  the 
scene  described  is  that  which  will  occur 
at  his  Second  Advent.  From,  ichose 
face.  Or  from  whose  presence ;  though 
the  word  may  be  used  here  to  denote 
more  strictly  his  face  —  as  illuminated, 
and  shining  like  the  sun.  See  eh.  i.  16, 
“And  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun 
shineth  in  his  strength.”  The  earth 
and  the  heaven  fled  away.  That  is,  as 
the  stars,  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  seem 
to  flee  to  more  remote  regions,  and  van¬ 
ish  from  human  view,  so  when  the  Sop 
of  God  shall  descend  in  his  glory  to 
judge  the  world,  the  earth  and  all  other 
worlds  shall  seem  to  vanish.  Every  one 
must  admire  the  sublimity  of  this  image; 
no  one  can  contemplate  it  without  being 
awed  by  the  majesty  and  glory  of  the 
final  Judge  of  mankind.  Similar  ex¬ 
pressions,  where  the  natural  creation 
shrinks  back  with  awe  at  the  presence 
of  God,  frequently  occur  in  the  Bible. 
Comp.  Ps.  xviii.  7-15,  Ixxvii.  16-19, 
cxiv.  3-5,  Habak.  iii.  6,  10,  11.  f  And 
there  was  found  no  placet  for  them.  They 
seemed  to  flee  entirely  away,  as  if  there 
was  no  place  where  they  could  find  a 
safe  retreat,  or  which  would  receive  and 
shelter  them  in  their  flight.  The  image 
expresses  in  the  most  emphatic  manner 
the  idea  that  they  entirely  disappeared, 
and  no  language  could  more  sublimely 
represent  the  majesty  of  the  Judge. 

12.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and 
great.  All  the  dead — for  this  language 
would  express  that — the  whole  race  be¬ 
ing  composed  of  the  ‘  small  and  great.’ 
Thus,  in  other  language,  the  same  idea 
might  be  expressed  by  saying  the  young 
and  old;  the  rich  and  poor;  the  bond 
and  free;  the  sick  and  well;  the  happy 
and  the  unhappy ;  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked ;  for  all  the  human  family  might, 
in  these  respects,  be  considered  as  thus 
divided.  The  fair  meaning  in  this  place, 
therefore,  is,  that  all  the  dead  would  be 
there,  and  of  course  this  would  preclude 
the  idea  of  a  previous  resurrection  of  any 
part  of  the  dead,  as  of  the  saints,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Millennium.  There  is 


and  groat,  stand  before  God :  and 
the  books  b  were  opened ;  and  an¬ 
other  book  c  was  opened,  which  is 
the  book  of  life :  and  the  dead  were 

b  Da.  7. 10.  c  Da.  12. 1 ;  c.  21.  27. 


no  intimation  here  that  it  is  the  wicked 
dead  that  are  referred  to  in  this  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  final  judgment.  It  is  tho 
judgment  of  all  the  dead.  ^  Stand  be - 
fore  God.  That  is,  they  appear  thus  to 
be  judged.  The  word  ‘  God’  here  must 
naturally  refer  to  the  final  Judge  on  the 
throne,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  (see 
Matt.  xxv.  31)  that  this  is  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Comp.  2  Cor.  v.  10.  None  can 
judge  the  secrets  of  the  heart;  none  can 
pronounce  on  the  moral  character  of  all 
mankind  of  all  countries  and  ages,  and 
determine  their  everlasting  allotment, 
but  he  who  is  divine,  f  And  the  books 
were  opened.  That  is,  the  books  con¬ 
taining  the  record  of  human  deeds.  The 
representation  is,  that  all  that  men  have 
done  is  recorded,  and  that  it  will  be  ex¬ 
hibited  on  the  final  trial,  and  will  con¬ 
stitute  the  basis  of  the  last  judgment. 
The  imagery  seems  to  be  derived  from 
the  accusations  made  against  such  as  are 
arraigned  before  human  courts  of  justice. 
IT  And  another  book  was  opened,  which  is 
the  book  of  life.  The  book  containing 
the  record  of  the  names  of  all  who  shall 
enter  into  life,  or  into  heaven.  See 
Notes  on  eh.  iii.  5.  The  meaning  here 
is,  that  John  saw  not'  only  the  general 
books  opened  containing  the  records  of 
the  deeds  of  men,  but  that  he  had  a  dis-  • 
tinct  view  of  the  list  or  roll  of  those  who 
were  the  followers  of  the  Lamb.  It 
would  seem  that  in  regard  to  the  multi¬ 
tudes  of  the  impenitent  and  the  wicked, 
the  judgment  will  proceed  on  their  deeds 
in  general ;  in  regard  to  the  righteous, 
it  will  turn  on  the  fact  that  their  names 
had  been  enrolled  in  the  book  of  life. 
That  will  be  sufficient  to  determine  the 
nature  of  the  sentence  that  is  to  be  passed 
on  them.  He  will  be  safe  whose  name 
is  found  in  the  book  of  life;  no  ono  will 
be  safe  who  is  to  have  his  eternal  des¬ 
tiny  determined  by  his  own  deeds.  This 
passage  proves  particularly  that  the 
righteous  dead  are  referred  to  here  as 
being  present  at  the  final  judgment; 
and  is  thus  an  additional  argument 
against  the  supposition  of  a  resurrection 
of  the  righteous,  and  a  judgment  on 


480 


[A.  D.  96. 


REVELATION, 


judged  out  of  those  things  which 
were  written  in  the  books,  accord¬ 
ing  “  to  their  works. 

13  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead 
which  were  in  it;  and  death  and 
4  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which 

a  Je.  32. 19 ;  Mat.  16.  27.  6  Or,  the  grave. 

them,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Millen¬ 
nium.  And  the  dead  were  judged  out 
of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the 
books.  The  records  which  had  been  made 
of  their  deeds.  The  final  judgment  will 
proceed  on  the  record  that  has  been 
made.  It  will  not  be  arbitrary,  and  will 
not  be  determined  by  rank,  condition,  or 
profession,  but  it  will  be  according  to  the 
record.  According  to  their  works.  See 
Notes  on  2  Cor.  v.  10.  The  fact  that  the 
name  of  any  one  was  found  in  the  book 
of  life  would  seem,  as  above  remarked, 
to  determine  the  certainty  of  salvation, 
but  the  amount  of  reward  would  be  in 
proportion  to  the  service  rendered  to  the 
Redeemer,  and  the  attainments  made  in 
piety. 

13.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead 
which  were  in  it.  All  that  had  been 
buried  in  the  depths  of  oceans.  This 
number  in  the  aggregate  will  be  great. 
If  we  include  all  who  were  swept  off  by 
the  flood,  and  all  who  have  perished  by 
shipwreck,  and  all  who  have  been  killed 
in  naval  battles  and  buried  in  the  sea, 
and  all  who  have  been  swept  away  by 
inundations  of  the  ocean,  and  all  who 
have  peacefully  died  at  sea,  as  sailors, 
or  in  the  pursuits  of  commerce  or  bene¬ 
volence,  the  number  in  the  aggregate 
will  be  immense  —  a  number  so  vast 
that  it  was  proper  to  notice  them  parti¬ 
cularly  in  the  account  of  the  general 
resurrection  and  the  last  judgment. 

And  death  and  hell  delivered  up  the 
dead  which  were  in  them.  That  is,  all 
the  dead  came,  from  all  regions  where 
they  were  scattered — on  the  land  and  in 
the  ocean  —  in  this  world  and  in  the  in¬ 
visible  world.  ‘Death  and  hell’  are  here 
personified,  and  are  represented  as  hav¬ 
ing  dominion  over  the  dead,  and  as  now 
delivering  up,  or  surrendering  those  who 
were  held  under  them.  On  the  meaning 
of  the  words  here  used,  see  Notes  on  eh. 
i.  18,  vi.  8.  Comp.  Notes  on  Matt.  x. 
23,  Luke  xvi.  23,  Joh  x.  21,  22,  Isa. 
xiv.  9.  This  whole  representation  is 
entirely  inconsistent  with  the  supposi- 


were  in  them ;  and  they  were 
judged  every  man  according  to 
their  works. 

14  And  death  *  and  hell  were 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire.  This  is 
the  second  death. 

c  Hos.  13. 14;  1  Co.  15.  26,  54. 

tion  that  a  large  part  of  the  dead  had 
been  already  raised  up  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Millennial  period,  and  had  been 
permitted,  in  their  glorified  bodies,  to 
reign  with  Christ.  And  they  were 
judged,  <!fcc.  All  these  were  judged  — 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked;  those 
buried  at  sea,  and  those  buried  on  the 
land;  the  small  and  the  great ;  the  dead, 
in  whatever  world  they  may  have  been. 

14.  And  death  and  hell  were  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire.  Death  and  Hades  (hell) 
are  here  personified,  as  they  are  in  the 
previous  verse.  The  declaration  is  equi¬ 
valent  to  the  statement  in  1  Cor.  xv.  26, 
“  The  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed 
is  death.”  See  Notes  on  that  passage. 
The  idea  is,  that  death,  considered  as 
the  separation  of  soul  and  body,  with 
all  the  attendant  woes,  will  exist  no 
more.  The  righteous  will  live  for  ever, 
and  the  wicked  will  linger  on  in  a  state 
never  to  be  terminated  by  death.  The 
reign  of  Death  and  Hades,  as  such, 
would  come  to  an  end,  and  a  new  order 
of  things  would  commence  where  this 
would  be  unknown.  There  might  be 
that  which  would  be  properly  called 
death,  but  it  would  not  be  death  in  this 
form ;  the  soul  would  live  for  ever,  but  it 
would  not  be  in  that  condition  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  word  aSr/s — hades.  There 
would  be  death  still,  but  a  “  second 
death  differs  from  the  first,  in  the  fact 
that  it  is  not  a  separation  of  the  soul  and 
body,  but  a  state  of  continual  agony  like 
that  which  the  first  death  inflicts  —  like 
that  in  intensity,  but  not  in  kind.” 
Prof.  Stuart.  This  is  the  second  death. 
That  is,  this  whole  process  here  described 
— the  condemnation,  and  the  final  death 
and  ruin  of  those  whose  names  are  ‘  not 
found  written  in  the  book  of  life,’  pro¬ 
perly  constitutes  the  second  death. 
This  proves  that  when  it  is  said  that 
‘  death  and  hell  were  cast  into  a  lake  of 
fire,’  it  cannot  be  meant  that  all  punish¬ 
ment  will  cease  for  ever,  and  that  all 
will  be  saved,  for  the  writer  goes  on  to 
describe  what  he  oalls  *  the  second 


A.  D.  96.] 

15  And  whosoever  was  not  found 

_ a  Mat.  25.  41. 

death  as  still  existing.  See  ver.  15. 
John  describes  this  as  the  second  death, 
not  because  it  in  all  respects  resembles 
the  first  death,  but  because  it  has  so 
many  points  of  resemblance  that  it  may 
be  properly  called  death.  Death,  in 
any  form,  is  the  penalty  of  law;  it 
is  attended  with  pain ;  it  cuts  off  from 
hope,  from  friends,  from  enjoyment; 
it  subjects  him  who  dies  to  a  much 
dreaded  condition,  and  in  all  these 
respects  it  was  proper  to  call  the  final 
condition  of  the  wicked,  death  —  though 
it  would  still  be  true  that  the  soul  would 
live.  There  is  no  evidence  that  John 
meant  to  affirm  that  the  second  death 
would  imply  an  extinction  of  existence. 
Death  never  does  that;  tho  word  does 
not  naturally  and  properly  convey  that 
idea. 

15.  And  whosoever.  All  persons,  of 
all  ranks,  ages,  and  conditions.  No 
word  could  be  more  comprehensive  than 
this.  The  single  condition  here  stated, 
as  being  that  which  would  save  any  from 
being  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  is,  that 
they  are  “found  written  in  the  book  of 
life.”  All  besides  these,  princes,  kings, 
nobles,  philosophers,  statesmen,  con¬ 
querors;  rich  men  and  poor  men;  the 
bond  and  the  free ;  the  young  and  the 
aged ;  the  gay,  the  vain,  the  proud,  and 
the  sober;  the  modest,  and  the  humble, 
will  be  doomed  to  the  lake  of  fire.  Unlike 
in  all  other  things,  they  will  be  alike  in 
the  only  thing  on  which  their  eternal 
destiny  will  depend  —  that  they  have 
not  so  lived  that  their  names  have  be¬ 
come  recorded  in  the  book  of  life.  As 
they  will  also  be  destitute  of  true  reli¬ 
gion,  there  will  be  a  propriety  that  they 
shall  share  the  same  doom  in  the  future 
world,  f  Written  in  the  book  of  life. 
See  Notes  on  oh.  iii.  5.  Was  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire.  See  Notes  on 
Matt.  xxv.  41.  That  is,  they  will  be 
doomed  to  a  punishment  which  will  be 
well  represented  by  their  lingering  in  a 
sea  of  fire  for  ever.  This  is  the  termi¬ 
nation  of  the  judgment;  the  winding  up 
of  the  affairs  of  men.  The  vision  of 
John  here  rests  for  a  moment  on  the 
doom  of  the  wicked,  and  then  turns  to 
a  more  full  contemplation  of  the  happy 
lot  of  the  righteous  as  detailed  in  the 
two  eloshig  chapters  of  the  book. 

41 


481 

written  in  the  book  of  life  was  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire.'* 

§  d.  Condition  of  thinns  referred  to  in 
vs.  11-15. 

(1)  There  will  be  a  general  resurrec¬ 
tion  of  the  dead  —  of  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked.  This  is  implied  by  the 
statement  that  the  ‘dead  small  and 
great’  were  seen  to  stand  before  God- 
that  ‘  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  it;  that  ‘  Death  and  Hades  gave 
up  their  dead.’  All  were  there  whose 
names  were  or  were  not  written  in  the 
book  of  life. 

(2)  There  will  be  a  solemn  and  im¬ 
partial  judgment.  How  long  a  time  this 
will  occupy,  is  not  said,  and  is  not  neces¬ 
sary  to  be  known — for  time  is  of  no  con¬ 
sequence  where  there  is  an  eternity  of 
devotion  —  but  it  is  said  that  they  will 
all  be  judged  “according  to  their  works;” 
that  is,  strictly  according  to  their  cha¬ 
racter.  They  will  receive  no  arbitrary 
doom;  they  will  have  no  sentence  which 
will  not  be  just.  See  Matt.  xxv.  31-46. 

(3)  This  will  be  the  final  judgment. 
After  this,  the  affairs  of  the  race  will  be 
put  on  a  different  footing.  This  will  be 
the  end  of  the  present  arrangements; 
the  end  of  the  present  dispensations ;  the 
end  of  human  probation.  The  great 
question  to  be  determined  in  regard  to 
our  world  will  have  been  settled ;  what 
the  plan  of  redemption  was  intended  to 
accomplish  on  the  earth  will  have  been 
accomplished;  the  agency  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  in  converting  sinners  will  have 
come  to  an  end ;  and  the  means  of  grace, 
as  such,  will  be  employed  no  more! 
There  is  not  here  or  elsewhere  an  inti¬ 
mation  that  beyond  this  period  any  of 
these  things  will  exist,  or  that  the  work 
of  redemption,  as  such,  will  extend  into 
the  world  beyond  the  judgment.  As 
there  is  no  intimation  that  the  condition 
of  the  righteous  will  be  changed,  so  there 
is  none  that  the  condition  of  the  wicked 
will  be;  as  there  is  no  hint  that  the 
righteous  will  ever  be  exposed  to  temp¬ 
tation,  or  to  the  danger  of  falling  into 
sin,  so  there  is  none  that  the  offers  of 
salvation  will  ever  again  be  made  to  the 
wicked.  On  the  contrary,  the  whole 
representation  is,  that  all  beyond  this 
will  bo  fixed  and  unchangeable  for  ever. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  xxii.  11. 

(4)  The  wicked  will  be  destroyed,  in 
what  may  be  properly  called  the  aeoond 


CHAPTER  XX. 


482 


REVELATION, 


death.  As  remarked  in  the  Notes,  this 
does  not  mean  that  this  death  will  in  all 
respeets  resemble  the  first  death,  but 
there  will  be  so  many  points  of  re¬ 
semblance  that  it  will  be  proper  to  call 
it  death.  It  does  not  mean  that  they  will 
be  annihilated,  for  death  never  implies 
that.  The  meaning  is,  that  this  will  be 
a  cutting  off  from  what  is  properly  called 
Ufe,  from  hope,  from  happiness,  and 
from  peace,  and  a  subjection  to  pain 
and  agony,  which  it  will  be  proper  to 
call  death  —  death  in  the  most  fearful 
form ;  death  that  will  continue  for  ever. 
No  statements  in  the  Bible  are  more 
clear  than  those  which  are  made  on  this 
point;  no  affirmation  of  the  eternal 
punishment  of  the  wicked  could  be  more 
explicit  than  those  which  occur  in  the 
Sacred  Scriptures.  See  Notes  on  Matt, 
xxv.  46,  and  2  Thess.  i.  9. 

(5)  This  will  be  the  end  of  the  woes  and 
calamities  produced  in  the  kingdom  of 
God  by  sin.  The  reign  of  Satan  and  of 
Death,  so  far  as  the  Redeemer's  kingdom 
is  concerned,  will  be  at  an  end,  and  hence¬ 
forward  the  church  will  be  safe  from  all 
the  arts  and  efforts  of  its  foes.  Religion 
will  be  triumphant,  and  the  affairs  of 
the  universe  be  reduced  to  permanent 
order. 

(6)  The  preparation  is  thus  made  for 
the  final  triumph  of  the  righteous  —  the 
state  to  which  all  things  tend.  The 
writer  of  this  book  has  conducted  the 
prospective  history  through  all  the  .times 
of  persecution  which  awaited  the  church, 
and  stated  the  principal  forms  of  error 
which  would  prevail,  and  foretold  the 
conflicts  through  which  the  church  would 
pass,  and  described  its  eventful  history 
to  the  Millennial  period,  and  to  the 
final  triumph  of  truth  and  righteous¬ 
ness,  and  now  nothing  remains  to  com¬ 
plete  the  plan  of  the  work  but  to  give 
a  rapid  sketch  of  the  final  condition 
of  the  redeemed.  This  is  done  in  the 
two  following  chapters,  and  with  this 
the  work  is  ended. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

ANALYSIS  OF  CHS.  XXI.,  XXII.,  1-5. 

The  whole  of  ch.  xxi.,  and  the  first 
five  verses  of  ch.  xxii.,  relate  to  scenes 
beyond  the  judgment,  and  are  descriptive 
of  the  happy  and  triumphant  state  of  the 
redeemed  church,  when  all  its  conflicts 
shall  have  ceased,  and  all  its  enemies 


[A.  D.  96. 

shall  have  been  destroyed.  That  happy 
state  is  depicted  under  the  image  of  a 
beautiful  city,  of  which  Jerusalem  was 
the  emblem,  and  it  was  disclosed  to 
John  by  a  vision  of  that  city — the  New 
Jerusalem  —  descending  from  heaven. 
Jerusalem  was  regarded  as  the  peculiar 
dwelling-place  of  God,  and  to  the  He¬ 
brews  it  became  thus  the  natural  em¬ 
blem  or  symbol  of  the  heavenly  world. 
The  conception  having  occurred  of 
describing  the  future  condition  of  -the 
righteous  under  the  image  of  a  beau¬ 
tiful  city,  all  that  follows  is  in  keeping 
with  that,  and  is  merely  a  carrying  out 
of  the  image.  It  is  a  city  with  beautiful 
walls  and  gates ;  a  city  that  has  no 
temple — for  it  is  all  a  temple ;  a  city  that 
needs  no  light  —  for  God  is  its  light ;  a 
city  into  which  nothing  impure  ever 
enters ;  a  city  filled  with  trees,  and 
streams,  and  fountains,  and  fruits — the 
Paradise  Regained. 

The  description  of  that  blessed  state 
comprises  the  following  parts  : — 

I.  A  vision  of  a  new  heaven  and  a 
new  earth,  as  the  final  abode  of  the 
blessed,  ver.  1.  The  first  heaven  and 
the  first  earth  passed  away  at  the  judg¬ 
ment  (ch.  xx.  11-15),  to  be  succeeded 
by  a  new  heaven  and  earth  fitted  to  be 
the  abode  of  the  blessed. 

II.  A  vision  of  the  holy  city  —  the 
New  Jerusalem  —  descending  from  hea¬ 
ven,  as  the  abode  of  the  redeemed,  pre¬ 
pared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband 
—  representing  the  fact  that  God  would 
truly  abide  with  men,  vs.  2-4.  Now  all 
the  effects  of  the  apostacy  will  cease ;  all 
tears  will  be  wiped  away,  and  in  that 
blessed  state  there  will  be  no  more 
death,  or  sorrow,  or  pain.  This  contains 
the  general  statement  of  what  will  be  the 
condition  of  the  redeemed  in  the  future 
world.  God  will  be  there ;  and  all  sor¬ 
row  will  cease. 

III.  A  command  to  make  a  record  of 
these  things,  ver.  5. 

IY.  A  general  description  of  those 
who  should  dwell  in  that  future  world 
of  blessedness,  vs.  6-8.  It  is  for  all  who 
are  athirst;  for  all  who  desire  it,  and 
long  for  it ;  for  all  who  ‘  overcome’  their 
spiritual  enemies,  who  maintain  a  steady 
conflict  with  sin,  and  gain  a  victory 
over  it.  But  all  who-  ar4  fearful  and 
unbelieving  —  all  the  abominable,  and 
murderers,  and  sorcerers,  and  idolaters, 
and  liars,  shall  have  their  paii  in  the 


483 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XXI. 


lake  that  burns  with  fire  and  brimstone. 
That  is,  that  world  will  bo  pure  and  holy. 

V.  A  minute  description  of  tho  city, 
representing  the  happy  abode  of  the  re¬ 
deemed,  ys.  9-26.  This  description  em¬ 
braces  many  particulars : — 

(1)  Its  general  appearance,  vs.  11,  18, 
21.  It  is  bright  and  splendid  —  like  a 
precious  jasper-stone,  clear  as  crystal, 
and  composed  of  pure  gold. 

(2)  Its  walls,  vs.  12,  18.  The  walls 
are  represented  as  ‘  great  and  high,’  and 
as  composed  of  ‘jasper/ 

(3)  Its  gates,  vs.  12,  13,  21.  The 
gates  are  twelve  in  number,  three  on 
each  side ;  and  are  each  composed  of 
a  single  pearl. 

( 4)  Its  foundations,  vs.  14,  18-20. 
There  are  twelve  foundations,  corre¬ 
sponding  to  the  number  of  the  apostles 
of  the  Lamb.  They  are  all  composed 
of  precious  stones — jasper,  sapphire, 
chalcedony,  emerald,  sardonyx,  sardius, 
chrysolite,  beryl,  topaz,  chrysoprasus, 
jacinth,  and  amethyst. 

(5)  Its  size,  vs.  15-17.  It  is  square— 
the  length  being  as  great  as  the  breadth, 
and  its  height-the  same.  The  extent  of 
each  dimension  is  twelve  thousand  fur¬ 
longs —  a  length  on  each  side  and  in 
height  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-five 
miles.  It  would  seem,  however,  that 
though  the  city  was  of  that  height,  the 
wall  was  only  an  hundred  and  forty-four 
cubits,  or  about  two  hundred  and  sixteen 
feet  high.  The  idea  seems  to  bo  that 
the  city — the  dwellings  within  it — tow¬ 
ered  high  above  the  wall  that  was  thrown 
around  it  for  protection.  This  is  not 
uncommon  in  cities  that  are  surrounded 
by  walls. 

(6)  Its  light,  vs.  23,  24,  ch.  xxii.  5. 
It  has  no  need  of  the  sun,  or  of  the  moon, 
or  of  a  lamp  (ch.  xxii.  5),  to  enlighten 
it,  and  yet  there  is  no  night  there  (ch. 
xxii.  5),  for  the  glory  of  God  gives  light 
to  it. 

(7)  It  is  a  city  without  a  temple,  ver. 
22.  There  is  no  one  place  in  it  that  is 
peculiarly  sacred,  or  where  the  worship 
of  God  will  be  exclusively  celebrated.  It 
will  be  all  a  temple,  and  the  worship  of 
God  will  be  celebrated  in  all  parts  of  it. 

(8)  It  is  always  open,  ver.  25.  There 
will  be  no  need  of  closing  it  as  walled 
cities  on  earth  are  closed  to  keep  ene¬ 
mies  out,  and  it  will  not  be  shut  to 
prevent  those  who  dwell  there  from  go¬ 
ing  out  and  coming  in  when  they  please. 


The  inhabitants  will  not  bo  prisoners, 
nor  will  they  be  in  danger,  or  be  alarmed 
by  the  prospect  of  an  attack  from  an 
enemy. 

(9)  Its  inhabitants  will  all  be  pure 
and  holy,  ver.  27.  There  will  in  no 
wise  enter  there  any  thing  that  defiles, 
or  that  works  abomination,  or  that  is 
false.  They  only  shall  dwell  there  whose 
names  are  written  in  the  Lamb’s  book 
of  life. 

(10)  Its  enclosures  and  environs,  ch. 
xxii.  1,  2.  A  stream  of  water,  pure  as 
crystal,  proceeds  from  the  throne  of 
God  and  the  Lamb.  That  stream  flows 
through  the  city,  and  on  its  banks  is  the 

tree  of  life  constantly  bearing  fruit _ 

fruit  to  be  partaken  of  freely.  It  is 
Paradise  Regained  —  a  holy  and  beauti¬ 
ful  abode,  of  which  the  garden  of  Eden 
was  only  an  imperfect  emblem,  where 
there  is  no  prohibition,  as  therewas  there, 
of  any  thing  that  grows,  and  where  there 
is  no  danger  of  falling  into  sin. 

(11)  It  is  a  place  free,  consequently, 
from  the  curse  that  was  pronounced  on 
man  when  he  forfeited  the  blessings  of 
the  first  Eden,  and  when  he  was  driven 
out  from  the.  happy  abodes  where  God 
had  placed  him. 

(12)  It  is  a  place  where  the  righteous 
shall  reign  for  ever,  ch.  xxii.  5.  Death 
shall  never  enter  there,  and  the  presence 
and  glory  of  God  shall  fill  all  with  peace 
and  joy. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  figurative 
and  glowing  description  of  the  future 
blessedness  of  the  redeemed ;  the  eternal 
abode  of  those  who  shall  be  saved.  It  is 
p'oetic  and  emblematical;  but  it  is  ele¬ 
vating,  and  constitutes  a  beautiful  and 
appropriate  close,  not  only  of  this  single 
book,  but  of  the  whole  sacred  volume — 
for  to  this  the  saints  are  every  where 
directed  to  look  forward ;  this  is  the  glo¬ 
rious  termination  of  all  the  struggles  and 
conflicts  of  the  church;  this  is  the  result 
of  the  work  of  redemption  in  repairing 
the  evils  of  the  fall,  and  in  bringing  man 
to  more  than  the  bliss  which  he  lost  in 
Eden.  The  mind  rests  with  delight  on 
this  glorious  prospect;  the  Bible  closes, 
as  a  revelation  from  heaven  should,  in  a 
manner  that  calms  down  every  anxious 
feeling;  that  fills  the  soul  with  peace, 
and  that  leads  the  child  of  God  to  look 
forward  with  bright  anticipations,  and 
to  say,  as  John  did,  ‘Come,  Lord  Jesus/ 
ch.  xxii  20. 


484 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

ND  I  saw  a  new  °  heaven  and 
a  new  earth:  for  the  first 
heaven  and  the  first  earth  were 
passed  away,  and  there  was  no 
more  sea. 


1.  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth.  Such  a  heaven  and  earth  that 
they  might  properly  be  called  new;  such 
transformations,  and  such  changes  in 
their  appearance,  that  they  seemed  to 
be  just  created.  He  does  not  say  that 
they  were  created  now,  or  anew;  that 
the  old  heavens  and  earth  were  annihi¬ 
lated; — but  all  that  he  says  is  that  there 
were  such  changes,  that  they  seemed  to 
be  new.  If  the  earth  is  to  be  renovated 
by  fire,  such  a  renovation  will  give  an 
appearance  to  the  globe  as  if  it  were 
created  anew,  and  might  be  attended  with 
such  an  apparent  change  in  the  heavens 
that  they  might  be  said  to  be  new.  The 
description  here  (ver.  1,)  relates  to  scenes 
after  the  general  resurrection  and  the 
judgment — for  those  events  are  detailed 
in  the  close  of  the  previous  chapter.  In 
regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  language 
here,  see  Notes  on  2  Peter  iii.  13.  Com¬ 
pare,  also,  “  The  Religion  of  Geology  and 
its  Connected  Sciences,”  by  Edward 
Hitchcock,  D.  D.,  LL.  I).,  pp.  370-408. 

For  the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth 
were  passed  away.  They  had  passed 
away  by  being  changed,  and  a  renovated 
universe  had  taken  their  place.  See 
Notes  on  2  Peter  iii.  10.  And  there 
was  no  more  sea.  This  change  struck 
John  more  forcibly,  it  would  appear, 
than  any  thing  else.  Now,  the  seas  and 
oceans  occupy  about  three-fourths  of  the 
surface  of  the  globe,  and  of  course  to  that 
extent  prevent  the  world  from  being  oc¬ 
cupied  by  men — except  by  the  compara¬ 
tively  small  number  that  are  mariners. 
There,  the  idea  of  John  seems  to  be,  the 
whole  world  will  be  inhabitable,  and  no 
part  will  be  given  up  to  the  wastes  of 
oceans.  In  the  present  state  of  things, 
these  vast  oceans  are  necessary  to  ren¬ 
der  the  world  a  fit  abode  for  human 
beings,  as  well  as  to  give  life  and  happi¬ 
ness  to  the  numberless  tribes  of  animals 
that  find  their  homes  in  the  waters.  In 
the  future  state,  it  would  seem,  the 
present  arrangement  will  be  unnecessa¬ 
ry,  and  if  man  dwells  upon  the  earth  at 


2  And  I  John  saw  the  holy  city, 
4  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from 
God,  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a 
c  bride  d  adorned  for  her  husband. 

a  Is.  65. 17-19,  66.  22 ;  2  Pe.  3. 13. 
b  Is.  52. 1;  He.  11. 10, 12.  22. 
c  Is.  54.  5.  d  Ps.  45.  9-14. 


all,  or  if  he  visits  it  as  a  temporary  abode 
(see  Notes  on  2  Peter  iii.  13),  these  vast 
wastes  of  water  will  be  needless.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  the  earth,  in 
its  changes,  according  to  the  teachings 
of  geology,  has  undergone  many  revolu¬ 
tions  quite  as  remarkable  as  it  would  be 
if  all  the  lakes,  and  seas,  and  oceans  of 
the  earth  should  disappear.  Still,  it  is 
not  certain  that  it  was  intended  that  this 
language  should  be  understood  literally 
as  applied  to  the  material  globe.  The 
object  is  to  describe  the  future  blessed¬ 
ness  of  the  righteous,  and  the  idea  is, 
that  that  will  be  a  world  where  there  will 
be  no  such  wastes  as  those  produced  by 
oceans. 

2.  And  I,  John,  saw  the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out  of 
heaven.  See  the  ‘Analysis’  of  the  chap¬ 
ter.  On  the  phrase  ‘  new  Jerusalem,’  see 
Notes  on  Gal.  iv.  26,  and  Heb.  xii.  22. 
Here  it  refers  to  the  residence  of  the  re¬ 
deemed,  the  heavenly  world,  of  which 
Jerusalem  was  the  type  and  symbol.  It 
is  here  represented  as  ‘coming  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven.’  This,  of 
course,  does  not  mean  that  this  great 
city  was  literally  to  descend  upon  the 
earth,  and  to  occupy  any  one  part  of  the 
renovated  world ;  but  it  is  a  symbolical 
or  figurative  representation,  designed  to 
show  that  the  abode  of  the  righteous  will 
be  splendid  and  glorious.  The  idea  of  a 
city  literally  descending  from  heaven, 
and  being  set  upon  the  earth  with  such 
proportions — three  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  high  (ver.  16),  made  of  gold,  and 
with  single  pearls  for  gates,  and  single 
gems  for  the  foundations,  is  absurd.  No 
man  can  suppose  that  this  is  literally 
true,  and  hence  this  must  be  regarded  as 
a  figurative  or  emblematic  description. 
It  is  a  representation  of  the  heavenly 
state  under  the  image  of  a  beautiful  city, 
of  which  Jerusalem  was,  in  many  re¬ 
spects,  a  natural  and  striking  emblem. 

Prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her 
husband.  See  Notes  on  Isa.  xlix.  18, 
lxi.  10.  The  purpose  here  is,  to  repre- 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPT 

3  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out 
of  heaven,  saying.  Behold,  the  tab¬ 
ernacle  “  of  God  is  with  men,  and 
he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they 
shall  be  his  people,  4  and  God  him- 

a  2  Co.  6. 16.  b  Zee.  8.  8. 


sent  it  as  exceedingly  beautiful.  The 
comparison  of  the  church  with  a  bride, 
or  a  wife,  is  common  in  the  Scriptures. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  xix.  7,  8,  and  on  Isa.  i. 
21.  It  is  also  common  in  the  Scriptures 
to  compare  a  city  with  a  beautiful  wo¬ 
man,  and  these  images  here  seem  to  be 
combined.  It  is  a  beautiful  city  that 
seems  to  descend,  and  this  city  is  itself 
compared  with  a  richly  attired  bride  pre¬ 
pared  for  her  husband. 

3.  And  I  heard  a  voice  out  of  heaven. 
As  if  uttered  by  God  himself,  or  the  voice 
of  angels.  Behold  the  tabernacle  of 
God  is  with  men.  The  tabernacle,  as  that 
word  is  commonly  used  in  the  Scriptures 
—  referring  to  the  sacred  tent  erected  in 
the  wilderness — was  regarded  as  the  pe¬ 
culiar  dwelling-place  of  God  among  his 
people,  as  the  temple  was  afterwards, 
which  was  also  called  a  tabernacle.  See 
Notes  on  Heb.  ix.  2.  The  meaning  here 
is,  that  God  would  now  dwell  with  the 
redeemed,  as  if  in  a  tabernacle,  or  in  a 
house  specially  prepared  for  his  residence 
among  them.  It  is  not  said  that  this 
would  be  on  the  earth,  although  that  may 
be,  for  it  is  possible  that  the  earth,  as 
well  as  other  worlds,  may  yet  become 
the  abode  of  the  redeemed.  See  Notes 
on  2  Peter  iii.  13.  And  he  will  dwell 
with  them.  As  in  a  tent,  or  tabernacle — 
aKtjvwau.  This  is  a  common  idea  in  the 
Scriptures.  And  they  shall  be  hds  peo¬ 
ple.  He  will  acknowledge  them  m  this 
public  way  as  his  own,  and  will  dwell  with 
them  as  such.  If  And  God  himself  shall 
be  with  them.  Shall  be  permanently  with 
them  ;  shall  never  leave  them.  And 
be  their  God.  Shall  manifest  himself  as 
such,  in  such  a  manner  that  there  shall 
be  no  doubt. 

4,  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears 
from  their  eyes.  This  will  be  one  of  the 
characteristics  of  that  blessed  state,  that 
not  a  tear  shall  ever  be  shed  there.  How 
different  will  that  be  from  the  condition 
here — for  who  is  there  here  who  has  not 
learned  to  weep  ?  See  Notes  on  ch.  vii. 
17.  Comp.  Notes  on  Isa.  xxv.  8.  f  And 
there  shall  be  no  more  death.  In  all  that 
41* 


ER  XXI.  485 

'  self  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their 
God. 

4  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
c  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  d  neither 
c  Is.  25.  8;  c.  7. 17.  d  1  Co.  15.  26,  54. 

future  world  of  glory,  not  one  shall  ever 

xirV  not.a  grave  sha11  ever  be  dug ! 
What  a  view  do  we  begin  to  get  of  hea¬ 
ven,  when  we  are  told  there  shall  bo  no 
death  there  !  How  different  from  earth, 
where  death  is  so  common;  where  it 
spares  no  one;  where  our  best  friends 
die;  where  the  wise,  the  good,  the  useful, 
the  lovely,  die;  where  fathers,  mothers, 
wives,  husbands,  sons,  daughters,  all  die* 
where  we  habitually  feel  that  we  must 
die.  Assuredly  we  have  here  a  view  of 
heaven  most  glorious  and  animating  to 
those  who  dwell  in  a  world  like  this,  and 
to  whom  nothing  is  more  common  than 
death.  In  all  their  endless  and  glorious 
career,  the  redeemed  will  never  see  death 
again;  they  will  never  themselves  die. 
They  will  never  follow  a  friend  to  the 
tomb,  nor  fear  that  an  absent  friend  is 
dead.  The  slow  funeral  procession  will 
never  be  witnessed  there;  nor  will  the 
soil  ever  open  its  bosom  to  furnish  a 
grave.  See  Notes  on  1  Cor.  xv.  55. 

If  Neither  sorrow.  The  word  sorrow 
here  —  ntvSos —  denotes  sorrow  or  grief 
of  any  kind ;  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  pro¬ 
perty  or  friends ;  sorrow  for  disappoint¬ 
ment,  persecution,  or  care;  sorrow  over 
our  sins,  or  sorrow  that  we  love  God  so 
little,  and  serve  him  so  unfaithfully; 
sorrow  that  we  are  sick,  or  that  we  must 
die.  How  innumerable  are  the  sources 
of  sorrow  here;  how  constant  is  it  on 
the  earth  !  Since  the  fall  of  man  there 
has  not  been  a  day,  an  hour,  a  moment, 
in  which  this  has  not  been  a  sorrowful 
world ;  there  has  not  been  a  nation,  a 
tribe  —  a  city  or  a  village  —  nay,  not  a 
family  where  there  has  not  been  grief. 
There  has  been  no  individual  who  has 
been  always  perfectly  happy.  No  one 
rises  in  the  morning  with  any  certainty 
that  he  may  not  end  the  day  in  grief; 
no  one  lies  down  at  night  with  any 
assurance  that  it  may  not  be  a  night  of 
sorrow.  How  different  would  this  world 
be  if  it  were  announced  that  hencefor¬ 
ward  there  would  be  no  sorrow  !  How 
different,  therefore,  will  heaven  be  when 
we  shall  have  the  assurance  that  hence- 


486 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


Borrow,  0  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain:  for  the 
former  things  are  passed  away. 

5  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne 
said,  Behold,  I  make  all  things  new. 
And  he  said  unto  me,  Write :  for 
these  words  are  true  and  faithful. 

forward  grief  shall  be  at  an  end  !  Nor 
crying.  —  Kpavyi).  This  word  properly 
denotes  a  cry,  an  outcry,  as  in  giving  a 
public  notice;  a  cry  in  a  tumult  —  a 
clamor,  Acts  xxiii.  9 ;  and  then  a  cry 
of  sorrow,  or  wailing.  This  is  evidently 
its  meaning  here,  and  it  refers  to  all  the 
outbursts  of  grief  arising  from  affliction, 
from  oppression,  from  violence.  The 
sense  is,  that  as  none  of  these  causes  of 
wailing  will  be  known  in  the  future  state, 
all  such  wailing  will  cease.  This,  too, 
will  make  the  future  state  vastly  differ¬ 
ent  from  our  condition  here ;  for  what  a 
change  would  it  produce  on  the  earth  if 
the  cry  of  grief  were  never  to  be  heard 
again !  Neither  shall  there  he  any 
more  pain.  There  will  be  no  sickness, 
and  no  calamity ;  and  there  will  be  no 
mental  sorrow  arising  from  remorse, 
from  disappointment,  or  from  the  evil 
conduct  of  friends.  And  what  a  change 
would  this  produce — for  how  full  of  pain 
is  the  world  now !  How  many  lie  on 
beds  of  languishing ;  how  many  are  suf¬ 
fering  under  incurable  diseases ;  how 
many  are  undergoing  severe  surgical 
operations  ;  how  many  are  pained  by  the 
loss  of  property  or  friends,  or  subjected  to 
acuter  anguish  by  the  misconduct  of  those 
who  are  loved !  How  different  would 
this  world  be,  if  all  pafn  were  to  cease 
for  ever;  how  different,  therefore,  must 
the  future  state  of  the  blessed  be  from 
the  present!  :/or  the  former  things 
are  passed  away.  The  world  as  it  was 
before  the  judgment. 

5.  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne, 
said.  Probably  the  Messiah,  the  dis¬ 
penser  of  the  rewards  of  heaven.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xx.  11.  ^  Behold,  I  make 

all  things  new.  A  new  heaven  and  new 
earth  (ver.  1),  and  an  order  of  things  to 
correspond  with  that  new  creation.  The 
former  state  of  things  when  sin  and 
death  reigned  will  be  changed,  and  the 
change  consequent  on  this  must  extend 
to  every  thing.  And  he  said  unto  me, 
Write.  Make  a  record  of  these  things, 
for  they  are  founded  in  truth,  and  they 


6  And  he  said  unto  me,  It  b  is 
done.  c  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  beginning  and  the  end.  I  will 
give  unto  him  that  is  d  athirst  of 
the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely. 

a  Is.  35. 10.  b  c.  16. 17.  cc.1,8;  22. 13. 

d  Is.  55. 1;  Jno.  4. 10, 14,  7.  37;  c.  22. 17. 

are  adapted  to  bless  a  suffering  world. 
Comp.  Notes  on  ch.  xiv.  13.  See  also 
ch.  i.  19.  For  these  words  are  true 
and  faithful.  They  are  founded  in  truth, 
and  they  are  worthy  to  be  believed.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  xix.  9.  Comp,  also  Notes 
on  Dan.  xii.  4. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  me.  That  is,  he 
that  sat  on  the  throne  —  the  Messiah. 
If  ^  is  done.  It  is  finished,  complete; 
or  still  more  expressively,  it  is. — ytyove. 
An  expression  remarkably  similar  to  this 
occurs  in  John  xix.  30,  when  the  Sa¬ 
viour  on  the  cross  said,  ‘  It  is  finished.’ 
The  meaning  in  the  passage  before  us 
evidently  is,  ‘the  great  work  is  accom¬ 
plished;  the  arrangement  of  human 
affairs  is  complete.  The  redeemed  are 
gathered  in;  the  wicked  are  cut  off; 
truth  is  triumphant,  and  all  is  now  com¬ 
plete —  prepared  for  the  eternal  state  of 
things.’  *[  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 
beginning  and  the  end.  The  language 
makes  it  morally  certain  that  the  speaker 
here  is  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  it  is  the  very 
language  which  he  uses  of  himself  in  ch. 
i.  11.  See  its  meaning  explained  in  the 
Notes  on  ch.  i.  8.  If  it  is  applied  to  him 
here,  it  proves  that  he  is  divine,  for  in 
the  following  verse  (7)  the  speaker  says 
that  he  would  be  a  God  to  him  who 
should  ‘overcome.’  The  meaning  of  the 
language  as  here  used,  regarded  as 
spoken  by  the  Redeemer  at  the  consum¬ 
mation  of  all  things,  and  as  his  people 
are  about  entering  into  the  abodes  of 
blessedness,  is,  ‘  I  am  now  indeed  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega— the  first  and  the 
last.  The  attributes  implied  in  this  lan¬ 
guage  which  I  claimed  for  myself,  are 
now  verified  in  me,  and  it  is  seen  that 
these  properly  belong  to  me.  The  scheme 
for  setting  up  a  kingdom  in  the  lost 
world  began  in  me,  and  it  ends  in  me  — 
the  glorious  and  triumphant  king.’  1 
will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst.  See 
Notes  on  Matt.  v.  6,  John  vii.  37,  iv.  14. 

Of  the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life. 
An  image  often  used  in  the  Scriptures 
to  represent  salvation.  It  is  compared 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XXI. 


487 


7  He  that  overcometh  shall  in¬ 
herit  °  all  things ;  and  I  will  be  his 
God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son. 

8  But  the  fearful,  b  and  unbe¬ 
lieving,  c  and  the  abominable, d  and 
murderers,  e  and  whoremongers,  f 
and  sorcerers,  s  and  idolaters,  *  and 
all  liars,  *  shall  have  their  part  in 
the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire 


and  brimstone:  which  is  the  second 
death. 

9  And  there  came  unto  me  one 
of  the  seven  j  angels  which  had  the 
seven  vials  full  of  the  seven  last 
plagues,  and  talked  with  me,  say¬ 
ing,  Come  hither,  I  will  show  thee 
the  bride,  the  Lamb’s  wife.* 


a  Or,  these.  b  Lu.  12.  4-9. 

c  1  Jno.  5.  4, 10.  d  1  Co.  6.  9, 10. 
elJno.  3. 15.  /  He.  13.  4. 


S  Mai.  3.  5.  *  1  Co.  10.  20,  21. 

*  Pr.  19.  5,  9,  c.  22. 15. 
j  c.  15. 1,  6,  7.  lc  c.  19.  7. 


with  a  fountain  that  flows  in  abundance, 
where  all  may  freely  slake  their  thirst. 
IT  Freely.  Without  money  and  without 
price  (Notes  on  Isa.  lv.  1 ;  John  vii.  37) ; 
the  common  representation  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures.  The  meaning  here  is  not  that  he 
would  do  this  in  the  future,  but  that  he 
had  shown  that  this  was  his  character, 
as  he  had  claimed,  in  the  same  way 
as  he  had  shown  that  he  was  the  Al¬ 
pha  and  the  Omega.  The  freeness  and 
the  fulness  of  salvation  will  be  one  of 
the  most  striking  things  made  manifest 
when  the  immense  hosts  of  the  redeemed 
shall  be  welcomed  to  their  eternal  abodes. 

7.  He  that  overcometh.  See  Notes  on 
ch.  ii.  7.  Shall  inherit  all  things.  Be 
an  heir  of  God  in  all  things.  See  Notes 
on  Rom.  viii.  17.  Comp.  Rev.  ii.  7,  11, 
17,  26,  iii.  5, 12,  21.  And  I  will  he  his 
God.  That  is,  for  ever.  He  would  be 
to  them  all  that  is  properly  implied  in 
the  name  God ;  he  would  bestow  upon 
them  all  the  blessings  which  it  was  ap¬ 
propriate  for  God  to  bestow.  See  Notes 
on  Heb.  viii.  10 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  18.  ff  And 
he  shall  be  my  son.  He  shall  sustain  to 
me  the  relation  of  a  son,  and  shall  be 
treated  as  such.  He  would  ever  onward 
sustain  this  relation,  and  be  honored  as 
a  child  of  God. 

8.  But  the  fearful.  Having  stated,  in 
general  terms,  who  they  were  who  would 
be  admitted  into  that  blessed  world,  he 
now  states  explicitly  who  would  not. 
The  fearful  denote  those  who  had  not 
firmness  boldly  to  maintain  their  pro¬ 
fessed  principles,  or  who  were  afraid  to 
avow  themselves  as  the  friends  of  God 
in  a  wicked  world.  They  stand  in  con¬ 
trast  with  those  wh-o  ‘overcome,’  ver.  6. 

And  unbelieving.  Those  who  have  not 
true  faith;  avowed  infidels;  infidels  at 
heart;  and  all  who  have  not  the  sincere 
faith  of  the  gospel.  See  Notes  on  Mark 


xvL  16.  And  the  abominable.  The 
verb  from  which  this  word  is  derived, 
means,  to  excite  disgust;  to  feel  disgust 
at;  to  abominate  or  abhor;  and  hence 
the  participle — ‘  the  abominable’ — refers 
to  all  who  are  detestable,  to  wit,  on  ac¬ 
count  of  their  sins ;  all  whose  conduct  is 
offensive  to  God.  Thus  it  would  include 
those  who  live  in  open  sin;  who  prac¬ 
tise  detestable  vices;  whose  conduct  is 
fitted  to  excite  disgust  and  abhorrence. 
These  must  all,  of  course,  be  excluded 
from  a  pure  and  holy  world,  and  this 
description,  alas,  would  embrace  a  la¬ 
mentably  large  portion  of  the  world  as  it 
has  hitherto  been.  See  Notes  on  Rom. 
i.  26,  seq.  And  murderers.  See  Notes 
on  Rom.  i.  29 ;  Gal.  v.  21.  f  And  whore¬ 
mongers.  See  Notes  on  Gal.  v.  19.  <f  And 

sorcerers.  See  the  word  here  used _ 

(papyaiuvoi  —  explained  in  the  Notes  on 
Gal.  v.  19,  under  the  word  witcn^saft. 
<T  And  idolaters.  Gal.  v.  19 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  9. 
*1  And  all  liars.  All  who  are  false  in 
their  statements,  their  promises,  their 
contracts.  The  word  would  embrace  all 
who  are  false  towards  God  (Acts  v.  1-3), 
and  false  toward  men.  See  Rom,.  i.  31. 
If  Shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which 
burneth,  kc.  Notes  ch.  xx.  14.  That  is, 
they  will  be  excluded  from  heaven,  and 
punished  for  ever.  See  Notes  on  1  Cor. 
vi.  9,  10 ;  Gal.  v.  19-21. 

9.  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the 
seven  angels,  kc.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xvi.  6, 
7.  Why  one  of  these  angels  was  employed 
to  make  this  communication,  is  not 
stated.  It  may  be  that  as  they  had  been 
engaged  in  bringing  destruction  on  the 
enemies  of  the  church,  and  securing  its 
final  triumph,  there  was  a  propriety  that 
that  triumph  should  be  announced  by 
one  of  their  number.  And  talked  with 
me.  That  is,  in  regard  to  what  he  was 
about  to  show  me.  I  will  show  the • 


488 


REVELATION, 


10  And  he  carried  me  away  in 
the  Spirit  to  a  great  and  high 
mountain,  and  showed  me  that 
great  city,  °  the  holy  Jerusalem, 
descending  out  of  heaven  from  God, 

11  Having  the  glory  4  of  God : 
and  her  light  teas  like  unto  a  stone 
most  precious,  even  like  a  jasper 
stone,  clear  as  crystal ; 

a  Eze.  40, 48.  b  Is.  60. 1, 2.  c  Eze.  48. 31-34. 


the  bride,  the  Lamb’s  wife.  I  will  show 
you  what  represents  the  redeemed  church 
now  to  be  received  into  permanent  union 
with  its  Lord  —  as  a  bride  about  to  be 
united  to  her  husband.  See  Notes  on 
ver.  2.  Comp.  ch.  xix.  7,  8. 

10.  And  he  carried  me  away  in  the 
Spirit.  Gave  him  a  vision  of  the  city ; 
seemed  to  place  him  where  he  could 
have  a  clear  view  of  it  as  it  came  down 
from  heaven.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  10. 
^  To  a  great  and  high  mountain.  The 
elevation,  and  the  unobstructed  range  of 
view,  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  behold 
it  in  its  glory.  *[  And  showed  me  that 
great  city,  Ac.  As  it  descended  from 
heaven.  Notes  ver.  2. 

11.  Having  the  glory  of  God.  A  glory 
or  splendor  such  as  became  the  dwelling- 
place  of  God.  The  nature  of  that  splen¬ 
dor  is  described  in  the  following  verses. 

And  her  light.  In  ver.  23,  it  is  said 
that  “  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it.” 
That  is,  it  was  made  light  by  the  visible 
symbol  of  the  Deity — the  shekinah.  See 
Notes  on  Luke  ii.  9,  Acts  ix.  3.  The 
word  here  rendered  light — ^worjjp  —  oc¬ 
curs  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament 
except  in  Phil.  ii.  15.  It  means  properly 
a  light,  a  light-giver,  and  in  profane 
writers  means  commonly  a  window.  It 
is  used  here  to  denote  the  brightness  or 
shining  of  the  divine  glory,  as  supplying 
the  place  of  the  sun,  or  of  a  window. 

Like  unto  a  stone  most  precious.  A 
stone  of  the  richest  or  most  costly  nature. 

Even  like  a  jasper  stone.  On  the  jasper, 
see  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  3.  It  is  used  there 
for  the  same  purpose  as  here,  to  illustrate 
the  majesty  and  glory  of  God.  f  Clear 
as  crystal.  Pellucid  or  resplendent  like 
crystal.  There  are  various  kinds  of  jas¬ 
per,  as  red,  yellow,  and  brown,  brownish 
yellow,  Ac.  The  stone  is  essentially  a 
quartz,  and  the  word  crystal  here  is  used 


[A.  D.  96. 

12  And  had  a  wall  great  and 
high,  and  had  twelve  gates,  c  and 
at  the  gates  twelve  angels,  and 
names  written  thereon,  which  are 
the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the 
children  of  Israel : 

13  On  the  east  three  gates;  on 
the  north  three  gates ;  on  the  south 
three  gates ;  and  on  the  west  three 
gates. 


to  show  that  the  form  of  it  referred  to  by 
J ohn  was  clear  and  bright. 

12.  And  had  a  wall  great  and  high. 
Ancient  cities  were  always  surrounded 
with  walls  for  protection,  and  John  re¬ 
presents  this  as  enclosed  in  the  usual 
manner.  The  word  great  means  that  it 
was  thick  and  strong.  Its  height  also  is 
particularly  noticed,  for  it  was  unusual. 
See  ver.  16.  And  had  twelve  gates. 
Three  on  each  side.  The  number  of  the 
gates  correspond  to  the  number  of  the 
tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  to 
the  number  of  the  apostles.  The  idea 
seems  to  be  that  there  would  be  ample 
opportunity  of  access  and  egress,  And 
at  the  gates  twelve  angels.  Stationed 
there  as  guards  to  the  new  Jerusalem. 
Their  business  seems  to  have  been  to 
watch  the  gates  that  nothing  improper 
should  enter;  that  the  great  enemy 
should  not  make  an  insidious  approach 
to  this  city  as  he  did  to  the  earthly  Para¬ 
dise.  And  names  written  thereon.  On 
the  gates,  f  Which  are  the  names  of 
the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel. 
So  in  the  city  which  Ezekiel  saw  in  vi¬ 
sion,  which  John  seems  also  to  have  had 
in  his  eye.  See  Ezek.  xlviii.  31.  This 
inscription  in  Ezekiel  denoted  that  that 
was  the  residence  of  the  people  of  God ; 
and  the  same  idea  is  denoted  here.  The 
new  Jerusalem  is  the  eternal  residence 
of  the  children  of  God,  and  this  is  indi¬ 
cated  at  every  gate.  None  can  enter 
who  do  not  belong  to  that  people ;  all 
who  are  within  are  understood  to  be  of 
their  number, 

13.  On  the  east  three  gates,  Ac.  The 
city  was  square  (ver.  16),  and  the  same 
number  of  "gates  is  assigned  to  each 
quarter.  There  does  not  appear  to  be 
any  special  significancy  in  this  fact,  un¬ 
less  it  be  to  denote  that  there  is  access 
to  this  city  from  all  quarters  of  the  world. 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


14  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had 
twelve  foundations,  and  “  in  them 
the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of 
the  Lamb. 

15  And  he  that  talked  with  me 
had  a  golden  reed  b  to  measure  the 
city,  and  the  gates  thereof,  and  the 
wall  thereof. 


489 


16  And  the  city  lieth  four 
square,  and  the  length  is  as  large 
as  the  breadth:  and  he  measured 
the  city  with  the  reed,  twelve  thou¬ 
sand  furlongs.  The  length,  and 
the  breadth,  and  the  height  of  it 
are  equal. 


and  that  they  who  will  dwell  there  will 

have  come  from  each  of  the  great  divi¬ 
sions  of  the  earth ;  that  is,  from  every 
land.  J 

14.  And  the  walls  of  the  city  had  t  welve 
foundations.  It  is  not  said  whether 
these  foundations  were  twelve  rows  of 
stones  placed  one  above  another  under 
the  city,  and  extending  around  it,  or 
whether  they  were  twelve  stones  placed 
at  intervals.  The  former  would  seem  to 
be  the  most  probable,  as  the  latter  would 
indicate  comparative  feebleness  and  lia¬ 
bility  to  fall.  Comp.  Notes  on  ver.  19. 
f\And.  in  them.  In  the  foundation  stones. 
That  is,  the  names  of  the  apostles  were 
cut  or  carved  in  them  so  as  to  be  con¬ 
spicuous.  ^  The  names  of  the  twelve 
apostles  of  the  Lamb.  Of  the  Lamb  of 
God,;  the  Messiah.  For  an  illustration 
of  this  passage,  see  Notes  on  Eph.  ii.  20 

15.  And  he  that  talked  with  me.  The 


a  Ep.  2.  20. 


b  Eze.  40.  3. 


angel,  ver.  9.  Had  a  golden  reed  to 

wnoriQii'pn  <1^1  O —  "KT-i _  -i  • 


measure  the  city."  See  Notes  on  ch.  xi.  1. 
The  reed,  or  measuring  rod  here,  is  of 
gold,  because  all  about  the  city  is  of  the 
most  rich  and  costly  materials.  The  rod 
is  thus  suited  to  the  personage  who  uses 
it,  and  to  the  occasion.  Comp,  a  similar 
description  in  Ezek.  xl.  3-5,  xlii.  16. 
The  object  of  this  measuring  is  to  show 
that  the  city  has  proper  architectural 
proportions.  And  the  gates  thereof,  &c. 
To  measure  every  part  of  the  city,  and 
to  ascertain  its  exact  dimensions. 

16.  And  the  city  lieth  four-square. 
It  was  an  exact  square.  That  is,  there 
was  nothing  irregular  about  it;  there 
were  no  crooked  walls;  there  was  no 
jutting  out,  and  no  indentation  in  the 
walls,  as  if  the  city  had  been  built  at 
different  times  without  a  plan,  and  had 
been  accommodated  to  circumstances 
Most  cities  have  been  determined  in 
their  outline  by  the  character  of  the 
ground  —  by  hills,  streams,  or  ravines; 
or  have  grown  up  by  accretions,  where 
one  part  has  been  joined  to  another,  so 
that  there  is  no  regularity,  and  so  that 


the  original  plan,  if  there  was  any,  has 
been  lost  sight  of.  The  new  Jerusalem, 
on  the  contrary,  had  been  built  aeeord- 
mg  to  a  plan  of  the  utmost  regularity 
which  had  not  been  modified  by  the 
circumstances,  or  varied  as  the  city 
grew.  The  idea  here  may  be  that  the 
church,  as  it  will  appear  in  its  state  of 
glory,  will  be  in  accordance  with  an 
eternal  plan,  and  that  the  great  original 
design  will  have  been  fully  carried  out. 
Jl  ,  ^le  length  is  as  large  as  the 
breadth.  The  height  also  of  the  city 
was  the  same  — so  that  it  was  an  exact 
square.  ^  And  he  measured  the  city  with 
the  reed,  twelve  thousand  furlongs.  As 
eight  furlongs  make  a  mile,  the  extent 
ot  the  walls,  therefore,  must  have  been 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles. 
Of  course,  this  must  preclude  all  idea  of 
there  being  such  a  city  literally  in  Pales¬ 
tine.  This  is  clearly  a  figurative  or 
symbolical  representation,  and  the  idea 
is  that  the  city  was  on  the  most  mag¬ 
nificent  scale,  and  with  the  largest  pro¬ 
portions,  and  the  description  here  is 
adopted  merely  to  indicate  this  vastness, 
without  any  idea  that  it  would  be  un¬ 
derstood  literally.  The  length,  and 
the  breadth,  and  the  height  of  it,  are 
equal.  _  According  to  this  representation, 
the  height  of  the  city,  not  of  the  walls 
(comp.  ver.  17),  would  be  three  hundred 
and  seventy  miles.  Of  course  this  can¬ 
not  be  understood  literally;  and  the 
very  idea  of  a  literal  fulfilment  of  this 
shows  the  absurdity  of  that  method  of 
interpretation.  The  idea  intended  to  be 
conveyed  by  this  immense  height  would 
seem  to  be  that  it  would  contain  count¬ 
less  numbers  of  inhabitants.  It  is  true 
that  such  a  structure  has  not  existed, 
and  that  a  city  of  such  a  height  may 
seem  to  be  out  of  all  proportion ;  but 
we  are  to  remember  (a)  that  this  is  a 
symbol ;  and  ( b )  that  considered  as  one 
mass  or  pile  of  buildings  it  may  not 
seem  to  be  out  of  proportion.  It  is  no 
uncommon  thing  that  a  house  should  be 


490 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


17  And  he  measured  the  wall 
thereof,  an  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  cubits,  according  to  the  mea¬ 
sure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  the  angel. 


as  high  as  it  is  long  or  broad.  The  idea 
of  vastness  and  of  capacity  is  the  main 
idea  designed  to  be  represented.  The 
image  before  the  mind  is,  that  the  num¬ 
bers  of  the  redeemed  will  be  immense. 

17.  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof. 
In  respect  to  its  height.  Of  course  its 
length  corresponded  with  the  extent  of 
the  city.  An  hundred  and  forty  and 
four  cubits.  This  would  be,  reckoning 
the  cubit  at  eighteen  inches,  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixteen  feet.  This  is  less  than 
the  height  of  the  walls  of  Babylon, 
which  Herodotus  says  were  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  feet  high.  See  Intro,  to 
ch.  xiii.  of  Isaiah.  As  the  walls  of  a 
city  are  designed  to  protect  it  from  ex¬ 
ternal  foes,  the  height  mentioned  here 
gives  all  proper  ideas  of  security;  and 
we  are  to  conceive  of  the  city  itself  as 
towering  immensely  above  the  walls. 
Its  glory,  therefore,  would  not  be  ob¬ 
scured  by  the  wall  that  was  thrown 
around  it  for  defence.  According  to 
the  measure  of  a  man.  The  measure 
usually  employed  by  men.  This  seems 
to  be  added  in  order  to  prevent  any  mis¬ 
take  as  to  the  size  of  the  city.  It  is  an 
angel  who  makes  the  measurement,  and 
without  this  explanation  it  might  per¬ 
haps  be  supposed  that  he  used  some 
measure  not  in  common  use  among 
men,  so  that,  after  all,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  form  any  definite  idea  of 
the  size  of  the  city.  That  is,  of  the 
angel.  That  is,  ‘  which  is  the  measure 
employed  by  the  angel.’  It  was  indeed 
an  angel  who  measured  the  city,  but  the 
measure  which  he  employed  was  that  in 
common  use  among  men. 

18.  And  the  building  of  the  wall  of  it. 
The  material  of  which  the  wall  was  com¬ 
posed.  This  means  the  wall  above  the 
foundation,  for  that  was  composed  of 
twelve  rows  of  precious  stones,  vs.  14, 
19,  20.  The  height  of  the  foundation  is 
not  stated,  but  the  entire  wall  above 
was  composed  of  jasper.  Was  of 
jasper.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  3.  Of 
course,  this  cannot  be  taken  literally ; 
and  an  attempt  to  explain  all  this  lite¬ 
rally  would  show  that  that  method  of 
interpreting  the  Apocalypse  is  imprac- 


18  And  the  building  of  the  wall 
of  it  was  of  jasper;  and  the  city 
was  pure  gold,  like  unto  clear 
glass. 


tieable.  And  the  city  was  pure  gold. 
The  material  of  which  the  edifices  were 
composed.  Like  unto  clear  glass.  The 
word  rendered  glass  in  this  place — SaAoj 
— occurs  in  the  New  Testament  only 
here  and  in  ver.  21  of  this  chapter.  It 
means  properly  ‘  any  thing  transparent 
like  water,’  as,  for  example,  any  trans¬ 
parent  stone  or  gem,  or  as  rock-salt, 
crystal,  glass.  Rob.  Lex.  Here  the 
meaning  is,  that  the  golden  city  would 
be  so  bright  and  burnished  that  it  would 
seem  to  be  glass  reflecting  the  sunbeams. 
Would  the  appearance  of  a  city  as  the 
sun  is  setting,  when  the  reflection  of 
its  beams  from  thousands  of  panes  of 
glass  gives  it  the  appearance  of  bur¬ 
nished  gold,  represent  the  idea  here? 
If  we  were  to  suppose  a  city  made  en¬ 
tirely  of  glass,  and  the  setting  sun¬ 
beams  falling  on  it,  it  might  convey  the 
idea  represented  here.  It  is  certain 
that,  as  nothing  could  be  more  magni¬ 
ficent,  so  nothing  would  more  beauti¬ 
fully  combine  the  two  ideas  referred  to 
here  —  that  of  gold  and  glass.  Perhaps 
the  reflection  of  the  sun-beams  from  the 
‘  Crystal  Palace,’  erected  for  the  late 
‘  industrial  exhibition’  in  London,  would 
convey  a  better  idea  of  what  is  intended 
to  be  represented  here  than  any  thing 
which  our  world  has  furnished.  The 
following  description  from  one  who  was 
an  eye-witness,  drawn  up  by  him  at  the 
time,  and  without  any  reference  to  this 
passage,  and  furnished  at  my  request, 
will  supply  a  better  illustration  of  the 
passage  before  us  than  any  description 
which  I  could  give :  —  “  Seen  as  the 
morning  vapors  rolled  around  its  base — 
its  far-stretching  roofs,  rising  one  above 
another,  and  its  great  transept,  majes¬ 
tically  arched,  soaring  out  of  the  en¬ 
velope  of  clouds,  its  pillars,  window-bars, 
and  pinnacles,  looked  literally  like  a 
castle  in  the  air,  like  some  palace,  such 
as  one  reads  of  in  idle  tales  of  Arabian 
enchantment,  having  about  it  all  the 
ethereal  softness  of  a  dream.  Looked 
at  from  a  distance  at  noon,  when  the 
sunbeams  came  pouring  upon  the  ter¬ 
raced  and  vaulted  roof,  it  resembles  a 
regal  palaco  of  silver,  built  for  somo 


491 


A*  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XX. 


19  And  the  foundations  *  of  the 
wall  of  the  city  were  garnished  with 
all  manner  of  precious  stones.  The 
first  foundation  was  jasper ;  the 
second,  sapphire ;  the  third,  a  chal¬ 
cedony  ;  the  fourth,  an  emerald  ; 
_ a  Is.  54.  ll. 

Eastern  prince;  when  the  sun  at  even¬ 
tide  sheds  on  its  sides  his  parting  rays, 
the  edifice  is  transformed  into  a  temple 
of  gold,  and  rubies ;  and  in  the  calm 
hours  of  night,  when  the  moon  walketh 
in  her  brightness,  the  immense  surface 
of  glass  which  the  building  presents 
looks  like  a  sea  or  lake  throwing  back 
in  flickering  smiles  the  radiant  glances  of 
the  queen  of  heaven.” 

19.  And  the  foundation  of  the  wall  of 
the  city.  Notes  ver.  14.  Were  gar¬ 
nished.  Were  adorned,  or  decorated. 
That  is,  the  foundations  were  composed 
of  precious  stones,  giving  them  this 
highly  ornamented  and  brilliant  appear¬ 
ance.  TT  The  first  foundation.  The  first 
row,  layer,  or  course.  Notes  ver.  14. 
IT  Was  jasper.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iv.  3. 
V  The  second,  sapphire.  This  stone  is 
not  elsewhere  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  a  precious  stone  next 
in  hardness  fto  the  diamond,  usually  of 
an  azure  or  sky-blue  color,  but  of  various 
shades.  H  The  third,  a  chalcedony.  This 
word  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  stone  referred  to  is  an 
uncrystallized  translucent  variety  of 
quartz,  having  a  whitish  color,  and  of  a 
lustre  nearly  like  wax.  It  is  found 
covering  the  sides  of  cavities,  and  is  a 
deposit  from  filtrated  silicious  waters. 
When  it  is  arranged  in  stripes,  it  consti¬ 
tutes  agate  ;  and  if  the  stripes  are  hori¬ 
zontal,  it  is  the  onyx.  The  modern 
carnelian  is  a  variety  of  this.  The 
carnelian  is  of  a  deep  flesh  red,  or 
reddish-white  color.  The  name  chalce¬ 
dony  is  from  Chalcedon,  a  town  in  Asia 
Minor,  opposite  to  Byzantium,  or  Con¬ 
stantinople,  where  this  stone  was  pro¬ 
bably  first  known.  Webster,  Die.  \  The 
fourth,  an  emerald.  See  Notes  on  Rev. 
iv.  3.  The  emerald  is  green. 

20.  The  fifth,  sardonyx.  This  word 
does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  name  is  derived  from 
Sardis,  a  city  in  Asia  Minor  (Notes,  ch. 
Hi.  1),  and  avrj^ — a  nail — so  named,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Pliny,  from  the  resemblance , 


20  The  fifth,  sardonyx;  the  sixth, 
sardius ;  the  seventh,  chrysolite ; 
the  eighth,  beryl ;  the  ninth,  a 
topaz ;  the  tenth,  a  chrysoprasus ; 
the  eleventh,  a  jacinth ;  the  twelfth, 
an  amethyst. 


of  its  color  to  the  flesh  and  the  nail.  It 
is  a  silicious  stone  or  gem,  nearly  allied 
to  the  onyx.  The  color  is  a  reddish- 
yellow,  nearly  orange.  Webster,  Die. 
I  The  sixth,  sardius.  This  word  does 
not  elsewhere  occur  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  It  is  also  derived  from  Sardis, 
and  the  name  was  probably  given  "to  the 
gem  because  it  was  found  there.  It  is 
a  stone  of  a  blood-red  or  flesh  color,  and 
is  commonly  known  as  a  carnelian.  It 
is  the  same  as  the  sardine  stone  men¬ 
tioned  in  Rev.  iv.  3.  See  Notes  on  that 
place,  The  seventh,  chrysolite.  This 
word  does  not  elsewhere  occur  in  the 
New  Testament.  It  is  derived  from 
%pva6{,  gold,  and,  Xl&os,  stone,  and  means 
golden  stone  —  and  was  applied  by  the 
ancients  to  all  gems  of  a  golden  or 
yellow  color,  probably  designating  par¬ 
ticularly  the  topaz  of  the  moderns. 
Dob.  Lex.  But  in  Webster’s  Die.  it  is 
said  that  its  prevalent  color  is  green.  It 
is  sometimes  transparent.  This  is  the 
modern  chrysolite.  The  ancients  un¬ 
doubtedly  understood  by  the  name  a 
yellow  gem.  ^  The  eighth,  beryl.  This 
word  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  beryl  is  a  mineral  of 
great  hardness,  and  is  of  a  green  or 
bluish-green  color.  It  is  identical  with 
the  emerald,  except  in  the  color,  the 
emerald  having  a  purer  and  richer  green 
color,  proceeding  from  a  trace  of  oxyd 
of  chrome.  Prisms  of  beryl  are  some¬ 
times  found  nearly  two  feet  in  diameter 
in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  Web¬ 
ster.  The  ninth,  a  topaz.  This  word 
does  not  elsewhere  occur  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  topaz  is  a  well-known 
mineral,  said  to  be  so  called  from  Topa- 
zos,  a  small  island  in  the  Arabian  Gulf. 
It  is  generally  of  a  yellowish  color,  and 
pellucid,  but  it  is  also  found  of  greenish, 
bluish,  or  brownish  shades.  The 
tenth,  a  chrysoprasus.  This  word  does 
not  elsewhere  occur  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  It  is  derived  from  %pvcrhs,  gold, 
and  irpacrov,  a  leek,  and  denotes  a  pre¬ 
cious  stone  of  greenish  golden  color. 


492 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


21  And  the  twelve  gates  were 
twelve  pearls;  every  several  gate 
was  of  one  pearl:  and  the  street 
of  the  city  was  pure  gold,  as  it 
were  transparent  glass. 

22  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein; 
for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the 
Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it. 

23  And  the  city  had  no  need  of 

a  Is.  60. 19,  20,  c.  22.  5.  b  Jno.  1.  4. 

like  a  leek,  that  is,  ‘  apple-green  passing 
into  a  grass-green.’  Rob.  Lex.  “  It  is 
a  variety  of  quartz.  It  is  commonly 
applergreen,  and  often  extremely  beau¬ 
tiful.  It  is  translucent,  or  sometimes 
semi-transparent;  its  hardness  little  in¬ 
ferior  to  flint.”  Webster,  Die.  The 
eleventh,  a  jacinth.  The  word  does  not 
elsewhere  occur  in  the  New  Testament. 
It  is  the  same  word  as  hyacinth — IdKivSos 
— and  denotes  properly  the  well-known 
flower  of  that  name,  usually  of  a  deep 
purple  or  reddish-blue.  Here  it  denotes 
a  gem  of  this  color.  It  is  a  red  variety 
of  zircon.  See  Webster,  Die.,  under  the 
word  hyacinth,  The  twelfth,  an  ame¬ 
thyst.  This  word,  also,  is  found  only  in 
this  place  in  the  New  Testament.  It 
denotes  a  gem  of  a  deep  purple  or  violet 
color.  The  word  is  derived  from  a,  priv. 
and  v(j,  to  be  intoxicated,  because  this 
gem  was  supposed  to  be  an  antidote 
against  drunkenness.  It  is  a  species  of 
quartz,  and  is  used  in  jewelry. 

21.  And  the  twelve  gates.  Ver.  12. 

Were  twelve  pearls.  See  Notes  on  ch. 

xvii.  4 ;  Matt.  xiii.  46.  Every  several 
gate  was  of  one  pearl.  Each  gate. 
Of  course  this  is  not  to  be  understood 
iterally.  The  idea  is  that  of  orna¬ 
ment  and  beauty,  and  nothing  could 
give  a  more  striking  view  of  the  mag¬ 
nificence  of  the  future  abode  of  the 
saints.  And  the  street  of  the  city  was 
pure  gold.  Was  paved  with  gold  ;  that 
is,  all  the  vacant  space  that  was  not 
occupied  with  buildings  was  of  pure 
gold.  See  Notes  on  ver.  18. 

22.  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein.  No 
structure  reared  expressly  for  the  wor¬ 
ship  of  God ;  no  particular  place  where 
he  was  adored.  It  was  all  temple — no¬ 
thing  but  a  temple.  It  was  not  like  Je¬ 
rusalem,  where  there  was  but  one  house 
reared  expressly  for  divine  worship, 
and  to  which  the  inhabitants  repaired 
to  praise  God ;  it  was  all  one  great  tem- 


the  sun,  °  neither  of  the  moon,  to 
shine  in  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  did 
lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light 
b  thereof. 

24  And  the  nations  c  of  them 
which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the 
light  of  it :  and  the  kings  d  of  the 
earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honor 
into  it. 

c  Is.  60.  3-11,  66. 10-12.  d  Ps.  72. 11. 

pie  reared  in  honor  of  his  name,  and 
where  worship  ascended  from  every  part 
of  it.  With  this  explanation,  this  passage 
harmonizes  with  what  is  said  in  ch.  iii. 
12,  vii.  15.  For  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it.  They 
are  present  in  all  parts  of  it  in  their 
glory;  they  fill  it  with  light;  and  the 
splendor  of  their  presence  may  be  said  to 
be  the  temple.  The  idea  here  is,  that  it 
would  be  a  holy  world  —  all  holy.  No 
particular  portion  would  be  set  apart  for 
purposes  of  public  worship,  but  in  all 
places  God  would  be  adored,  and  every 
portion  of  it  devoted  to  the  purposes  of 
religion. 

23.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the 
sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it. 
This  imagery  seems  to  be  derived  from 
Isa.  lx.  19,  20.  See  Notes  on  those 
verses.  No  language  could  give  a  more 
striking  or  beautiful  representation  of 
the  heavenly  state  than  that  which  is 
here  employed.  For  the  Lord  God 
did  lighten  it.  By  the  visible  splendor 
of  his  glory.  See  Notes  on  ver.  11.  That 
supplied  the  place  of  the  sun  and  the 
moon,  And  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof. 
The  Son  of  God ;  the  Messiah.  Notes  ch. 
v.  6 ;  Isa.  lx.  19. 

24.  And  the  nations  of  them  that  are 
saved.  All  the  nations  that  are  saved ; 
or  all  the  saved  considered  as  nations. 
This  imagery  is  doubtless  derived  from 
that  in  Isaiah,  particularly  ch.  lx.  3-9. 
See  Notes  on  that  passage.  Shall  walk 
in  the  light  of  it.  Shall  enjoy  its  splen¬ 
dor,  and  be  continually  in  its  light. 

And  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring 
their  glory  and  honor  into  it.  All  that 
they  consider  as  constituting  their  glory, 
treasures,  crowns,  sceptres,  robes.  The 
idea  is,  that  all  these  will  be  devoted  to 
God  in  the  future  days  of  the  church 
in  its  glory,  and  will  be,  as  it  were, 
brought  and  laid  down  at  the  feei 
of  the  Saviour  in  heaven.  The  lan 


493 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


A.  D.  96.] 

25  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not 
D6  shut  ut  <ill  by  day ;  for  a  thcro 
shall  be  no  night  there. 

26  And  they  shall  bring  the 
glory  and  honor  of  the  nations 
into  it. 

27  And  b  there  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  it  any  thing  that  defileth, 
neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomi¬ 
nation,  or  maketh  a  lie :  but  they 

a  Zee.  14. 7. 


guage  is  derived,  doubtless,  from  the 
description  in  Isa.  lx.  3-14.  Comp.  Isa. 
xlix.  23. 

25.  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not  he  shut 
at  all  hy  day.  It  shall  be  constantly 
open,  allowing  free  ingress  and  egress  to 
all  who  reside  there.  The  language  is 
derived  from  Isa.  lx.  11.  See  Notes  on 
that  place.  Applied  to  the  future  state 
of  the  blessed,  it  would  seem  to  mean, 
that,  while  this  will  be  their  permanent 
abode,  yet  that  the  dwellers  there  will 
not  be  prisoners.  The  universe  will  be 
open  to  them.  They  will  be  permitted 
to  go  forth  and  visit  every  world,  and 
survey  the  works  of  God  in  all  parts  of 
his  dominions,  For  there  shall  he  no 
night  there.  It  shall  be  all  day ;  all  un¬ 
clouded  splendor.  When,  therefore,  it  is 
said  that  the  gates  should  not  be  ‘  shut 
hy  day,’  it  means  that  they  would  never 
be  shut.  When  it  is  said  that  there 
would  be  no  night  there,  it  is,  undoubt¬ 
edly,  to  be  taken  as  meaning  that  there 
would  be  no  literal  darkness,  and  nothing 
of  which  night  is  the  emblem: — no  ca¬ 
lamity,  no  sorrow,  no  bereavement,  no 
darkened  windows  on  account  of  the 
loss  of  friends  and  kindred.  Comp.  Notes 
on  ver.  4. 

26.  And  they  shall  bring,  <fcc.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  24.  That  blessed  world 
shall  be  made  up  of  all  that  was  truly 
valuable  and  pure  on  the  earth. 

27.  And  there  shall  in  nowise.  On  no 
account;  by  no  means.  This  strong 
language  denotes  the  absolute  exclusion 
of  all  that  is  specified  in  the  verse. 

Any  thing  that  defileth.  Literally, 

‘  any  thing  common.’  See  Notes  on  Acts 
x.  14.  It  means  here  that  nothing  will 
be  found  in  that  blessed  abode  which  is 
unholy  or  sinful.  It  will  be  a  pure 
world.  2  Peter  iii.  13.  Neither  what¬ 
soever  worketh  abominations  or  maketh 
42 


which  are  written  in  the  Lamb’s 
book  c  of  life. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

AND  he  showed  me  a  pure  river 
of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal, 
proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God 
and  of  the  Lamb. 

b  Is.  35. 8,  52. 1,  60. 21 ;  Joel  3. 17 ;  Matt.  13 
41;  1  Co.  6.  9, 10;  Ga.  5. 19-21;  Ep.  5.  5;  H« 
12. 14.  c  c.  13.  8. 


a  lie.  See  Notes  on  ver.  8.  But  the$ 
which  are  written  in  the  Lamb’s  book  of 
life.  Whose  names  are  there  recorded. 
See  Notes  ch.  iii.  5.  Comp.  Notes  on 
ver.  8. 

CHAPTER  XXII.,  1-5. 

For  the  Analysis  of  the  first  five  verses 
of  this  chapter,  see  the  Analysis  of  ch.  xxi. 
This  chapter  comprises  the  remainder  of 
the  description  of  the  ‘  new  Jerusalem’ — . 
the  blessed  abode  of  the  saints  (vs.  1-5), 
and  then  (vs.  6-21)  the  conclusion  or  Epi¬ 
logue  of  the  whole  book.  It  is  difficult 
to  conceive  what  induced  the  author  of 
the  division  of  the  New  Testament  into 
chapters,  to  separate  the  first  five  verses 
of  this  chapter  from  the  preceding  chap¬ 
ter.  A  new  chapter  should  have  com¬ 
menced  at  verse  6,  of  the  xxii.  chapter, 
for  the  remainder  properly  comprises  the 
conclusion  of  the  whole  book.  Comp. 
Intro,  to  Notes  on  the  Gospels,  vol.  1, 
pp.  viii.  ix. 

1.  And  he  showed  me  a  pure  river  of 
water  of  life.  In  the  New  Jerusalem; 
the  happy  abode  of  the  redeemed.  The 
phrase  ‘  water  of  life,’  means  living  or 
running  water,  like  a  spring  or  fountain, 
as  contrasted  with  a  stagnant  pool.  See 
Notes  on  John  iv.  14.  The  allusion  here 
is  doubtless  to  the  first  Eden,  where  a 
river  watered  the  garden  (Gen.  ii.  10, 
seq.),  and  as  this  is  a  description  of 
Eden  recovered,  or  Paradise  regained,  it 
was  natural  to  introduce  a  river  of  water 
also,  yet  in  such  away  as  to  accord  with 
the  general  description  of  that  future 
abode  of  the  redeemed.  It  does  not 
spring  up,  therefore,  from  the  ground, 
but  flows  from  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb.  Perhaps,  also,  the  writer  had  in 
his  eye  the  description  in  Ezek.  xlvii. 
1-12,  where  a  stream  issues  from  under 
the  temple,  and  is  parted  in  different  di- 


494 


REVELATION, 


LA.  D.  96. 


2  In  0  the  midst  of  the  street b  of 
it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river, 
was  there  the  tree  c  of  life,  which 

rections.  Clear  as  crystal.  See  Notes 
ch.  iv.  6.  Proceeding  out  of  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  Flowing  from 
the  foot  of  the  throne.  Comp.  ch.  iv.  6. 
This  idea  is  strictly  in  accordance  with 
Oriental  imagery.  In  the  East,  fountains 
and  running  streams  constituted  an  es¬ 
sential  part  of  the  image  of  enjoyment 
and  prosperity  (see  Notes  on  Isa.  xxxv. 
6),  and  such  fountains  were  common  in 
the  courts  of  Oriental  houses..  Here,  the 
river  is  an  emblem  of  peace,  happiness, 
plenty;  and  the  essential  thought  in  its 
flowing  from  the  throne,  is,  that  all  the 
happiness  of  heaven  proceeds  from  God. 

2.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it.  Pro¬ 
fessor  Stuart  renders  this,  “  between  the 
street  thereof  and  the  river;”  and  says 
that  “  the  writer  conceives  of  the  river 
as  running  through  the  whole  city;  then 
of  streets  parallel  to  it  on  either  side ; 
and  then,  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  be¬ 
tween  the  water  and  the  street,  the  whole 
stream  is  lined  on  either  side  with  two 
rows  of  the  tree  of  life.”  The  more 
common  interpretation,  however,  is 
doubtless  admissible,  and  would  give  a 
more  beautiful  image ;  that  in  the  street, 
or  streets  of  the  city,  as  well  as  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  the  tree  of  life  was 
planted.  It  abounded  every  where.  The 
city  had  not  only  a  river  passing  through 
it,  but  it  was  pervaded  by  streets,  and 
all  those  streets  were  lined  and  shaded 
with  this  tree.  The  idea  in  the  mind  of 
the  writer  is  that  of  Eden  or  Paradise ; 
but  it  is  not  the  Eden  of  the  book  of 
Genesis,  or  the  Oriental  or  Persian  Para¬ 
dise: — it  is  a  picture  where  all  is  com¬ 
bined  that  in  the  view  of  the  writer  would 
constitute  beauty,  or  contribute  to  hap¬ 
piness.  And  on  either  side  of  the  river. 
As  well  as  in  all  the  streets.  The  writer 
undoubtedly  conceives  of  a  single  river 
running  through  the  city  —  probably  as 
meandering  along — and  that  river  lined 
on  both  sides  with  the  tree  of  life.  This 
gives  great  beauty  to  the  imagery. 

Was  there  the  tree  of  life.  Not  a  sin¬ 
gle  tree,  but  it  abounded  every  where — 
on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  in  all  the 
streets.  It  was  the  common  tree  in  this 
blessed  Paradise  —  of  which  all  might 
partake,  and  which  was  every  where  the 
emblem  of  immortality.  In  this  respect 


bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and 
yielded  her  fruit  every  month :  and 
a  Eze.  47. 1, 12.  b  c.  21.  21.  c  c.  2. 7. 

this  new  Paradise  stands  in  strong  con¬ 
trast  with  that  in  which  Adam  was 
placed  at  his  creation,  where  there  seems 
to  have  been  a  single  tree  that  was  de¬ 
signated  as  the  tree  of  life.  Gen.  iii.  22, 
23.  In  the  future  state  of  the  blessed, 
that  tree  will  abound,  and  all  may  freely 
partake  of  it;  the  emblem  —  the  pledge 
of  immortal  life  —  will  be  constantly  be¬ 
fore  the  eyes,  whatever  part  of  the  future 
abode  may  be  traversed,  and  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  that  blessed  world  may  con¬ 
stantly  partake  of  it.  Which  bare 
twelve  manner  of  fruits.  “  Producing 
twelve  fruit-harvests  ;  not  (as  our  ver¬ 
sion)  twelve  manner  of  fruits.”  Prof. 
Stuart.  The  idea  is  not  that  there  are 
twelve  kinds  of  fruit  on  the  same  tree, 
for  that  is  not  implied  in  the  language 
used  by  John.  The  literal  rendering  is, 
‘producing  twelve  fruits’ — notovv  saprrobi 
SdSuca.  The  word  ‘manner’  has  been 
introduced  by  the  translators  without 
authority.  The  idea  is,  that  the  tree 
bore  every  month  in  the  year,  so  that 
there  were  twelve  fruit-harvests.  It  was 
not  like  a  tree  that  bears  but  once  a 
year,  or  in  one  season  only,  but  it  con¬ 
stantly  bore  fruit  —  it  bore  every  month. 
The  idea  is  that  of  abundance,  not  vari¬ 
ety.  The  supply  never  fails  ;  the  tree  is 
never  barren.  As  there  is  but  a  single 
class  of  trees  referred  to,  it  might  have 
been  supposed,  perhaps,  that,  according 
to  the  common  method  in  which  fruit  is 
produced,  there  would  be  sometimes 
plenty  and  sometimes  want;  but  the 
writer  says  that,  though  there  is  but  one 
kind,  yet  the  supply  is  ample.  The  tree 
is  every  where ;  it  is  constantly  producing 
fruit.  And  yielded  her  fruit  every 
month.  The  word  ‘and’  is  also  supplied 
by  the  translators,  and  introduces  an 
idea  which  is  not  in  the  original,  as  if 
there  was  not  only  a  succession  of  har¬ 
vests,  which  is  in  the  text  —  but  that 
each  one  differed  from  the  former,  which 
is  not  in  the  text.  The  proper  transla¬ 
tion  is,  ‘  producing  twelve  fruits,  yielding 
or  rendering  its  fruit  in  each  month.’ 
Thus  there  is  indeed  a  succession  of 
fruit-crops,  but  it  is  the  same  kind  of 
fruit.  We  are  not  to  infer,  however, 
that  there  will  not  be  variety  in  the  oc¬ 
cupations  and  the  joys  of  ths  heavenly 


A-D-96.]  CHAPTER  XXII. 


495 


the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations. 

3  And  there  “  shall  be  no  more 
curse :  but  the  throne  of  God  b  and 
of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it ;  and  his 
servants  0  shall  serve  him. 

4  And  d  they  shall  see  his  face ; 

.  ¥'  11-  6  Eze-  48'  S5‘  c  c-  7.  15. 

“  Mat.  5.  8;  Jno.  12.  26, 17.  24;  1  Co.  13.  12; 
1  Jno.  3.  2.  * 


and  his  name  «  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads. 

5  And  f  there  shall  be  no  night 
there ;  and  they  need  no  candle, 
neither  light  of  the  sun;  for  the 
Lord  God  giveth  them  light :  *  and 
they  shall  reign  *  for  ever  and 
ever. 

A  Ro.  I:  it:  f  °‘  21- 23’  25-  *  Vs- 3a  39- 


state,  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
there  will  be  ample  diversity  in  the  em- 
ployments,  and  in  the  sources  of  happi¬ 
ness,  in  heaven ;  but  the  single  thought 
expressed  here  is,  that  the  means  of  life 
will  be  abundant:  —  the  trees  of  life  will 
be  every  where,  and  they  will  be  con¬ 
stantly  yielding  fruit.  *[  And  the  leaves 
of  the  tree.  Not  only  the  fruit  will  con¬ 
tribute  to  give  life,  but  even  the  leaves 
will  be  salutary.  Every  thing  about  it 
will  contribute  to  sustain  life,  Were 
for  the  healing.  That  is,  they  contribute 
to  impart  life  and  health  to  those  who 
had  been  diseased.  We  are  not  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  there  will  be  sickness,  and  a 
healing  process  in  heaven,  for  that  idea 
is  expressly  excluded  in  ch.  xxi.  4,  but 
the  meaning  is,  that  the  life  and  health 
of  that  blessed  world  will  have  been  im¬ 
parted  by  partaking  of  that  tree,  and  the 
writer  says  that,  in  fact,  it  was  owing  to 
it  that  they  who  dwell  there  had  been 
healed  of  their  spiritual  maladies,  and 
had  been  made  to  live  for  ever.  ^f  Of  the 
nations.  Of  all  the  nations  assembled 
there,  ch.  xxi.  24.  There  is  a  close  re¬ 
semblance  between  the  language  here 
used  by  John,  and  that  used  by  Ezekiel, 
xlvii.- 12,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
both  these  writers  refer  to  the  same  thing. 
Comp,  also  in  the  Apocrypha,  2  Ezra  ii. 
12,  viii.  52-54. 

3.  And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse. 
This  is  doubtless  designed  to  be  in  strong 
contrast  with  our  present  abode,  and  it 
is  affirmed  that  what  now  properly 
comes  under  the  name  of  a  curse,  or 
whatever  is  part  of  the  curse  pronounced 
on  man  by  the  fall,  will  bo  there  un¬ 
known.  The  earth  will  bo  no  more 
cursed,  and  will  produce  no  more  thorns 
and  thistles ;  man  will  be  no  more  com¬ 
pelled  to  earn  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of 
his  brow;  woman  will  be  no  more 
doomed  to  bear  the  sufferings  which  she 
does  now ;  and  tho  abodes  of  the  blessed 


will  be  no  more  cursed  by  sickness, 
sorrow,  tears,  and  death.  f  But  the 
throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be 
in  it.  God  will  reign  there  for  ever,  the 
principles  of  purity  and  love  which  tho 
Lamb  of  God  came  to  establish,  will 
pervade  that  blessed  abode  to  all  eternity. 
If  And  his  servants  shall  serve  him.  All 
his  servants  that  are  there;  that  is,  all 
the  inhabitants  of  that  blessed  world. 
For  the  meaning  of  this  passage,  see 
Notes  on  ch.  vii.  15. 

4.  And  they  shall  see  his  face.  See 
Notes  on  Matt,  xviii.  10.  They  would 
be  constantly  in  his  presence,  and  be 
permitted  continually  to  behold  his 
glory.  *[  And  his  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads.  They  shall  be  designated  as 
his.  See  Notes  on  ch.  iii.  12,  vii.  3, 
xiii.  16. 

5.  And  there  shall  be  no  night  there. 

Notes,  ch.  xxi.  25.  And  they  used  no 
candle.  No  lamp;  no  artificial  light,  as 
in  a  world  where  there  is  night  and 
darkness.  *f  Neither  light  of  the  sun ; 
for  the  Lord  God,  <fcc.  Notes,  ch.  xxi. 
23.  *'  And  they  shall  reign  for  ever 

and  ever.  That  is,  with  God ;  they  shall 
be  as  kings.  See  Notes  on  ch.  v.  10, 
xx.  6;  comp.  Notes  on  2  Tim.  11,  12- 
Rom.  viii.  16.  ’ 

remarks  on  ch.  xxi.  xxir.  1-5. 

This  portion  of  the  Apocalypse  con¬ 
tains  the  most  full  and  complete  con¬ 
tinuous  description  of  the  state  of  the 
righteous  in  the  world  of  blessedness, 
that  is  to  be  found  in  the  Bible..  It 
seems  to  be  proper,  therefore,  to  pause 
on  it  for  a  moment,  and  to  state  in  a 
summary  manner,  what  will  be  the 
principal  features  of  that  blessedness. 
All  can  see  that,  as  a  description,  it 
occupies  an  appropriate  place,  not  only 
in  regard  to  this  book,  but  to  the 
volume  of  revealed  truth.  In  reference 
to  this  particular  book,  it  is  the  appro- 


496 


REVEL 

priate  close  of  the  account  of  the  con¬ 
flicts,  the  trials,  and  the  persecutions  of 
the  church ;  in  reference  to  the  whole 
volume  of  revealed  truth,  it  is  appro¬ 
priate  because  it  occurs  in  the  last  of  the 
inspired  boohs  that  was  written.  It  was 
proper  that  a  volume  of  revealed  truth 
given  to  mankind,  and  designed  to 
describe  a  great  work  of  redeeming 
mercy,  should  close  with  a  description 
of  the  state  of  the  righteous  after 
death. 

The  principal  features  in  the  descrip¬ 
tion  are  the  following  : — 

(1)  There  will  be  a  new  heaven  and  a 
new  earth : — a  new  order  of  things,  and 
a  world  adapted  to  the  condition  of  the 
righteous.  There  will  be  such  changes 
produced  in  the  earth,  and  such  abodes 
fitted  up  for  the  redeemed,  that  it  will 
be  proper  to  say  that  they  are  new, 
ch.  xxi.  1. 

(2)  The  locality  of  that  abode  is  not 
determined.  No  particular  place  is  re¬ 
vealed  as  constituting  heaven ;  nor  is  it 
intimated  that  there  would  be  such  a 
place.  For  anj  thing  that  appears  the 
universe  at  large  will  be  heaven — the 
earth  and  all  worlds ;  and  we  are  left 
free  to  suppose  that  the  redeemed  will 
yet  occupy  any  position  of  the  uni¬ 
verse,  and  be  permitted  to  behold  the 
peculiar  glories  of  the  divine  character 
that  are  manifested  in  each  of  the 
worlds  that  he  has  made.  Comp. 
Notes  on  1  Peter  i.  12.  That  there  may 
be  some  one  place  in  the  universe  that 
will  be  their  permanent  home,  and  that 
will  be  more  ,  properly  called  heaven, 
where  the  glory  of  their  God  and 
Saviour  will  be  peculiarly  manifested, 
is  not  improbable ;  but  still  there  is  no¬ 
thing  to  prevent  the  hope  and  the 
belief  that  in  the  infinite  duration  that 
awaits  them,  they  will  be  permitted  to 
visit  all  the  worlds  that  God  has  made, 
and  to  learn  in  each,  and  from  each,  all 
that  he  has  peculiarly  manifested  of  his 
own  character  and  glory  there. 

(3)  That  future  state  will  be  entirely 
and  for  ever  free  from  all  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  the  apostacy  as  now  seen  on 
the  earth.  There  will  be  neither  tears, 
nor  sorrow,  nor  death,  nor  crying, 
nor  pain,  nor  curse,  ch.  xxi.  4,  xxii.  3. 
It  will,  therefore,  be  a  perfectly  happy 
abode. 


ATION,  [A.  D.  96. 

(4)  It  will  be  pure  and  holy.  No¬ 
thing  will  ever  enter  there  that  shall 
contaminate  and  defile.  Ch.  xxi.  8.  27. 
On  this  account,  also,  it  will  be  a  happy 
world,  for  (a)  all  real  happiness  has  its 
foundation  in  holiness  ;  and  ( b )  the 
source  of  all  the  misery  that  the  uni¬ 
verse  has  experienced  is  sin.  Let  that 
be  removed,  and  the  earth  would  be 
happy ;  let  it  be  extinguished  from 
any  world,  and  its  happiness  will  be 
secure. 

(5)  It  will  be  a  world  of  perfect  light, 
ch.  xxi.  22,  23,  24,  25,  xxii.  5.  There 
will  be  (a)  literally  no  night  there ; 

(6)  spiritually  and  morally  there  will  be 
no  darkness — no  error,  no  sin.  Light 
will  be  cast  on  a  thousand  subjects  now 
obscure ;  and  on  numerous  points  per¬ 
taining  to  the  divine  government  and 
dealings  which  now  perplex  the  mind, 
there  will  be  poured  the  splendor  of  per¬ 
fect  day.  All  the  darkness  that  exists 
here  will  be  dissipated  there ;  all  that 
is  now  obscure  will  be  made  light. 
And  in  view  of  this  fact,  we  may  well 
submit  for  a  little  time  to  the  mys¬ 
teries  which  hang  over  the  divine  deal¬ 
ings  here.  The  Christian  is  destined 
to  live  for  ever  and  ever.  He  is  capable 
of  an  eternal  progression  in  knowledge. 
He  is  soon  to  be  ushered  into  the 
splendors  of  that  eternal  abode  where 
there  is  no  need  of  the  light  of  the  sun 
or  the  moon,  and  where  there  is  no 
night.  In  a  little  time — a  few  weeks  or 
days — by  removal  to  that  higher  state 
of  being,  he  will  have  made  a  degree  of 
progress  in  true  knowledge  compared 
with  which  all  that  can  be  learned  here 
is  a  nameless  trifle.  In  that  future 
abode  he  will  be  permitted  to  know  all 
that  is  to  be  known  in  those  worlds  that 
shine  upon  his  path  by  day  or  by 
night ;  all  that  is  to  be  known  in  the 
character  of  their  Maker,  and  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  his  government ;  all  that  is 
to  be  known  of  the  glorious  plan  of 
redemption ;  all  that  is  to  be  known 
of  the  reasons  why  sin  and  woe  were 
permitted  to  enter  this  beautiful  world. 
There,  too,  he  will  be  permitted  to  enjoy 
all  that  there  is  to  be  enjoyed  in  a  world 
without  a  cloud  and  without  a  tear ; 
all  that  is  beatific  in  the  friendship  of 
God  the  Father,  of  the  Ascended  Re¬ 
deemer,  of  the  Sacred  Spirit ;  all  that  is 
blessed  in  the  goodly  fellowship  of  the 
angels,  of  the  apostles,  of  the  prophets ' 


497 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XXII. 


all  that  is  rapturous  in  re-union  with 
those  that  were  loved  on  the  earth. 
Well  then  may  he  bear  with  the  dark¬ 
ness,  and  endure  the  trials  of  this  state 
a  little  longer. 

(6)  It  will  be  a  world  of  surpassing 
splendor.  This  is  manifest  by  the  de¬ 
scription  of  it  in  chapter  xx.,  as  a  gor¬ 
geous  city,  with  ample  dimensions,  with 
most  brilliant  colors,  set  with  gems,  and 
composed  of  pure  gold.  The  writer,  in 
the  description  of  that  abode,  has  accu¬ 
mulated  all  that  is  gorgeous  and  mag¬ 
nificent,  and  doubtless  felt  that  even  this 
was  a  very  imperfect  representation  of 
that  glorious  world. 

(7)  That  future  world  will  be  an  abode 
of  the  highest  conceivable  happiness. 
This  is  manifest,  not  only  from  the  fact 
stated  that  there  will  be  no  pain  or  sor¬ 
row  here,  but  from  the  positive  descrip¬ 
tion  in  eh.  xxii.  1,  2.  It  was,  undoubt¬ 
edly,  the  design  of  the  writer,  under  the 
image  of  a  Paradise,  to  describe  the  fu¬ 
ture  abode  of  the  redeemed  as  one  of  the 
highest  happiness  —  where  there  would 
be  an  ample  and  a  constant  supply 
of  every  want,  and  where  the  highest 
ideas  of  enjoyment  would  be  realized. 
And 

(8)  All  this  will  be  eternal.  The  uni¬ 
verse,  so  vast  and  so  wonderful,  seems 
to  have  been  made  to  be  fitted  to  the 
eternal  contemplation  of  created  minds, 
and  in  this  universe  there  is  an  adapta¬ 
tion  for  the  employment  of  mind  for  ever 
and  ever. 

If  it  be  asked  now  why  John,  in  the 
account  which  he  has  given  of  the  hea¬ 
venly  state,  adopted  this  figurative  and 
emblematic  mode  of  representation,  and 
why  it  did  not  please  God  to  reveal  any 
more  respecting  the  nature  of  the  em¬ 
ployments  and  enjoyments  of  the  hea¬ 
venly  world,  it  may  be  replied, 

(a)  That  this  method  is  eminently  in 
accordance  with  the  general  character 
of  the  book,  as  a  book  of  symbols  and 
emblems. 

(b)  He  has  stated  enough  to  give  us  a 
general  and  a  most  attractive  view  of 
that  blessed  state. 

(e)  It  is  not  certain  that  wo  would 
have  appreciated  it,  or  could  have  com¬ 
prehended  it,  if  a  more  minute  and  lite¬ 
ral  description  had  been  given.  That 
state  may  be  so  unlike  this  that  it  is 
doubtful  whether  we  could  havo  compre- 
42* 


hended  any  literal  description  that  could 
have  been  given.  How  little  of  the  fu¬ 
ture  and  the  unseen  can  ever  be  known 
by  a  mere  description;  how  faint  and 
imperfect  a  view  can  we  ever  obtain  of 
any  thing  by  the  mere  use  of  words,  and 
especially  of  objects  which  have  no  re¬ 
semblance  to  any  thing  which  we  have 
seen  !  Who  ever  obtained  any  adequate 
idea  of  Niagara  by  a  mere  description  ? 
To  what  Greek  or  Roman  mind,  how¬ 
ever  cultivated,  could  there  have  been 
conveyed  the  idea  of  a  printing-press,  of 
a  locomotive  engine,  of  the  magnetic  tele¬ 
graph,  by  mere  description  ?  Who  can 
convey  to  one  born  blind  an  idea  of  tho 
prismatic  colors ;  or  to  the  deaf  an  idea 
of  sounds  ?  If  we  may  imagine  the  world 
of  insect  tribes  to  be  endowed  with  the 
power  of  language  and  thought,  how 
could  the  gay  and  gilded  butterfly  that 
to-day  plays  in  the  sunbeam,  impart  to 
its  companions  of  yesterday  —  low  and 
grovelling  worms  —  any  adequate  idea 
of  that  new  condition  of  being  into  which 
it  had  emerged  ?  And  how  do  we  know 
that  we  could  comprehend  any  descrip¬ 
tion  of  that  world  where  the  righteous 
dwell, orof  employments  and  enjoyments 
so  unlike  our  own  ? 

I  cannot  more  appropriately  close  this 
brief  notice  of  the  revelations  of  the  hea¬ 
venly  state,  than  by  introducing  an  an¬ 
cient  poem,  which  seems  to  be  founded 
on  this,  portion  of  the  Apocalypse,  and 
which  is  the  original  of  one  of  the  most 
touching  and  beautiful  hymns  now  used 
in  Protestant  places  of  worship:  —  the 
well-known  hymn  which  begins,  “Jeru¬ 
salem  !  my  Happy  Home.”  This  hymn 
is  deservedly  a  great  favorite,  and 
is  an  eminently  beautiful  composition. 
It.  is,  however,  of  Roman  Catholic 
origin.  It  is  found  in  a  small  volume 
of  miscellaneous  poetry,  sold  at  Mr. 
Bright’s  sale  of  manuscripts  in  1844, 
which  has  been  placed  in  the  British 
Museum,  and  now  forms  the  additional 
MS.  15,225.  It  is  referred,  by  the  letter¬ 
ing  on  . the  book,  to  the  age  of  Elizabeth, 
but  it  is  supposed  to  belong  to  the  sub¬ 
sequent  reign.  The  volume  seems  to 
havo  been  formed  by  or  for  some  Roman 
Catholic,  and  contains  many  devotional 
songs  or  hymns,  interspersed  with  others 
of  a  mere  general  character.  See  Littell’s 
Living  Age,  vol.  xxviii.  pp.  333-330.  The 
hymn  is  as  follows : — 


498 


REVELATION,  [A.  D.  96. 


A  SONG  MADE  BY  F.  B.  P. 

To  the  tune  of  “Diana” 

Jerusalem  !  my  happy  home  ! 

When  shall  I  come  to  thee, 

When  shall  my  sorrows  have  an  end, 
Thy  joys  when  shall  I  see f 

O  happy  harbor  of  the  saints, 

O  sweet,  and  pleasant  soil. 

In  thee  no  sorrow  may  be  found, 

No  grief,  no  care,  no  toil. 

In  thee  no  sickness  may  be  seen, 

No  hurt,  no  ache,  no  sore ; 

There  is  no  death,  no  ugly  deil,* 
There ’s  life  for  evermore. 


No  dampish  mist  is  seen  in  thee, 
No  cold  nor  darksome  night; 
There  every  soul  shines  as  the  sun, 
There  God  himself  gives  light. 

There  lust  and  lucre  cannot  dwell, 
There  envy  bears  no  sway, 

There  is  no  hunger,  heat,  nor  cold, 
But  pleasure  every  way. 


Jerusalem !  Jerusalem ! 

God  grant  I  once  may  see 
Thy  endless  joys,  and  of  the  same, 
Partaker  aye  to  be. 

Thy  walls  are  made  of  precious  stones, 
Thy  bulwarks  diamonds  square. 

Thy  gates  are  of  right  orient  pearl, 
Exceeding  rich  and  rare. 


Thy  turrets  and  thy  pinnacles 
With  carbuncles  do  shine, 

Thy  very  streets  are  paved  with  gold, 
Surpassing  clear  and  fine. 


Thy  houses  are  of  ivory. 

Thy  windows  crystal  clear, 

Thy  tiles  are  made  of  beaten  gold ; 

0  God,  that  I  were  there  1 

Within  thy  gates  no  thing  doth  come 
That  is  not  passing  clean, 

No  spider’s  web,  no  dirt,  no  dust, 

No  filth  may  there  be  seen. 


Ah,  my  sweet  home,  Jerusalem  I 
Would  God  I  were  in  thee, 

Would  God  my  woes  were  at  an  end, 
Thy  joys  that  I  might  see. 

Thy  saints  are  crowned  with  glory  great, 
They  see  God  face  to  face, 

They  triumph  still,  they  still  rejoice, 

Most  happy  is  their  case. 

We  that  are  here  in  banishment 
Continually  do  moan ; 

We  sigh  and  sob,  we  weep  and  wail, 
Perpetually  we  groan. 

Our  sweet  is  mixed  with  bitter  gall, 

Our  pleasure  is  but  pain, 

Our  joys  scarce  last  the  looking  on, 

Our  sorrows  still  remain. 


But  there  they  live  in  such  delight, 
Such  pleasure,  and  such  play, 

As  that  to  them  a  thousand  years, 
Doth  seem  as  yesterday. 

Thy  vineyards  and  thy  orchards  are 
Most  beautiful  and  fair, 

Full  furnished  with  trees  and  fruits, 
Most  wonderful  and  rare. 


Thy  gardens  and  thy  gallant  walks 
Continually  are  green ; 

There  grow  such  sweet  and  pleasant  flower* 
As  nowhere  else  are  seen. 

There ’s  nectar  and  ambrosia  made, 

There ’s  musk  and  civet  sweet, 

There  many  a  fair  and  dainty  drug 
Are  trodden  under  feet. 

There  cinnamon,  there  sugar  grows, 

There  nard  and  balm  abound. 

What  tongue  can  tell,  or  heart  conceive 
The  joys  that  there  are  found? 

Quite  through  the  streets,  with  silver  sound, 
The  flood  of  life  doth  flow', 

Dpou  whose  banks,  on  every  side, 

The  wood  of  life  doth  grow. 

There  trees  for  evermore  bear  fruit, 

And  evermore  do  spring; 

There  evermore  the  angels  sit, 

And  evermore  do  sing. 

There  David  stands  with  harp  in  hand. 

As  master  of  the  quire ; 

Ten  thousand  times  that  man  were  blest 
That  might  this  music  f  hear. 

Our  lady  sings  Magnificat, 

With  tune  surpassing  sweet. 

And  all  the  virgins  bear  their  parts, 

Sitting  above  her  feet. 

Te  Deum  doth  Saint  Ambrose  sing, 

Saint  Austine  doth  the  like  ; 

Old  Simeon  and  Zachary 
Have  not  their  song  to  seek. 

There  Magdalene  hath  left  her  moan, 

And  cheerfully  doth  sing, 

With  blessed  saints  whose  harmony 
In  every  street  doth  ring. 

Jerusalem,  my  happy  home  1 
W ould  God  I  were  in  thee, 

Would  God  my  woes  were  at  an  end, 

Thy  joys  that  I  might  see  1 


ANALYSIS  OF  CH.  XXII.  6-20. 

This  portion  of  the  book  of  Revelation 
is  properly  the  Epilogue,  or  conclusion. 
The  main  purposes  of  the  vision  are  ac¬ 
complished;  the  enemies  of  the  church 
are  quelled;  the  church  is  triumphant; 
the  affairs  of  the  world  are  wound  up ; 
the  redeemed  are  received  to  their  bliss¬ 
ful,  eternal  abode;  the  wicked  are  cut 
off;  the  earth  is  purified,  and  the  affairs 
of  the  universe  are  fixed  on  their  perma¬ 
nent  foundation.  A  few  miscellaneous 
matters,  therefore,  close  the  book. 

(1)  A  solemn  affirmation  on  the  part 
of  him  who  had  made  these  revelations, 
that  they  are  true,  and  that  they  will 
be  speedily  accomplished,  and  that  he 
will  be  blessed  or  happy  who  shall  keep 
the  sayings  of  the  book,  vs.  6,  7. 

(2)  The  effect  of  all  these  things  on 
J ohn  himself,  leading  him,  as  in  a  former 
case  (ch.  xix.  10),  to  a  disposition  to  wor¬ 
ship  him  who  had  been  the  medium  in 


*  Devil,  in  MS.,  but  it  must  have  been  pronounced 
Strike.,  Deil.  t  Musing,  in  MS. 


499 


A.  D.  96.]  CHAPTER  XXII. 


6  And  he  said  unto  me,  These 
sayings  are  faithful  and  true  :  and 
the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  prophets 
sent  °  his  angel  to  show  unto  his 
servants  the  things  which  must 
shortly  be  done. 

7  Behold,  I  come  quickly :  b 

a  c.  1. 1. 

making  to  him  such  extraordinary  com¬ 
munications,  vs.  8.  9. 

(3)  A  command  not  to  seal  up  what 
had  been  revealed,  since  the  time  was 
near.  These  things  would  soon  have 
their  fulfilment,  and  it  was  proper  that 
the  prophecies  should  be  unsealed,  or 
open,  both  that  the  events  might  be 
compared  with  the  predictions,  and  that 
a  persecuted  church  might  be  able  to  see 
what  would  be  the  result  of  all  these 
things,  and  to  find  consolation  in  the  as¬ 
surance  of  the  final  triumph  of  the  Son 
of  God,  vs.  10. 

(4)  The  fixed  and  unchangeable  state 
of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  vs. 
11-13. 

(5)  The  blessedness  of  those  who  keep 
the  commandments  of  God,  and  who 
enter  into  the  new  Jerusalem,  vs.  14, 

15. 

(6)  Jesus,  the  root  and  the  offspring 
of  David,  and  the  bright  and  morning 
star,  proclaims  himself  to  be  the  author 
of  all  these  revelations  by  the  instrumen¬ 
tality  of  an  angel,  yer.  16. 

(7)  The  universal  invitation  of  the 
gospel — the  language  of  Jesus  himself — • 
giving  utterance  to  his  strong  desire  for 
the  salvation  of  men,  ver.  17. 

(8)  A  solemn  command  not  to  change 
any  thing  that  had  been  revealed  in  this 
book,  either  by  adding  to  it,  or  by  taking 
from  it,  vs.  18,  19. 

(9)  The  assurance  that  he  who  had 
made  these  revelations  would  come 
quickly,  and  the  joyous  assent  of  John 
to  this,  and  prayer  that  his  advent  might 
soon  occur,  ver.  20. 

(10)  The  bendediction,  ver.  21. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  me.  The  angel- 
interpreter,  who  had  showed  John  the 
vision  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  eh.  xxi.  9, 
10.  As  these  visions  are  now  at  an  end, 
the  angel  comes  to  John  directly,  and 
assures  him  that  all  these  things  are 
true  —  that  there  has  been  no  deception 
of  the  senses  in  these  visions,  but  that 
they  were  really  divine  disclosures  of 


blessed  is  he  that  keepeth  the  say¬ 
ings  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book. 

8  And  I  John  saw  these  things, 
and  heard  them.  And  when  I  had 
heard  and  seen,  I  fell  down  to  wor¬ 
ship  before  the  feet  of  the  angel 
which  showed  me  these  things. 

b  v.  10. 12,  20. 

what  would  soon  and  certainly  occur. 
IF  These  sayings  are  faithfid  and  true. 
These  communications ;  all  that  has  been 
disclosed  to  you  by  symbols,  or  in  direct 
language.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xxi.  5. 

And  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  prophets. 
The  same  God  who  inspired  the  ancient 
prophets.  IT  Sent  his  angel.  See  Notes 
ch.  i.  1.  |  To  show  unto  his  servants. 

To  all  his  servants,  that  is,  to  all  his 
people,  by  the  instrumentality  of  John. 
The  revelation  was  made  to  him,  and  he 
was  to  record  it  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
church.  51  The  things  which  must  shortly 
he  done.  The  beginning  of  which  must 
soon  occur  —  though  the  series  of  events 
extended  into  distant  ages,  and  even  into 
eternity.  See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  1-3. 

7.  Behold  1  come  quickly.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  i.  3.  The  words  here  used  are, 
undoubtedly,  the  words  of  the  Redeemer, 
although  they  are  apparently  repeated 
by  the  angel.  The  meaning  is,  that  they 
were  used  by  the  angel  as  the  words  of 
the  Redeemer.  See  vs.  12,  20.  5f  Bless¬ 
ed  is  he  that  keepeth  the  sayings  of  the 
prophecy  of  this  hook.  That  receives 
them  as  a  divine  communication ;  that 
makes  use  of  them  to  comfort  himself  in 
thqf  days  of  darkness,  persecution,  and 
trial;  and  that  is  obedient  to  the  pre¬ 
cepts  here  enjoined.  See  Notes  ch. 
i.  3. 

8.  And  I  John  saw  these  things ,  and 
heard  them.  That  is,  I  saw  the  parts  that 
were  disclosed  by  pictures,  visions,  and 
symbols ;  I  heard  the  parts  that  were 
communicated  by  direct  revelation. 

5f  And  when  I  had  heard  and  seen,  I  fell 
down  to  worship  before  the  feet  of  the 
angel,  &c.  As  he  had  done  on  a  former 
occasion.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xix.  10. 

J ohn  appears  to  have  been  entirely  over¬ 
come  by  the  extraordinary  nature  of  the 
revelations  made  to  him,  and  not  impro¬ 
bably  entertained  some  suspicion  that  it 
was  the  Redeemer  himself  who  had 
manifested  himself  to  him  in  this  re¬ 
markable  manner. 


500 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


9  Then  saith  he  unto  me,  See 
thou  do  it  not :  for  I  am  thy  fellow- 
servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the 
prophets,  and  of  them  which  keep 
the  sayings  of  this  book:  worship 
God. 


9.  Then  saith  he  unto  me,  See  thou  do 

it  not.  See  Notes  on  ch.  xix.  10.  For 
lam  thy  fellow-servant.  Notes  oh.  xix. 

10.  And  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets. 
In  ch.  xix.  10,  it  is,  'of  thy  brethren 
that  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus.’  Here 
the  angel  says  that,  in  the  capacity  in 
which  he  appeared  to  John,  he  belonged 
to  the  general  rank  of  the  prophets,  and 
was  no  more  entitled  to  worship  than 
any  of  the  prophets  had  been.  Like 
them,  he  had  merely  been  employed  to 
disclose  important  truths  in  regard  to 
the  future ;  but  as  the  prophets,  even  the 
most  eminent  of  them,  wero  not  regarded 
as  entitled  to  worship  on  account  of  the 
communications  which  they  had  made, 
no  more  was  he.  And  of  them  which 
keep  the  sayings  of  this  book.  \  ‘  I  am  ft 
mere  creature  of  God.  I,  like  tnen,  am 
under  law,  and  am  bound  to  observe  the 
law  of  God.’  The  ‘sayings  of  this  book’ 
which  he  says  he  kept,  must  be  Under¬ 
stood  to  mean  those  great  principles  of 
religion  which  it  enjoined,  and  which 
are  of  equal  obligation  on  men  and  an¬ 
gels.  If  Worship  God.  Worship  God 
only.  Notes  ch.  xix.  10.  \ 

10.  And  he  saith  unto  me.  Top  angel. 

Seal  not  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy 

of  this  book.  That  is,  seal  not  theW>ok 
itself,  for  it  may  be  regarded  altogt^her 
as  a  prophetio  book.  On  the  sealing  of 
a  book,  see  Notes  on  ch.  v.  1.  Isaiah 
(viii.  16,  xxx.  8)  and  Daniel  (viii.  26, 
xii.  4,  9)  were  commanded  to  seal  up 
their  prophecies.  Their  prophecies  re¬ 
lated  to  far-distant  times,  and  the  idea 
in  their  being  commanded  to  seal  them 
was,  that  they  should  make  the  rooord 
sure  and  unchangeable  ;  that  they  should 
finish  it  and  lay  it  up  for  future  ages ;  so 
that,  in  far-distant  times,  the  events 
might  be  compared  with  the  prophecy, 
and  it  might  be  seen  that  there  was  an 
exact  correspondence  between  the  pro¬ 
phecy  and  the  fulfilment.  Their  prophe¬ 
cies  would  not  be  immediately  demanded 
for  the  use  of  persecuted  saints,  but 
would  pertain  to  future  ages.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  events  which  John 


10  And  he  saith  unto  me,  Seal 
not  a  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy 
of  this  book :  for  the  time  is  at  hand. 

11  He b  that  is  unjust,  let  him  bo 

a  Po.  8.  26.  6  Pr.  1.  24-33;  Ec.ll.  3; 

Mat.  26. 10;  2  Ti.  3. 13. 

had  predicted,  though  in  their  ultimate 
development  they  were  to  extend  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  and  even  into  eternity, 
were  about  to  begin  to  bo  fulfilled,  and 
were  to  be  of  immediate  use  in  consoling 
a  persecuted  church.  John,  therefore, 
was  directed  not  to  seal  up  his  predic¬ 
tions;  not  to  lay  them  away  to  be  open¬ 
ed,  as  it  were,  in  distant  ages,  but  to 
leave  them  open  so  that  a  persecuted 
church  might  have  access  to  them,  and 
might  in  times  of  persecution  and  trial 
have  the  assuranco  that  the  principles 
of  their  religion  would  finally  triumph. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  x.  2.  For  the  time  is 
at  hand.  That  is,  they  are  soon  to  com¬ 
mence.  It  is  not  implied  that  they  would 
be  soon  completed.  The  idea  is,  that  as 
the  scenes  of  persecution  were  soon  to 
open  upon  the  church,  it  was  important 
that  the  church  should  have  access  to 
these  prophecies  of  the  final  triumph  of 
religion,  to  sustain  it  in  its  trials.  Comp. 
Notes  on  ch.  i.  1,  3. 

11.  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust 
still.  This  must  refer  to  the  scenes  be¬ 
yond  tho  judgment,  and  must  be  intended 
to  affirm  an  important  truth  in  regard 
to  the  condition  of  men  in  the  future 
state.  It  cannot  refer  to  the  condition 
of  men  this  side  the  grave,  for  there  is 
no  fixed  and  unchangeable  condition  in 
this  world.  At  the  close  of  this  book, 
and  at  the  close  of  tho  whole  volume  of 
revealed  truth,  it  was  proper  to  declare 
in  tho  most  solemn  manner  that,  when 
these  events  were  consummated,  overy 
thing  would  be  fixed  and  unchanging  — 
that  all  who  were  then  found  to  bo  right¬ 
eous  would  remain  so  for  ever;  and  that 
none  who  wero  impenitent,  impure,  and 
wicked,  would  ever  change  their  charac¬ 
ter  or  condition.  That  this  is  the  mean¬ 
ing  here  seems  to  me  to  be  plain ;  and 
this  sentiment  accords  with  all  that  is 
said  in  tho  Bible  of  the  final  condition 
of  the  righteous  and  tho  wicked.  See 
Matt.  xxv.  46;  Rom.  ii.  6-9;  Thess.  i. 
7-10;  Dan.  xii.  2;  Eccl.  xi.  3.  Every 
assurance  is  held  out  in  the  Bible  that 
the  righteous  will  be  secure  in  holiness 


501 


A.  D.  90.]  CHAPTER  XXII. 


unjust  still :  and  he  which  is  filthy 
let  him  be  filthy  still:  and  he  that 
is  righteous,  °  let  him  be  righteous 
f till :  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him 
be  holy  still. 

12  And  behold,  I  come  quickly; b 
and  my  reward  is  with  me,  to  give 

a  18  i  Mat.  5.  6.  b  Zep.  1.  14. 

and  happiness,  and  that  there  will  be  no 
danger  — no  possibility  —  that  they  will 
fall  into  sin,  and  sink  to  woe;  and  by 
the  same  kind  of  arguments  by  which  it 
is  proved  that  their  condition  will  be 
unchanging,  is  it  demonstrated  that  the 
condition  of  the  wicked  will  be  un- 
ehanging  also.  The  argument  for  the 
eternal  punishment  of  the  wicked  is  as 
strong  as  that  for  the  eternal  happiness 
of  the  righteous;  and  if  the  one  is  open 
to  doubt,  there  is  no  security  for  the 
permanence  of  the  other.  The  word 
unjust  here  is  a  general  term  for  an 
unrighteous  or  wicked  man.  The  mean¬ 
ing  is,  that  he  to  whom  that  character 
properly  belongs,  or  of  whom  it  is  pro¬ 
perly  descriptive,  will  remain  so  for  ever. 
The  design  of  this,  seems  to  be,  to  let 
the  ungodly  and  the  wicked  know  that 
there  is  no  change  beyond  the  grave, 
and  by  this  solemn  consideration  to  warn 
them  now  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come. 
And  assuredly  no  more  solemn  consider¬ 
ation  can  ever  be  presented  to  the  hu¬ 
man  mind  than  this,  And  he  which  is 
filthy,  let  him  he  filthy  still.  The  word 
filthy  here  is,  of  course,  used  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  moral  defilement  or  pollution. 

It  refers  to  the  sensual,  the  corrupt,  the 
profane ;  and  the  meaning  is,  that  their 
condition  will  be  fixed,  and  that  they 
will  remain  in  this  state  of  pollution  for 
ever.  There  is  nothing  more  awful  than 
the  idea  that  a  polluted  soul  will  be 
always  polluted ;  that  a  heart  corrupt 
will  be  always  corrupt;  that  the  defiled 
will  be  put  for  ever  beyond  the  possi¬ 
bility  of  being  cleansed  from  sin.  IT  And 
he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  he  righteous 
still.  The  just,  the  upright  man  —  in 
contradistinction  from  the  unjust  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  first  part  of  the  verse. 

If  And  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  he  holy  still.. 
He  that  is  pure,  in  contradistinction  from 
the  filthy  mentioned  in  the  former  part 
of  the  verse.  The  righteous  and  the 
holy  will  be  confirmed  in  their  character 
and  condition,  as  well  as  the  wicked. 


every  man  according  e  as  his  work 
shall  be. 

13  I  d  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 
beginning  and  the  end,  the  first  and 
the  last. 

14  Blessed  *  are  they  that  do  his 
commandments,  that  they  may  have 

c  c.  20. 12,  d  Is,  44.  6.  e  Lu.  12.  37,  38. 

The  affirmation  that  their  condition  will 
be  fixed  is  as  strong  as  that  that  of  the 
wicked  will  be' — and  no  stronger;  the 
entire  representation  is,  that  all  be¬ 
yond  the  judgment  will  be  unchang- 
lng  for  ever.  Could  any  more  solemn 
thought  be  brought  before  the  mind  of 
man  ? 

12.  And  behold  I  come  quickly.  See 
Notes  ch.  i.  1,  3.  These  are,  undoubt¬ 
edly,  the  words  of  the  Redeemer,  and  the 
meaning  is,  that  the  period  when  the 
unchanging  sentence  would  bo  passed 
on  each  individual  —  on  the  unjust,  the 

filthy,  the  righteous,  and  the  holy _ 

would  not  be  remote.  The  design  of  this 
seems  to  bo  to  impress  on  the  inind  the 
solemnity  of  the  truth  that  the  con¬ 
dition  hereafter  will  soon  be  fixed, 
and  to  lead  men  to  prepare  for  it. 
In  reference  to  each  individual,  the 
period  is  near  when  it  is  to  be  deter¬ 
mined  whether  he  will  be  holy  or  sinful 
to  all  eternity.  What  thought  could 
there  be  more  adapted  to  impress  on  the 
mind  the  importance  of  giving  imme¬ 
diate  attention  to  the  concerns  of  the 
soul  ?  IT  And  my  reward  is  with  me. 

I  bring  it  with  me  to  give  to  every  man : 
either  life  or  death;  heaven  or  hell;  the 
crown  or  the  curse.  He  will  be  pre¬ 
pared  immediately  to  execute  the  sen¬ 
tence.  Comp.  Matt.  xxv.  31-46.  f  To 
give  every  man  according  as  his  work 
shall  be.  See  Notes  on  Matt,  xvi  27  • 
Rom.  ii.  6;  2  Cor.  v.  10. 

13.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  Ac.  See 
Notes  on  ch.  i.  8,  11.  The  idea  here  is, 
that  he  will  thus  show  that  he  is  the 
first  and  the  last — the  beginning  and  the 
end.  He  originated  the  whole  plan  of 
salvation,  and  he  will  determine  its 
close;  he  formed  the  world,  and  he  will 
wind  up  its  affairs.  In  the  beginning, 
the  continuance,  and  the  end,  ho  will 
be  recognized  as  the  same  being  pre¬ 
siding  over  and  controlling  all. 

14.  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  com¬ 
mandments.  See  Notes  ch.  i.  3,  xxii.  7. 


502 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may- 
enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the 
city. 

15  For  without  °  are  dogs,  b  and 
sorcerers,  and  whoremongers,  and 
murderers,  and  idolaters,  and  who¬ 
soever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie. 

That  they  may  have  right.  That  they 
may  be  entitled  to  approach  the  tree  of 
life  ;  that  this  privilege  may  be  granted 
to  them.  It  is  not  a  right  in  the  sense 
that  they  have  merited  it,  but  in  the 
sense  that  the  privilege  is  conferred  on 
them  as  one  of  the  rewards  of  God,  and 
that,  in  virtue  of  the  divine  arrange¬ 
ments,  they  will  be  entitled  to  this  honor. 
So  the  word  here  used — l^ovala — means 
in  John  i.  12,  rendered  power.  The 
reason  why  this  right  or  privilege  is  con¬ 
ferred  is  not  implied  in  the  use  of  the 
word.  In  this  cash  it  is  by  grace,  and 
all  the  right  which  they  have  to  the  tree 
of  life  is  founded  on  the  fact  that  God 
has  been  pleased  graciously  to  confer  it 
on  them.  IT  To  the  tree  of  life.  See 
Notes  on  ver.  2.  They  would  not  be 
forbidden  to  approach  that  tree  as  Adam 
was,  but  would  be  permitted  always  to 
partake  of  it,  and  would  live  for  ever. 

And  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into 
the  city.  The  New  Jerusalem.  Ch.  xxi. 
2.  They  would  have  free  access  there ; 
they  would  be  permitted  to  abide  there 
for  ever. 

15.  For  without  are  dog 8.  The  wicked, 
the  depraved,  the  vile: — for  of  such 
characters  the  dog,  an  unclean  animal 
among  the  Jews,  was  regarded  as  a 
symbol.  Deut.  xxiii.  18.  On  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  expression,  see  Notes  on  Phil, 
iii.  2.  The  word  ‘  without’  means  that 
they  would  not  be  admitted  into  the 
heavenly  city,  the  New  Jerusalem, 
ch.  xxi.  S,  27.  And  sorcerers,  Ac. 
All  these  characters  are  specified  in  ch. 
xxi.  8,  as  excluded  from  heaven.  See 
Notes  on  that  verse.  The  only  change 
is,  that  those  who  ‘  love  and  make  a  lie,’ 
are  added  to  the  list;  that  is,  who  de¬ 
light  in  lies,  or  that  which  is  false. 

16.  I  Jesus.  Here  the  Saviour  ap¬ 
pears  expressly  as  the  speaker — ratifying 
and  confirming  all  that  had  been  com¬ 
municated  by  the  instrumentality  of  the 
angel.  Have  sent  mine  angel.  Notes, 
ch.  i.  1.  To  testify  unto  you.  That 
is,  to  be  a  witness  for  me  in  communi- 


16  I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel 
to  testify  unto  you  these  things  in 
the  churches.  I  am  the  ‘  root  and 
the  offspring  of  David,  and  the 
bright  and  morning  star. 

a  c.  21.  8,  27.  b  Ph.  3.  2. 

c  c.  5.  5. 


eating  these  things  to  you.  *[  In  the 
churches.  Directly  and  immediately  to 
the  seven  churches  in  Asia  Minor  (chs. 
ii.  iii.) ;  remotely  and  ultimately  to  all 
ohurches  to  the  end  of  time.  Comp. 
Notes,  ch.  i.  11.  I  am  the  root.  Not 
the  root  in  the  sense  that  David  sprang 
from  him,  as  a  tree  does  from  a  root, 
hut  in  the  sense  that  he  was  the  ‘  root- 
shoot’  of  David,  or  that  he  himself  sprang 
from  him,  as  a  sprout  starts  up  from  a 
decayed  and  fallen  tree  —  as  of  the  oak, 
the  willow,  the  chesnut,  Ac.  See  this 
explained  in  the  Notes  on  Isa.  xi.  1. 
The  meaning,  then,  is,  not  that  he  was 
the  ancestor  of  David,  or  that  David 
sprang  from  him,  but  that  he  was  the 
oifspring  of  David,  according  to  the  pro¬ 
mise  in  the  Scripture,  that  the  Messiah 
should  be  descended  from  him.  No 
argument,  then,  can  he  derived  from 
this  passage  in  proof  of  the  pre-exist¬ 
ence,  or  the  divinity  of  Christ.  And 
the  offspring.  The  descendant;  the 
progeny  of  David :  “  the  seed  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh.”  See  Notes  on 
Rom.  i.  3.  It  is  not  unusual  to  employ 
two  words  in  close  connection  to  express 
the  same  idea  with  some  slight  shade  of 
difference.  And  the  bright  and  morn¬ 
ing  star.  See  Notes  ch.  ii.  2S.  It  is 
not  uncommon  to  compare  a  prince,  a 
leader,  a  teacher,  with  that  bright  and 
beautiful  star  which  at  some  seasons  of 
the  year  precedes  the  rising  of  the  sun, 
and  leads  on  the  day.  Comp.  Notes  on 
Isa.  xiv.  12.  The  reference  here  is  to 
that  star  as  the  harbinger  of  day,  and 
the  meaning  of  the  Saviour  is,  that  he 
sustains  a  relation  to  a  dark  world 
similar  to  this  beautiful  star.  At  one 
time  he  is  indeed  compared  with  the  sun 
itself  in  giving  light  to  the  world;  here 
he  is  compared  with  that  morning  star, 
rather  with  reference  to  its  beauty  than 
its  light.  May  it  not  also  have  been  one 
object  in  this  comparison  to  lead  us 
when  we  look  on  that  star,  to  think  of 
the  Saviour?  It  is  perhaps  the  most 
beautiful  object  in  nature;  it  succeeds 


A.  D.  96.] 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


17  And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  0 
saj,  Come. b  And  let  him  that 

a  c.  21.  2,  9.  b  Is.  2,  5. 


503 


heareth  say,  Come.  And  c  let  him 
that  is  athirst,  come.  And  who- 

c  c.  21.  6. 


the  darkness  of  the  night;  it  brings  on 
tUe  day — and  as  it  mingles  with  the  first 
rays  of  the  morning,  it  seems  to  be  so 
joyous,  cheerful,  exulting,  bright,  that 
nothing  can  be  better  adapted  to  remind 
us  of  him  who  came  to  lead  on  eternal 
day.  Its  place,  —  the  first  thing  that 
arrests  the  eye  in  the  morning  —  might 
serve  to  remind  us  that  the  Saviour 
should  be  the  first  object  that  should 
draw  the  eye  and  the  heart  on  the 
return  of  each  day.  In  each  trial — each 
scene  of  sorrow  — let  us  think  of  the 
bright  star  of  the  morning  as  it  rises  on 
tbe  darkness  of  the  night— emblem  of  the 
Saviour  rising  on  ^our  sorrow  and  our 
gloom. 

17.  And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say, 
Come.  That  is,  come  to  the  Saviour: 
come  and  partake  of  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel ;  come  and  be  saved.  The  con¬ 
struction  demands  this  interpretation,  as 
the  latter  part  of  the  verse  shows.  The 
design  of  this  whole  verse  is,  evidently, 
to  show  the  freeness  of  the  offers  of  the 
dospel ;  to  condense  in  a  summary  man¬ 
ner  all  the  invitations  of  mercy  to  man¬ 
kind;  and  to  leave  on  the  mind  at  the 
close  of  the  book  a  deep  impression  of 
the  ample  provision  which  has  been 
made  for  the  salvation  of  a  fallen  race. 
Nothing,  it  is  clear,  could  be  more  ap¬ 
propriate  at  the  close  of  this  book,  and 
at  the  close  of  the  whole  volume  of 
revealed  truth,  than  to  announce,  in  the 
most  clear  and  attracting  form,  that  sal¬ 
vation  is  free  to  all,  and  that  whosoever 
will  may  be  saved,  f  The  Spirit.  The 
Holy  Spirit.  He  entreats  all  to  come. 
This. he  does  (a)  in  all  the  recorded  in¬ 
vitations  in  the  Bible  —  for  it  is  by  the 
inspiration  of  that  Spirit  that  these  invi¬ 
tations  are  recorded;  (b)  by  all  his  in¬ 
fluences  on  the  understandings,  the 
consciences,  and  the  hearts  of  men; 

(c)  by  all  the  proclamations  of  mercy 
made  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
and  by  the  appeal  which  friend-makes  to 
friend,  and  neighbor  to  neighbor,  and 
stranger  to  stranger  —  for  all  these  are 
methods  in  which  the  Spirit  invites  men 
to  come  to  the  Saviour.  And  the 
bride.  The  church.  See  Notes,  ch. 
xxi.  2,  9.  That  is,  the  church  invites  all 


to  come  and  be  saved.  This  it  does 
(a)  by  its  ministers,  whose  main  busi¬ 
ness  it  is  to  extend  this  invitation  to 
mankind;  ( b )  by  its  ordinances  —  con¬ 
stantly  setting  forth  the  freeness  of  the 
gospel;  (c)  by  the  lives  of  its  consistent 
members  — showing  the  excellency  and 
the  desirableness  of  true  religion ;  (d)  by 
all  its  efforts  to  do  good  in  the  world  • 
(e)  by  the  example  of  thoso  who  are 
brought  into  the  church  —  showing  that 
all,  whatever  may  have  been  their  former 
character,  may  be  saved ;  and  (/)  by  the 
direct  appeals  of  its  individual  mem¬ 
bers.  Thus  a  Christian  parent  invites 
his  children ;  a  brother  invites  a  sister, 
and  a  sister  a  brother ;  a  neighbor  in- 
vites  his  neighbor,  and  a  stranger  a 
stranger;  the  master  invites  his  servant, 
and  the  servant  his  master.  The  church 
on  earth  and  the  church  in  heaven 
unite  in  the  invitation,  saying,  Come. 
Ihe  living  father,  pastor,  friend,  invites 
—and  the  voice  of  the  departed  father, 
pastor,  friend,  now  in  heaven,  is  heard 
re-echoing  the  invitation.  The  once- 
loved  mother  that  has  gone  to  the  skies 
still  invites  her  children  to  come;  and 
the  sweet-smiling  babe  that  has  been 
taken  up  to  the  Saviour,  stretches  out 
its  arms  from  heaven,  and  says  to  its 
mother  Come.  Say,  Come.  That  is, 
come  to  the  Saviour;  come  into  the 
church ;  come  to  heaven,  f  And  let  him 
that  heareth  say ,  Come.  Whoever  hears 
the  gospel,  let  him  go  and  invite 
others  to  come.  Nothing  could  more 
strikingly  set  forth  the  freeness  of  the 
invitation  of  the  gospel  than  this.  The 
authority  to  make  the  invitation  is  not 
limited  to  the  ministers  of  religion;  it  is 
not  even  confined  to  those  who  accept 
it  themselves.  All  persons,  even  though 
they  should  not  accept  of  it,  are  autho¬ 
rised  to  tell  others  that  they  may  be 
saved.  One  impenitent  sinner  may  go 
and  tell  another  impenitent  sinner  that 
if  he  will  he  may  find  mercy  and  enter 
heaven.  How  could  the  offer  of  salva¬ 
tion  be  made  more  freely  to  mankind  ? 

IT  And  let  him  that  is  athirst,  come. 
Whoever  desires  salvation,  as  the  weary 
pilgrim  desires  a  cooling  fountain  to 
allay  his  thirst,  let  him  come  as  freely 


504 


REVELATION, 


[A.  D.  96. 


soever  will,  let  him  take  the  water 
of  life  freely. 

18  For  I  testify  unto  every  man 
that  heareth  the  words  of  the  pro¬ 
phecy  of  this  book,  If  any  man 

a  Pr.  30.  6. 


to  the  gospel  as  that  thirsty  man  would 
stoop  down  at  the  fountain  and  drink. 
See  Notes  on  Isa.  lv.  1.  Comp.  Notes 
on  Matt.  v.  6  ,•  John  vii.  37  ;  Rev.  xxi.  6. 

And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the 
water  of  life  freely.  Ch.  xxi.  6.  Every 
one  that  is  disposed  to  come,  that  has 
any  sincere  wish  to  be  saved,  is  assured 
that  he  may  live.  No  matter  how  un¬ 
worthy  he  is ;  no  matter  what  his  past 
life  has  been ;  no  matter  how  old  or  how 
young,  how  rich  or  how  poor ;  no  matter 
whether  sick  or  well,  a  freeman  or  a 
slave ;  no  matter  whether  educated  or 
ignorant;  no  matter  whether  clothed  in 
purple  or  in  rags — riding  in  state  or  laid 
at  the  gate  of  a  rich  man  full  of  sores, 
the  invitation  is  freely  made  to  all  to 
come  and  be  saved.  With  what  more 
appropriate  truth  could  a  revelation  from 
heaven  be  closed? 

18  For  I  testify.  The  writer  does  not 
specify  who  is  meant  by  the  word  ‘  //  in 
this  place.  The  most  natural  construc¬ 
tion  is  to  refer  it  to  the  writer  himself, 
and  not  to  the  angel,  or  the  Saviour. 
The  meaning  is,  ‘  I  bear  this  solemn 
witness,  or  make  this  solemn  affirma¬ 
tion,  in  conclusion.’  The  object  is  to 
guard  his  book  against  being  corrupted 
by  any  interpolation  or  change.  It 
would  seem  not  improbable,  from  this, 
that  as  early  as  the  time  of  John,  books 
were  liable  to  becorrupted  by  additions  or 
omissions,  or  that  at  least  there  was  felt 
to  be  great  danger  that  mistakes  might 
be  made  by  the  carelessness  of  tran¬ 
scribers.  Against  this  danger,  John 
would  guard  this  book  in  the  most 
solemn  manner.  Perhaps  he  felt  too, 
that  as  this  book  would  be  necessarily 
regarded  as  obscure  from  the  fact  that 
symbols  were  so  much  used,  there  was 
great  danger  that  changes  would  be 
made  by  well-meaning  persons  with  a 
view  to  make  it  appear  more  plain. 

Unto  every  man  that  heareth  the  words 
of  the  prophecy  of  this  book.  The  word 
‘heareth’  seems  here  to  be  used  in  a 
very  general  sense.  Perhaps  in  most 
cases  persons  would  be  made  acquainted 


shall  add  °  uudo  these  things,  God 
shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues 
that  are  written  in  this  book : 

19  And  if  any  man  shall  take 
away  from  the  words  of  the  book 
of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take 

with  the  contents  of  the  book  by  hearing 
it  read  in  the  churches ;  but  still  the 
spirit  of  the  declaration  must  include  all 
methods  of  becoming  acquainted  with  it 

If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these 
things.  With  a  view  to  furnish  a  moro 
full  and  complete  revelation ;  or  with  a 
profession  that  new  truth  had  been  com¬ 
municated  by  inspiration.  The  reference 
here  is  to  the  book  of  Revelation  only — 
for  at  that  time  the  books  that  now  con¬ 
stitute  what  we  call  the  Bible,  were  not 
collected  into  a  single  volume.  Thi3 
passage,  therefore,  should  not  be  ad¬ 
duced  as  referring  to  the  whole  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures.  Still,  the  principle  is 
one  that  is  thus  applicable ;  for  it  is 
obvious  that  no  one  has  a  right  to 
change  any  part  of  a  revelation  which 
God  makes  to  man ;  to  presume  to  add 
to  it,  or  to  take  from  it,  or  in  any 
way  to  modify  it.  Comp.  Notes,  2  Tim. 
iii.  16.  God  shall  add  unto  him  the 
plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book. 
These  ‘plagues’  refer  to  the  numerous 
methods  described  in  this  book  as  those 
in  which  God  would  bring  severe  judg¬ 
ment  upon  the  persecutors  of  the  church, 
and  the  corrupters  of  religion.  The 
meaning  is,  that  such  a  person  would  be 
regarded  as  an  enemy  of  his  religion, 
and  would  share  the  fearful  doom  of  all 
such  enemies. 

19.  And  if  any  man  shall  take  away 
from  the  words  of  the  book  of  this  pro¬ 
phecy.  If  he  shall  reject  the  book  alto¬ 
gether;  if  he  shall,  in  transcribing  it, 
designedly  strike  any  part  of  it  out. 
It  is  conceivable  that,  from  the  remark¬ 
able  nature  of  the  communications  made 
in  this  book,  and  the  fact  that  they 
seemed  to  be  unintelligible,  John  sup¬ 
posed  there  might  be  those  who  would 
be  inclined  to  omit  some  portions  as  im¬ 
probable,  or  that  he  apprehended  that 
when  the  portions  which  describe  Anti¬ 
christ  were  fulfilled  in  distant  ages, 
those  to  whom  those  portions  applied 
would  be  disposed  to  strike  them  from 
the  sacred  volume,  or  to  corrupt  them. 
He  thought  proper  to  guard  against  thij 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


505 


A.  D.  96.] 

away  °  his  part b  out  of  the  book  of 
life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and 
from,  the  things  which  are  written 
in  this  book. 

a  c-  3.  5.  6  Or,  from,  the  tree. 


by  this  solemn  declaration  of  the  conse¬ 
quence  which  would  follow  such  an  act. 
The  whole  book  was  to  be  received — with 
all  its  fearful  truths  —  as  a  revelation 
from  God,  and  however  obscure  it  might 
seem,  in  due  time  it  would  be  made 
plain  ;  however  faithfully  it  might  depict 
a  fearful  apostacy,  it  was  important  both 
to  show  the  truth  of  divine  inspiration, 
and  to  save  the  church,  that  these  dis¬ 
closures  should  be  in  their  native  purity 
in  the  possession  of  the  people  of  God. 
IF  (r°d  shall  take  aicay  his  part  out  of  the 
book  of  life.  Perhaps  there  is  here  an 
intimation  that  this  would  be  most  likely 
to  be  done  by  those  who  professed  to  be 
Christians,  and  who  supposed  that  their 
names  were  in  the  book  of  life.  In  fact 
most  of  the  corruptions  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures  have  been  attempted  by  those 
who-  have  professed  some  form  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Infidels  have  but  little  interest 
in  attempting  such  changes,  and  but  little 
influence  to  make  them  received  by  the 
church.  It  is  most  convenient  for  them, 
as  it  is  most  agreeable  to  their  feelings,  to 
reject  the  Bible  altogether.  When  it  is 
said  here  that  ‘  God  would  take  away 
his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,’  the 
meaning  is  not  that  his  name  had  been 
written  in  that  book,  but  that  he  would 
take  away  the  part  which  he  might 
have  had,  or  which  he  professed  to  have 
in  that  book.  Such  corruption  of  the 
divine  oracles  would  show  that  they  had 
no  true  religion,  and  would  be  excluded 
from  heaven.  On  the  phrase,  ‘book  of 
life,’  see  Notes  on  ch.  iii.  5.  And  out 
of  the  holy  city.  Described  in  ch.  xxi. 
He  would  not  be  permitted  to  enter  that 
city ;  he  would  have  no  part  among  the 
redeemed,  And  from  the  things  that 
are  written  in  this  book.  The  promises 
that  are  made;  the  glories  that  are 
described. 

20.  He  which  testifieth  these  things. 
The  Lord  Jesus;  for  he  it  was  that  had, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  angel, 
borne  his  solemn  witness  to  the  truth  of 
these  things,  and  this  book  was  to  be 
regarded  as  his  revelation  to  mankind. 
See  Notes  on  ch.  i.  1,  xxii.  16.  He  here 


20  He  which  testifieth  these 
things  saith,  Surely  “  I  come  quick¬ 
ly  ;  Amen.  Even  4  so,  come,  Lord 
Jesus. 

a  ver.  7. 12.  ft  lie.  9.  28;  Is.  25.  9. 


speaks  himself,  and  vouches  for  the  truth 
and  reality  of  these  things,  by  saying 
that  he  ‘  testifies ’  of  them,  or  bears  wit¬ 
ness  to  them.  Comp.  John  xviii.  37. 
The  fact  that  Jesus  himself  vouches  for 
the  truth  of  what  is  here  revealed,  shows 
the  propriety  of  what  John  had  said  in 
the  previous  verses  about  adding  to  it, 
or  taking  from  it.  «f  Saith,  Surely  / 
come  quickly.  That  is,  the  development 
of  these  events  will  soon  begin  —  though 
their  consummation  may  extend  into  far 
distant  ages,  or  into  eternity.  See  Notes 
on  ch.  i.  1,  3,  xxii.  7,  10.  Amen.  A 
word  of  solemn  affirmation  or  assent. 
See  Notes  on  Matt.  vi.  13.  Here  it  is  to 
be  regarded  as  the  expression  of  John, 
signifying  his  solemn  and  cheerful  as¬ 
sent  to  what  the  Saviour  had  said,  that 
he  would  come  quickly.  It  is  the  utter¬ 
ance  of  a  strong  desire  that  it  might  be 
so.  He  longed  for  his  appearing,  f  Even 
so.  These  too  are  the  words  of  John, 
and  are  a  response  to  what  the  Saviour 
had  just  said.  In  the  original,  it  is  a 
response  in  the  same  language  which  the 
Saviour  had  used,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
passage  is  marred  by  the  translation 
‘Even  so.’  The  original  is,  ‘He  whicl 
testifieth  to  these  things  saith,  Yea  —  va 
—  I  come  quickly.  Amen.  Yea  —  vai 
come,  Lord  Jesus.’  It  is  the  utteranct 
of  desire  in  the  precise  language  which 
the  Saviour  had  used : — heart  responding 
to  heart..  Come,  Lord  Jesus.  That  is, 
as  here  intended,  ‘  Come  in  the  manner 
and  for  the  objects  referred  to  in  this 
book.’  The  language,  however,  is  ex¬ 
pressive  of  the  feelings  of  piety  in  a  more 
extended  sense,  and  may  be  used  to  de¬ 
note  a  desire  that  the  Lord  Jesus  would 
come  in  any  and  every  manner :  —  that 
he  would  come  to  impart  to  us  the  tokens 
of  his  presence ;  that  he  would  come  to 
bless  his  truth  and  to  revive  his  work  in 
the  churches;  that  he  would  come  to 
convert  sinners,  and  to  build  up  his  peo¬ 
ple  in  holiness ;  that  he  would  come  to 
sustain  us  in  affliction,  and  to  defend  us 
in  temptation ;  that  he  woufd  come  to 
put  a  period  to  idolatry,  superstition,  and 
error,  and  to  extend  the  knowledge  of 


506 


REVELATION,  CHAPTER  XXII.  [A.  D.  96. 


21  The  °  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

c  2  Th.  .  3.  IS. 

his  truth  in  the  world ;  that  he  would 
come  to  set  up  his  kingdom  on  the  earth, 
and  to  rule  in  the  hearts  of  -men ;  that 
he  would  come  to  receive  us  to  his  pre¬ 
sence,  and  to  gather  his  redeemed  people 
into  his  everlasting  kingdom.  It  was 
appropriate  to  the  aged  John,  suffering 
exile  in  a  lonely  island,  to  pray  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  would  speedily  come  to  take 
him  to  himself: — and  there  could  have 
been  no  more  suitable  close  of  this  mar¬ 
vellous  book  than  the  utterance  of  such  a 
desire.  And  it  is  appropriate  for  us  as 
we  finish  its  contemplation,  disclosing  so 


Christ  be  with  you  all.  Amen. 


much  of  the  glories  of  the  heavenly  world, 
and  the  blessedness  of  the  redeemed  in 
their  final  state,  when  we  think  of  the 
earth,  with  its  sorrows,  trials,  and  cares, 
to  respond  to  the  prayer,  and  to  say, 
‘  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly.’  For 
that  glorious  coming  of  the  Son  of  God, 
when  he  shall  gather  his  redeemed  people 
to  himself,  may  all  who  read  these  Notes 
be  finally  prepared,  Amen. 

21.  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
be  with  you  all,  Amen.  The  usual  bene* 
diction  of  the  sacred  writers.  See  Notea 
on  Rom.  xvi.  20. 


THE  END. 


Barites’  Notes  on  tl)e  Nets  ©estament, 


TOR  FAMILIES  AND  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 

Tn  Ten  Volumes,  with  Maps  and  Engravings,  IZmo,  Muslin,  75  cents  per 
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CONTENTS. 


Vols.  I.,  II.  The  Four  Gospels.— III.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.— IV.  The  Epistle 
to  the  Romans. -V.  The  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.-VI.  The  Second 
pistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.— VII.  The 
^pistles  to  the  Ephesians,  the  Colossians,  and  the  Philippians.— VIII.  The 
Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  Timothy,  Titus,  and  Philemon.-IX.  The  Epistle 
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As  follows: 
Romans. — VI.  First 


Testimonials  from  Distinguished  British  Clergymen. 

From  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Baptist  W.  Noel,  M.A. 

I  heartily  wish  success  to  the  Commentary  o'  VIr  a..  Barnes.  Coming  after  so  many  excel- 
lent  expositors,  he  has  derived  advantage  from  their  writings.  He  has  more  learning  than 
Scott;  more  critical  decision  than  Henry;  more  spiritual  discernment  than  Whitby  more 
copiousness  than  Benson  ;  and  more  judgment  than  Gill.  He  affords  precisely  the  aid’which 
an  English  reader  requires  when  seeking  to  ascertain  the  exact  sense  of  obscure  passages  • 
and  these  “  Notes”  will,  in  my  opinion,  render  essential  service  to  the  cause  of  religion. 

to  ffarf 

From  the  Rev.  Alexander  Fletcher,  Finsbury  Chapel. 

I  have  consulted  Barnes’  Commentary  on  Corinthians  with  much  satisfaction,  and  am 
pleased  to  find  that  it  exemplifies  the  same  piety,  talent,  research,  and  liveliness,  furnished 
by  the  preceding  Commentaries  on  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  which  have  been  prepar- 
ed  bv  the  same  eminent  divine. 


2 


TESTIMONIALS  TO  BARNES'  NOTES. 


From  the  Rev.  Richard  Alliott,  LL.D.,  Lambeth. 

I  have  gTeat  pleasure  in  recommending  Barnes’  “  Notes”  to  the  Christian  public 

-&C 

From  the  Rev.  Ralph  YVardlaw,  D.D. 

I  have  examined  the  “  Notes”  of  the  Rev.  Albert  Barnes  on  a  considerable  variety  of  testing 
passages  ;  and,  so  far  as  my  examination  has  gone,  I  feel  confident  in  pronouncing  them  to  b« 
characterized,  in  no  ordinary  degree,  bp  discriminative  judgment,  sound  theology,  unostenta¬ 
tious  learning,  practical  wisdom,  and  ei  angelical  piety.  A  boon  of  greater  benefit  to  the  pub¬ 
lic  can  not  be  bestowed  than,  along  with  correct  and  cheap  Bibles,  to  give  wide  circulation, 
by  cheap  editions,  to  Commentaries  on  the  Bible  such  as  this ;  and  especially  in  times  when 
the  exclusive  authority  of  Holy  Scripture,  in  all  matters  of  faith  and  practice,  requires  to  be 
so  firmly  maintained  and  universally  inculcated. 


From  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Massie,  D.D.,  Manchester. 


l  had  often  consulted  Barnes’  “  Notes”  on  parts  of  the  Sacred  Volume,  and  found  them  re¬ 
plete  with  profitable  and  suggestive  matter.  I  wish  every  village  pastor  and  Sunday  school 
teacher  in  Britain  had  a  complete  copy  of  them.  They  would  afford  valuable  assistance  to 
many  in  more  exalted  spheres. 

;  >  .  /yfcjytse- 

From  Sir  Culling  E.  Eardley,  Bart. 

I  have  much  pleasure  in  expressing  my  admiration  of  Barnes’  “  Notes.”  Independently  o 
the  merit  of  the  work  itself,  from  its  simplicity  and  clearness  to  even  the  humblest  intelli 
gence,  it  is  well  got  up  ;  the  maps  are  very  good  ;  and  its  moderate  price  places  it  within  the 
reach  of  most  classes.  You  have  my  best  wishes  in  the  publication 


From  the  Rev.  W.  Lyndsay  Alexander,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 

I  have  long  regarded  the  “Notes”  of  the  Re\  Albert  Barnes  on  the  Gospels  and  Epistles 
as  the  best  commentary  for  popular  use  extant  on  the  New  Testament.  They  are,  for  the 
most  part,  simple,  clear,  concise,  and  accurate  ;  embodying  the  results  of  much  reading,  with¬ 
out  any  offensive  parade  of  learning.  It  would  be  well  that  they  were  in  the  hands  of  all  wh» 
read  the  New  Testament. 


